Badaga

Dravidian (Southern)

FamilyDravidian (Southern) Speakers~134–206K (shifting) ScriptTamil (predominant) / Kannada (historical, Basel Mission from 1890) / Badugu script (Yogesh Raj, 1967–68, unencoded) CountriesIndia Official inNot an official language; classified as "Definitely Endangered" by UNESCO. No official script, though Badagu script invented by Yo

Badaga (படக; ISO 639-3: bfq) is a South Dravidian language spoken by Badaga communities in the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu, India. It is closely related to Kannada and has sometimes been classified as a Kannada dialect, but modern reference works also describe it as a distinct language shaped by sustained contact with Tamil and neighboring Nilgiri languages. Badaga is agglutinative and predominantly subject–object–verb, preserves characteristic retroflex consonants, and has socially and regionally differentiated varieties. It was traditionally primarily oral, with rich songs, proverbs, and other genres; Tamil, Kannada, and Roman scripts have all been used when writing it, while proposed dedicated Badaga scripts lack universal acceptance. Badaga has no official status or universally accepted written standard, and census classification under Kannada plus increasing use of Tamil and English complicate estimates of its speakers and vitality.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Badaga

Water

neeru

neːru

Fire

kitcha

kitʃɑ

Sun

hottu

hɔtːu

Moon

thinguva

t̪iŋɡuvɑ

Star

sukki

sukːi

Night

raatri

raːtri

Rain

me

me

Earth

மண்ணு

maɳɳɯ

Stone

கல்லு

kallu

Mountain

male

male

Mother

thaaya

t̪ɑːjɑ

Father

appa

ɑpːɑ

I

naanu

naːnu

You

niinu

niːnu

We

naanga

naːŋɡa

Name

esaru

esaru

Person

kanɖə

kanɖə

Head

manɖe

manɖe

Eye

kannu

kɑnːu

Ear

kivi

kiʋi

Nose

மூக்கு

muːkːu

Mouth

pe

pe

Tooth

pallu

palːu

Tongue

naaku

naːku

Hand

kai

kɑɪ

Foot

kaalu

kaːlu

Heart

mana

mɑnɑ

Bone

elu

elu

Blood

netta

netːa

Love

gava

ɡɑvɑ

Tree

mara

mɑrɑ

Dog

nei

neː

Cat

koththi

kɔt̪ːi

Fish

meenu

meːnu

Egg

motte

moʈʈe

House

mane

mɑne

Milk

haalu

haːlu

Rice

அக்கி

akːi

Eat

thindhi

t̪ind̪i

Drink

kudhi

kud̪i

Sleep

oɾəgədə

oɾəɡədə

One

ondu

ɔndu

Two

eradu

eraɖu

Three

muuru

muːru

Five

aydu

aidu

Hundred

nuuru

nuːru

Hello

namaskara

nɑmɑskɑrɑ

Thank you

appara santhosha

ɑpːɑrɑ sɑnt̪ɔʃɑ

Good

ollenge

ɔlːeŋɡe

New

ostə

ostə

Red

kempu

kempu

White

velle

ʋeɭːe

Black

kappə

kapːə

Green

pachche

patʃːe

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Dravidian (Southern)

Meaning BadagaKannadaIrulaKodavaTuluTamilProto-Dravidian
Water neeru /neːru/ ನೀರು /niːɾu/ nīr /niːɾ/ ನೀರ್ /niːrɨ/ ನೀರ್ /niːɾ/ நீர் /niːɾ/ *nīr /nīr/
Fire kitcha /kitʃɑ/ ಬೆಂಕಿ /beŋki/ tī /tiː/ ತಿತ್ತ್ /tittɨ/ ತೂ /tuː/ தீ /tiː/ *tī /tī/
Sun hottu /hɔtːu/ ಸೂರ್ಯ /suːɾja/ čūriyen /tʃuːɾijen/ ಸೂರ್ಯ /suːrja/ ಸೂರ್ಯೆ /suːɾje/ சூரியன் /suːɾijan/ *poẓutu /poɻutu/
Moon thinguva /t̪iŋɡuvɑ/ ಚಂದ್ರ /tʃandɾa/ niḷā /niɭaː/ ನೆಲಚಿ /nelatʃi/ ತಿಂಗೊಳು /tiŋɡoɭu/ நிலா /nilaː/ *nilā /nilā/
Star sukki /sukːi/ ನಕ್ಷತ್ರ /nakʂat̪ra/ naṭčattiram /naʈtʃatːiɾam/ ನಕ್ಷತ್ರ /nakʂatra/ ನಕ್ಷತ್ರ /nakʂat̪ra/ நட்சத்திரம் /naʈɕat̪t̪iɾam/ *cukkV /tʃukkV/
Night raatri /raːtri/ ರಾತ್ರಿ /raːt̪ri/ ravu /ravu/ ಬಯಿಟ್ /bajiʈɨ/ ರಾತ್ರೆ /ɾaːtɾe/ இரவு /iɾaʋu/ *irā /iraː/
Rain me /me/ ಮಳೆ /ˈmaɭe/ — ಮಳೆ /maɭe/ ಮಳೆ /ˈmaɭe/ மழை /ˈmaɻai/ *maẓ- /maẓ/
Earth மண்ணு /maɳɳɯ/ ಮಣ್ಣು /maɳːu/ — ಮಣ್ಣ್ /maɳɳɨ/ ಮಣ್ಣ್ /maɳɳ/ மண் /maɳ/ *maṇ /maɳ/
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