இருளர் மொழி

Irula

Dravidian (Southern, Tamil-Kannada)

FamilyDravidian (Southern, Tamil-Kannada) Speakers~200K ScriptTamil / Latin CountriesIndia (Tamil Nadu — Nilgiri Hills, Kerala, Karnataka) Official inNo (Tamil/Kannada/Malayalam are state languages); recognized indigenous Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3iru

Irula (ISO 639-3: iru) is an independent South Dravidian language spoken by Irula Adivasi communities on the lower slopes of the Nilgiri Hills and in adjoining parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, India. It is closely related to Tamil, especially the Tamil–Malayalam branch, while also showing features shaped by contact with Kannada and other Nilgiri languages. Descriptions distinguish several varieties, including Kasaba or northern Irula, southern Irula, and Urali Irula, though names and boundaries vary. Irula is agglutinative, generally subject–object–verb with relatively flexible word order, and has the retroflex consonants and rich suffixation typical of Dravidian languages. It has a strong oral tradition and may be written in Tamil script or scholarly Latin transcription, but lacks one accepted standard; it has no official status, and census undercounting plus shift toward regional majority languages complicate vitality assessment.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Irula

Water

nīr

niːɾ

Fire

tī

tiː

Sun

čūriyen

tʃuːɾijen

Moon

niḷā

niɭaː

Star

naṭčattiram

naʈtʃatːiɾam

Night

ravu

ravu

Stone

kal

kal

Mother

ammā

amːaː

Father

ayyā

ajːaː

I

nānu

naːnu

You

nī

niː

We

nāvu

naːvu

Name

pēru

peːɾu

Eye

kaṇṇ

kaɳː

Ear

kādu

kaːdu

Nose

mūku

muːku

Mouth

vāyi

vaːji

Tooth

pallu

palːu

Tongue

nāku

naːku

Hand

kayyu

kajːu

Foot

kālu

kaːlu

Heart

idayam

idajam

Bone

elumbu

elumbu

Blood

netaru

netaru

Love

kāhal

kaːhal

Tree

maram

maɾam

Dog

nāyi

naːji

Cat

pūne

puːne

Fish

mīn

miːn

Egg

muṭṭe

muʈːe

House

vīḍu

viːɖu

Milk

pāl

paːl

Honey

tēnu

teːnu

Eat

činnu

tʃinːu

Drink

kuḍi

kuɖi

Sleep

rongu

roŋɡu

One

onnu

onːu

Two

reṇḍu

reɳɖu

Three

mūnru

muːnɾu

Four

nālu

naːlu

Five

anju

aɲdʒu

Hundred

nūru

nuːɾu

Hello

vannakkam

vanːakːam

Thank you

nanri

nanɾi

Good

nalla

nalːa

Red

sikappu

sikappu

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Dravidian (Southern, Tamil-Kannada)

Meaning IrulaTamilMalayalamKannadaKodavaTuluBadaga
Water nīr /niːɾ/ நீர் /niːɾ/ വെള്ളം /ʋeɭːam/ ನೀರು /niːɾu/ ನೀರ್ /niːrɨ/ ನೀರ್ /niːɾ/ neeru /neːru/
Fire tī /tiː/ தீ /tiː/ തീ /t̪iː/ ಬೆಂಕಿ /beŋki/ ತಿತ್ತ್ /tittɨ/ ತೂ /tuː/ kitcha /kitʃɑ/
Sun čūriyen /tʃuːɾijen/ சூரியன் /suːɾijan/ സൂര്യൻ /suːɾjan/ ಸೂರ್ಯ /suːɾja/ ಸೂರ್ಯ /suːrja/ ಸೂರ್ಯೆ /suːɾje/ hottu /hɔtːu/
Moon niḷā /niɭaː/ நிலா /nilaː/ ചന്ദ്രൻ /tʃand̪ɾan/ ಚಂದ್ರ /tʃandɾa/ ನೆಲಚಿ /nelatʃi/ ತಿಂಗೊಳು /tiŋɡoɭu/ thinguva /t̪iŋɡuvɑ/
Star naṭčattiram /naʈtʃatːiɾam/ நட்சத்திரம் /naʈɕat̪t̪iɾam/ നക്ഷത്രം /nakʂat̪ram/ ನಕ್ಷತ್ರ /nakʂat̪ra/ ನಕ್ಷತ್ರ /nakʂatra/ ನಕ್ಷತ್ರ /nakʂat̪ra/ sukki /sukːi/
Night ravu /ravu/ இரவு /iɾaʋu/ രാത്രി /ɾaːt̪ri/ ರಾತ್ರಿ /raːt̪ri/ ಬಯಿಟ್ /bajiʈɨ/ ರಾತ್ರೆ /ɾaːtɾe/ raatri /raːtri/
Stone kal /kal/ கல் /kal/ കല്ല് /ˈkalːɨ/ ಕಲ್ಲು /ˈkallu/ ಕಲ್ಲ್ /kallɨ/ ಕಲ್ಲು /ˈkallu/ கல்லு /kallu/
Mother ammā /amːaː/ அம்மா /ammaː/ അമ്മ /amːa/ ಅಮ್ಮ /amːa/ ಅವ್ವ /avva/ ಅಪ್ಪೆ /appe/ thaaya /t̪ɑːjɑ/
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