Alternate Names: Coorge, Kadagi, Khurgi, Kodagu, Kotagu, Kurja, Kurug
Dialects: None known. May be more than 1 language. 66% intelligibility of Malappuram ,. Lexical similarity: 72% with Malappuram Paniya ,.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 200,000 (2001). Ethnic population: 200,000. 100,000 in Kodagu District; 100,000 in Karnataka District and major cities.
Language Use: Vigorous. L1 of Airi, Male-Kudiya, Meda, Kembatti, Kapal, Maringi, Heggade, Kavadi, Kolla, Thatta, Koleya, Koyava, Banna, Golla, Kanya, Ganiga, and Malaya. Home, community, religion. 50% also use English [eng]. 80% also use Kannada [kan]. Also use Malayalam [mal]. Used as L2 by Kudiya [kfg].
Language Development: Literacy rate in L2: More than 95% in Kannada [kan]. Newspapers. Radio programs. Films. TV.
Writing System: Kannada
Nation of Origin: India
Other Comments: A symbol of identity. ‘Kodagu’, situated to the west. Northern variety has emerged as standard and is used in Kodava literature (Rajyashree 2001). Hindu, traditional religion.