Korwa is a
dialect continuum. The two principal varieties are
Korwa (Korowa) and
Koraku (Koɖaku), spoken by the
Korwa and
Kodaku respectively. Out of the Korwa, only the Hill Korwa still speak the language, the others having shifted to regional languages. The Kodaku in
Jharkhand call their language "Korwa". Both speak
Sadri,
Kurukh, or
Chhattisgarhi as a second language, or in the case of Sadri sometimes as their first language. Gregory Anderson (2008:195) lists the following locations for Korowa and Koraku. •
Korowa (Korwa) is spoken in northeastern
Chhattisgarh state, including southern
Surguja district,
Jashpur district, parts of
Raigarh district, and other neighboring areas. Korwa remains poorly documented, and the only documentation is in unpublished manuscripts. •
Koraku is spoken in southern
Mirzapur district and
Sonbhadra district of
Uttar Pradesh, northern
Surguja district of
Chhattisgarh, and
Palamau district and
Garhwa district of
Jharkhand. It remains undocumented except for some kinship terms given in Singh & Danda (1986). According to Singh & Danda (1986:1), "a Kodaku is very clear about the differences between himself and the Korwa and a clear-cut distinction is made when a Korwa asks a Kodaku about his tribe, and vice versa." ==References==