| Kherwarian | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | India,Bangladesh,Nepal,Bhutan |
| Linguistic classification | Austroasiatic
|
| Proto-language | Proto-Kherwarian |
| Subdivisions |
|
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | kher1245 |
 Approximate locations and distribution of the Kherwarian languages | |
TheKherwarian languages consist of non-Korku NorthMunda languages that are mainly spoken inEastern Indian states ofJharkhand,West Bengal,Bihar,Odisha,Chhattisgarh and neighboring countries ofBangladesh,Nepal, andBhutan. Together, Korku and the Kherwarianlanguage continuum form the conventional North Munda branch of theAustroasiatic language family.[1][2][3]
TheDravidian-speakingKurukh people inRanchi suburbs have adopted a creolized dialect of KherwarianMundari called Keraʔ Mundari. Its verbal morphology is less complex than an average Austroasiatic Kherwarian language.[4][5]
Vowel harmony in Kherwarian affixes yields some differences depending on the nature of the vowel of the verb stem, while others do not. There are harmonic and non-harmonic affixes. In phonological lexical words, disyllables have certain vowel restrictions.
Stress is fixedly released at the second syllable. LH (weak-strong) prosodic word pattern is pervasive even in morphological words. UnlikeKorku, the Kherwarian languages lack phonemictones, giving a good reason for the Korku-Kherwarian classification of North Munda.
Like many other Munda languages, the Kherwarian languages are pronominalized languages with complex verbal agreement systems. Encoding double- and triple agreements with a third argument or non-argument are possible, and indexation of the third argument usually involves a possessor.
1).Ho
sab-ke-d-kin-a=le
catch.hold.of-AOR-TR-3DU.OBJ-FIN=1PL.SUBJ
'we seized them two'
2).Santali
hɔpɔn=e idi-ke-d-e-tiŋ-a
son=3SG.SUBJ.M take.away-AOR-TR-3SG.OBJ-POSS.1SG-FIN
'he took away my son'
3).Ho (Mayurbhanj dialect)
Low-level subgroup innovations of the Kherwarian languages include: