| 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.
The Kherwarian languages, and to some extent, Korku and Kharia, also seems to lack discrete evidence for the existence of the usualparts of speech categories such asnouns,verbs,adjectives. One lexeme can do all the functions without any kind ofmorphological derivation.
Like many other Munda languages, the Kherwarian languages are pronominalized languages with complex verbal agreement systems. Double- and triple agreements, even with indexation of an possessor of the logical object or subject are possible. However, the ability to index a third argument is restricted to the Santali-esque languages such as Santali, Karmali, Mahali, and particular Santalized varieties of Ho, and the Mundari-esque languages do not.[6] In some languages such asKɔɖa,Turi,Birhor, the status of subject markers seems to be intermediate between suffix and clitic, suggesting a third subtype of Kherwarian.[7]
1).Ho
sab-ke-d-kin-a=le
catch.hold.of-ACT.AOR-TR-3DU.OBJ-FIN=1PL.SUBJ
'we seized them two'
2).Santali
hɔpɔn=e idi-ke-d-e-tiɲ-a
son=3SG.SUBJ take.away-ACT.AOR-TR-3SG.OBJ-POSS.1SG-FIN
'he took away my son'
3).Ho (Mayurbhanj dialect)
Table below summarizes nominal markings using cases and postpositions in Kherwarian lects and Korku:[8]
| Accusative | Dative | Oblique | Genitive | Instrumental | Comitative | Locative | Ablative | Allative | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santali | -ʈʰɛn | -ren/-ak/-rɛak | -tɛ | -ʈʰɛn/-ʈʰɛtʃ | -rɛ | -kʰon | -sen/-setʃ | ||
| Mundari | (naŋgen) | -ke | -aʔ | -te | -re | -ate | |||
| Keraʔ Mundari | -ke | -ta/-ke | -aʔ/-raʔ | -loŋ | -re | -se | |||
| Ho | -ren/-aʔ/-re-aʔ | -te | -loʔ | -re | -(e)te | -te | |||
| Bhumij | -ren | -te | -lo | -re | -ate | -te | |||
| Birhor | -ke | -a/-ʈʰi(n)/-ren | -te | -lo | -re | -te | -te | ||
| Korku | -khè | -kʰè | -à(ʔ) | -ten | -gon | -èn | -àten/-tan/-te | -ʈae |
Proto-North Munda indexation clitics were reconstructed by Pinnow (1966), Anderson & Zide (2001), and Anderson (2007). Below is a chart showcasing reconstructions by Anderson (2007) and their modern reflex forms (subject/agent):
| 1SG | 1DU.INCL | 1DU.EXCL | 1PL.INCL | 1PL.EXCL | 2SG | 2DU | 2PL | 3SG | 3DU | 3PL | INAN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santali | =(i)ɲ | =laŋ | =liɲ | =bo(n) | =le | =m(e) | =ben | =pe | =e/=i | =kin | =ko | -i/-e |
| Mundari | =ɲ | =laŋ | =liŋ | =bu | =le | =m(e) | =ben | =pe | =e/=i/=eʔ/=iʔ | =kiŋ | =ko | -Ø |
| Keraʔ Mundari | =(i)ɲ | =laŋ | =liŋ | =bu | =le | =(e)m(e) | =b(e)n | =pe | =e/=i/=iʔ | =kin | =ku | -e/aʔ |
| Ho | =iɲ | =laŋ | =liɲ | =bu | =le | =m | =ben | =pe | =e/=i/=ʔ/=eʔ/=Ø | =kiɲ | =ku | -e |
| Asuri | =iŋ/=n | =(a)laŋ | =(a)liŋ | =(a)bu | =(a)le | =(a)m | =(a)ben | =(a)pe | =(a)e | =(a)kin | =(a)ku | -Ø |
| Birhor | =iŋ/=ĩ | =laŋ | =liŋ | =bu | =le | =m/=me | =ben | =pe | =e | =kin | =ku | -Ø |
| Kɔɖa | =iŋ | =laŋ | =liŋ | =bu | =lɛ | =m/=p | =bɛn | =pɛ | =ɛ | =kin | =ku | -Ø |
| Turi | =ɛŋ/=ɲ(iɲ) | =laŋ | =liɲ | =pu | =lɛ | =m/=p | =bin | =pɛ | =ɛ | =kin | =ku | -Ø |
| Proto-North Munda | =iɲ/=iŋ | =laŋ | =liŋ | =bu | =le | =me | =ben | =pe | =e/=idʒ | =kiɲ/kiŋ | =ku/=ko |
Low-level subgroup innovations of the Kherwarian languages include:
RegionalIndo-Aryan languages such asKhortha,Sadri, andKurmali have been observed as parts of aJharkhandisprachbund with the Kherwarian lects, mainly cited to intenselanguage contact and high degree ofmultilingualism.