Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Kurukh language
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images
Thematic map of South Asia showing the distribution of Dravidian languages, with different regions shaded or marked to indicate where specific Dravidian languages and subgroups are spoken. Most languages are concentrated in southern and central India, with some northern outliers in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and eastern India. A key identifies the languages by number and subgroup, and striped areas indicate regions where several subgroups overlap. North Dravidian languages
Quizzes
Buddhist engravings on wall in Thailand. Hands on wall. Hompepage blog 2009, history and society, science and technology, geography and travel, explore discovery
Languages & Alphabets
Quick Facts
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites

Kurukh language

Also known as: Oraon language
Written by
Bhadriraju Krishnamurti
Vice Chancellor emeritus, University of Hyderabad. Author of The Dravidian Languages and Comparative Dravidian Linguistics: Current Perspectives.
Bhadriraju Krishnamurti
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

Kurukh language, member of the North Dravidian subfamily of Dravidian languages. In the early 21st century, Kurukh was spoken by some 1.75 million people, predominantly in the Oraon tribes of the Chota Nagpur plateau of east-central India. Kurukh is also spoken in parts of Bangladesh. Lacking a written tradition, Kurukh is documented only since the European colonization of India, and in many areas it is being displaced by the Hindi language.

Bhadriraju Krishnamurti