Erava

Erava (often identified with or closely related to Ravula) belongs to the Dravidian language family, specifically classified within the Southern Dravidian subgroup.

Speakers

The total number of Erava speakers remains highly uncertain due to varying classifications under the "Yerava" or "Ravula" labels. However, scholarly estimates and tribal surveys place the ethnic speaker population at approximately 25,000 to 30,000, as indexed in reports like the Census of India 2011.

Distribution in India

Erava is primarily spoken in the Southern region of India. Its principal concentration is in the Kodagu (Coorg) district of Karnataka, with some speakers also residing in the neighboring districts of Kerala.

Major grammatical features

• Phonology: Erava features a typical South Dravidian phonological system, including a distinction between short and long vowels, and a consonant inventory that features retroflex stops (/ʈ/, /ɖ/), nasals (/ɳ/), and laterals (/ɭ/).
• Morphology: It is a highly agglutinative language. Nouns inflect for case (including nominative, accusative, dative, genitive, and locative) and number. Verbs inflect for tense (distinguishing past and non-past), mood, and aspect, typically agreeing with the subject in person, number, and gender.
• Syntax: The basic word order is Subject-Object-Verb (SOV). It is a head-final language employing postpositions rather than prepositions, and relative clauses precede the nouns they modify.

Further reading

For more information, see the Wikipedia Search for Erava Language.