Gorum language

Gorum, or Parengi, is a nearly-extinct minor Munda language of India.

Names

The name Gorum most likely comes from an animal/people prefix go- and root -rum meaning 'people', and is possibly related to the ethnonym Remo (Anderson 2008:381).

Parengi, or Parenga, is of obscure origin.

Status

Gorum is 60 percent endangered and may soon become extinct. Few people under the age of thirty years can understand the language, while those who do know it are likely to deny knowing it.^[3] This language seems to have been first researched in 1933.^[4]

Origins

Gorum is a member of the Munda family, as shown by the glottal consonants that are used in creaky voice. However, it has borrowed some elements from nearby Dravidian languages, such as doubly inflected AVC structures.^[5]

Distribution

Gorum speakers are located in the following areas of eastern India (Anderson 2008:381).

• Koraput district, Odisha: the former Nandapur and Pottangi taluks
• Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh: Munchingput block

Gutob is spoken to the north of Gorum, and Gta to the west of Gorum.

References

• Anderson, Gregory D.S (ed). 2008. The Munda languages. Routledge Language Family Series 3.New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-32890-X.

External links

• Endangered Language Project Database
• World Language Movies
• Opino Gomango on Sora language
• Bibliography on the Gorum language
• Gorum Dictionary