ABSTRACT

Sources and Dialects Kolami is spoken by 80,000 people who live near Wardha and Kinwat in Maha­ rashtra and in the Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh (1981 Census). The lan­ guage comprises three dialects: Adilabad (A), Naikri (N) and Wardha (W). The speakers call themselves kölavar (W)/kolavar (A) ‘Kolam’ and their language kölav päna (W)/kolava gotti (A) ‘Kolami’. Most Kolams also speak Marathi, a fact that has naturally influenced the structure of Kolami. While Grierson (1906: 561-5) first recognised Kolami as a distinct Dravidian language, others had not­ ed its distinctiveness earlier. As a Central Dravidian language, Kolami is most closely related to Gadaba, Naiki of Chanda and Parji.