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.