The Coorgi Alphabet

Coorgi ^[1] is the English name for Kodava Takk — a South Dravidian language spoken by the Kodava people of Coorg (Kodagu district), Karnataka, India. The name "Coorgi" derives from the British colonial anglicisation of Kodagu.

The CIIL documents Coorgi (Kodagu) as a distinct South Dravidian language with its own phonological system, separate from Kannada despite sharing the Kannada writing system.

The ISO 639-3 code is kfa, covering all three names: Coorgi, Kodagu and Kodava Takk.

Coorgi ^[1] and Kodagu refer to the same language — Kodava Takk. "Coorgi" is the English colonial name derived from the British name for Coorg, while "Kodagu" is the Kannada name for the region and the language.

In linguistic literature, ISO 639-3 code kfa covers both names. The CIIL uses "Kodagu" as the standard academic name.

"Coorgi" remains in use in English-language contexts and among the diaspora community, while speakers themselves prefer the endonym "Kodava Takk."

Coorgi (Kodava Takk) ^[1] is spoken primarily in Kodagu district (Coorg) of Karnataka — the highland region in the Western Ghats known for coffee plantations and the martial traditions of the Kodava people.

The CIIL documents Coorgi as a minority language of the Coorg highlands, with diaspora communities also found in Mysore, Mangalore, Bengaluru and beyond.

The Kodava community has historically served in large numbers in the Indian Army, creating Kodava-speaking communities across India far from Kodagu itself.

Coorgi (Kodava Takk) ^[2] is written in the Kannada script — a Brahmic abugida encoded in the Unicode Kannada block (U+0C80–U+0CFF).

The Kannada script is shared with the Kannada language, Tulu and several other languages of Karnataka.

The Unicode Consortium encodes all the letters needed for Coorgi writing within this block, making Coorgi text compatible with modern digital systems.

Coorgi (Kodava Takk) ^[1] belongs to the South Dravidian I subgroup of the Dravidian language family — the same broad grouping as Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada.

The CIIL documents Coorgi as a distinct branch within South Dravidian I, genetically related to but not mutually intelligible with Kannada.

Kodava Takk preserves archaic Dravidian features that distinguish it from the major literary languages of the region.

Coorgi ^[1] is not mutually intelligible with Kannada despite sharing the Kannada script. The CIIL documents Kodagu (Coorgi) and Kannada as distinct languages within the South Dravidian I subgroup.

While Coorgi uses the Kannada writing system ^[2], the phonological systems, grammar and vocabulary differ significantly between the two languages.

Kodava Takk speakers in Karnataka typically learn Kannada as a second language for education and administration, but the two remain linguistically separate.

Coorgi ^[1] is an English colonial-era exonym derived from "Coorg" — the British anglicisation of Kodagu. "Coorgi" refers both to the people of Coorg and to their language, Kodava Takk.

In academic linguistic literature, the ISO 639-3 code kfa covers the language known variously as Coorgi, Kodagu and Kodava Takk.

The endonym — the name used by speakers themselves — is Kodava Takk, meaning "the language of the Kodava people."

Coorgi (Kodava Takk) ^[1] faces long-term pressure from Kannada — the official language of Karnataka and the medium of education and administration in the region.

While the Kodava people maintain a strong cultural identity, Kodava Takk is a minority language spoken primarily in Kodagu district. Younger Kodava people in cities increasingly use Kannada or English as their primary language.

The CIIL supports documentation of minority Indian languages including Kodagu, and there are community efforts to promote Kodava Takk among younger generations.