Waddar language

Waddar (Vadee rajulu), or Vadari, is a dialect of the Telugu language spoken among social caste of Waddars scattered over South India, especially in Karnataka, where it has a status of Scheduled caste. 200,000 people reported their languages as ‘Vadari’ in the 2011 census. Ethnologue treats it as separate Dravidian language closely related to Telugu, but without clear grounds. Waddars show their close relevance to Kaikadis.

Waddar
Native to India, Nepal, Pakistan
Region Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra
Ethnicity Waddar
Native speakers
200,000 (2011 census)[1]
Language family
Dravidian

  • South-Central
    • Telugu-Kui
      • Proto-Telugu
        • Telugu
          • Waddar
Writing system
Telugu alphabet
Language codes
ISO 639-3 wbq
Glottolog wadd1237