Waddar, or Vadari, is a
Dravidian language which belongs to the Telugu branch of its South-Central family, spoken among social caste of
Waddar
Waddar is a caste of Hinduism in India. Waddar, sometimes called Vodra, Odde, or Boyi, is a community from the Deccan Plateau whose traditional occupation is construction. Their major concentration is in Maharashtra, but there are also populations ...
s scattered over South India, especially in
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
, 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.
References
* Chandrashekhar Bhat
Ethnicity and Mobility: Emerging Ethnic Identity and Social Mobility Among the Waddars of South India Concept Publishing Company, 1984.
Agglutinative languages
Dravidian languages
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