Linguist from University of Hyderabad have discovered two endangered languages Walmiki and Malhar predominantly spoken in remote regions of Odisha.
They were discovered by Professor Panchanan Mohanty as part of activity of Centre for Endangered Languages and Mother Tongue Studies.
Walmiki is spoken in district of Koraput of Odisha and on bordering districts of Andhra Pradesh. It is an isolate language and does not belonged to particular family of languages.
Malhar is spoken in a remote and isolated hamlet about 165 km away from Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
Malhar belongs to “North Dravidian subgroup of Dravidian family of languages.
It has close affinities with other North Dravidian languages like Malto and Kurux spoken in Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bihar.