questionnaire results indicate that Muthuvan people, especially the young, generally understand Malayalam better than Tamil. However, many old people understand Tamil better.
6.1.4 Language use, attitudes and vitality study
The results of language use study among Muthuvan people show that they use their mother tongue often in the important domains of home, village and religion. Mother tongue language use among their children
also appears to be strong. Malayalam, the state language of Kerala, is mainly used for education and contact with Malayalis and other tribal communities. Tamil is also used to some extent when they want to
communicate with Tamiliyans.
The study of language attitudes indicates that Muthuvan people have an attitude that favours the maintenance of their mother tongue. Even though they appreciate the use of language of wider
communication, they do not look down on their language in any way. Both Tamil Muthuvan and Malayalam Muthuvan people seem to generally appreciate their own language variety.
The results from language vitality study show the likely continuation of the mother tongue. Their opposition to inter-community marriage and the pattern that children first learn their mother tongue
support the continuation of the Muthuvan language. The people believe that the younger generation will continue to speak their mother tongue, and it would appear that a great deal of language shift might not
occur in the near future. Observations of the language community concur with these questionnaire results.
6.2 Mannan
One of the goals of the survey was to ascertain the difference between the scheduled tribe and scheduled caste Mannan in terms of language and people. It was found that, although their names are spelled in the
same way in Romanised script, they are separate groups without any connection. In fact, the scheduled tribe Mannan [m
ʌnnan] have their own language, whereas the scheduled caste Mannan [mʌɳɳan] speak Malayalam.
6.2.1 Lexical similarity study
Although some sources had reported that Mannan is a dialect of Tamil, the lexical study has shown that they are different languages. The Mannan wordlists also share a low degree of lexical similarity with
Malayalam. The lexical similarity study also shows that the speech varieties of Mannan villages may be quite
similar. One of the wordlists displayed slight variation, which may be due to the influence of Malayalam.
6.2.2 Dialect intelligibility
Some RTT subjects suggested that there may be minor variation among the speech varieties of Mannan in their style, wording and tone. Despite these comments, most subjects understood the Mannan story used
for testing.
6.2.3 Bilingualism study
6.2.3.1 Malayalam Recorded Text Testing
The Mannan subjects scored quite well on the Malayalam RTT, showing good comprehension of a simple narrative story. However, these results strongly suggest the need for a more in-depth assessment of the
bilingual proficiency of this group, to confirm whether Malayalam materials may fulfil the literary needs of the entire community. This is due to the fact that an RTT can only accurately measure lower levels of
bilingualism.
6.2.3.2 Questionnaire and observations
The self-reported questionnaire among Mannan subjects shows that most of them feel they are able to comprehend conversation in Malayalam. It was observed that the educated of the community and those
who have high contact with outsiders especially young people and men are more bilingual in Malayalam. However, one cannot be objectively certain how much of the community would be able to
fully understand complex materials written in Malayalam.
6.2.4 Language use, attitudes and vitality study
The questionnaire results and observations show that a majority of the Mannan subjects use their mother tongue in home, village and religious domains. However, a trend towards greater use of Malayalam in the
home and village domains is slowly taking place. The mother tongue is used quite often by children and with children. This makes it seem that a great deal of language shift may not occur in the near future.
The study of language attitudes among the Mannan reveals that they have a generally positive attitude towards their mother tongue, especially for communication among themselves. The Mannan
people primarily prefer Malayalam when dealing with outsiders. The greatest favouritism towards the LWC is found among the educated young people. The use of the LWC in more traditional domains is
tolerated. The people consider their mother tongue to be as good as the LWC. However, as is the case in most tribal groups, the Mannan people appreciate the use of an LWC, as it provides prosperity and
prestige.
The overall questionnaire responses provide some inferences about the future of the Mannan language. The present trend of language use and attitudes of the Mannan subjects towards their mother
tongue support the continuation of their language and may help avoid language shift in the immediate future. However, the main factors that may decrease the use of their mother tongue in the future are the
impact of education, the acceptance of inter-community marriage and the influence of Malayalam. The informal interviews show the community’s desire to have materials in their mother tongue. The attempts
by community leaders in this regard provide hope for the survival and development of the vernacular language of the Mannan people.
7 Recommendations
7.1 Muthuvan
