Whither those Unheard Voices? Neglected Languages of India-Juniper Publishers
Archaeology & Anthropology- Juniper Publishers
Language has been the cornerstone of many cultural
and political actions throughout human history. Apart from being an
evolutionary advantage that sets humans apart from other living forms
[1], language is a carrier of valuable cultural artefacts as well. The
political significance of language is much more prominent and pronounced
in multi-lingual societies like India. The division of the Indian union
into different states was done largely on the basis of regional
languages. Language as a political tool has dominated its perceptions
and usage in the Indian society [2,3]. As a corollary of this domination
of political significance, certain other aspects of the languages of
India have received scant attention, more so in the academia, with only a
few notable and relatively recent exceptions. An approach based on the
principles and findings of linguistic anthropology is what is largely
absent at present.
A number of Indian languages have been reported as on
the verge of extinction. The most recent estimates by the Government
agencies had pegged more than 40 languages as under threat of
extinction, with less then 10,000 speakers alive. However, such
conservative estimates often fail to take into consideration many
crucial aspects such as the diminishing functionality of minority
languages. Also, many accounts fail to count the various dialects and
the tribal languages, which are more at risk of extinction. While the
rights and importance of regional languages are protected by the Indian
Constitution, measures for the conservation of minority languages such
as those spoken by the various tribal groups have not been implemented
effectively. An exception is the setting up of a Central Institute of
Indian Languages in 1969. The institution has however, not been able to
intervene in the matter of endangered languages so as to make notable
impacts. This is true especially in the issue of using local
languages as educational tools, despite evidence of minority languages
as effective educational instruments [4].
Commendable efforts have been done by
non-governmental movements such as the People’s Linguistic Survey of
India, which was able to document about 800 languages used all over
India [5]. However, documentation forms only a step, albeit the most
significant one, in the larger policy-level framework of action needed
for the protection and futuristic development of languages at risk. What
is needed in the area of minority languages of India, especially the
tribal languages, is a realisation of the significance of language as a
storehouse of cultural artefacts and knowledge. Studies incorporating
the principles of linguistic anthropology can supply the much needed
academic insight into the working of a language as an element of human
development and cultural history. The way each language stores and
propagates knowledge, values, and local history should form the basis
for research and action, rather than the romanticized notions of
preservation, which carry the risk of reducing the whole exercise into
an act of charity and eventually dissipating the conservation efforts.
It is also crucial that new content be created in each language,
amenable to the ever-growing corpus offered by new media and the
internet, thus creating visibility and utility for each language so as
to ensure their survival.
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