The Endangered Languages;
Indian Languages- Extinction;
Maithili;
Magadhi;
Bhojpuri;
Extincted Languages of India;
Reasons of Extinction of Languages;
How to save languages from extinction ?;
Contribution to stop extinction of languages;
UNESCO report on extinct languages
The Endangered And Extinct Languages Of India.pptx
1. The Endangered And
Extinct Languages Of India
Prof. Samirsinh P Parmar
Mail: samirddu@gmail.com, spp.cl@ddu.ac.in
Asst. Professor, Department of Civil Engineering,
Faculty of Technology,
Dharmsinh Desai University, Nadiad-387001
Gujarat, INDIA
4. The UNESCO
• The UNESCO has categorized languages on basis of endangerment as follows -
• Vulnerable
• Definitely Endangered
• Severely Endangered
• Critically Endangered.
• According to UNESCO, 197 languages in India are reported to be endangered of
which 81 are vulnerable followed by definitely endangered (63), severely
endangered (6), critically endangered (42) and already extinct (5)(According to
UNESCO, any language that is spoken by less than 10,000 people is potentially
endangered).
6. Current Situation on Indian languages:
• Ganesh Narayan Devy, who documented 780 Indian languages while
conducting the People’s Linguistic Survey of India in 2010, also, shockingly,
found that 600 of these languages were dying. He added close to 250
languages in India had already died over the past 60 years. Examples of
such languages would be Wadari, Kolhati, Golla, Gisari.
• These are languages of nomadic people in Maharashtra, Karnataka and
Telangana. Then there several tribal languages as well, such as Pauri, Korku,
Haldi, Mavchi.
• In Assam, there is Moran, Tangsa, Aiton. There seems to be about 250
languages that disappeared in the last 60 years. There used to be languages
called Adhuni, Dichi, Ghallu, Helgo, Katagi.
• More than 40 languages or dialects in India are considered to be endangered
and are believed to be heading towards extinction as only a few thousand
people speak them.
7. Current Situation on Indian languages:
• In Karnataka alone(home to around 150 languages belonging
to different language families), Survey by People's Linguistic
Survey of India says of the 10 endangered languages in the
state, 8 are potentially endangered - Koraga, Irula, Soliga,
Badaga, Yerava, Gouli, Bettakuruba and Jenukuruba. Siddi
and Hakki Pikki are critically endangered, as they
are not spoken by the younger generation of the
communities.
• Many of which have very less speakers in different languages,
for instance, Maha Malasar (36), Vitalia (23)
and Kaniyan(413).
8. Languages fighting extinction:
• Vaani (dialect) changes every 4 kos roughly 12km - and paani (water) after every 8 kos. This is a
famous saying in Bihar, which is struggling to keep its many languages and scripts alive, with some
now listed as endangered.
• In September 2022, the Bihar government pledged institutional support to eight languages:
Sanskrit, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Magahi. Angika, Baijika, Bangla and Surjapuri.
• However. experts say a language needs care, and political and social patronage to develop and
flourish.
• "If my language is looked down upon by society, how will I feel proud of it? If there is no job
opportunity in linguistics, why should one opt for a language?"-asks Sweta Sinha of IIT-Patna.
• "In the Hindi belt, most people list Hindi as their mother tongue, not Bhojpuri or Magahi."
• The 2011 Census listed 1,369 mother tongues in the country But many such languages and scripts
are either no longer spoken or are slowly going extinct.
• "The state government created various academies for the development of languages.
• But the academies' directorships became political posts," says Subhash Sharma, former
development commissioner of Bihar and author of Bhasha Aur Lipi Ka Itihaas.
9. Buddha's Language
• Pali is the language of Buddha's sermons.
• It is taught in Allahabad, Magadh and Patna universities.
• Till 2013, UPSC aspirants could opt for it as a subject.
• "The good news for Pali is that the language is not yet dead.
• At least one lakh people speak Pali across the country.
• It is now being taught at Fergusson College, Pune, and several other universities in
Maharashtra.
• But there is a need to do more for this language," says Dinkar Prasad, additional
commissioner (admin), Darbhanga Division.
• He is a PhD in Pali with a gold medal from Delhi University and has taught the language
to many UPSC aspirants.
• "The governments of UP and Bihar should at least introduce this language in Class 12, if
notfor PG and graduation. Buddha was born, found enlightenment, gave his first sermon
and attained Mahaparinirvana in these two states. Most of his sermons are in Pali… It
must be reintroduced in UPSC as an option," Prasad adds.
10. Old Documents In Kaithi
• Bihar government offices used the Kaithi script till the early 1900s.
• Now, it isn't easy to find people who understand it. "In Bihar, most court cases are
related to land disputes and many old land documents are written in Kaithi," says
Bhairab Lal Das, author of a book on the history of the Kaithi script.
• Jayant Kumar, a professor at NIFT, Patna, has been working on developing key
fonts in the Kaithi script.
• The state government recently organized a crash course on Kaithi in Tilka Manjhi
, Bhagalpur University with 30-40 participants.
• This is a very good sign.
• For the development of any language or script, it must be used in regular writing
or reading in society," he says.
11. Only Official Native Language
• Maithili is the only native language of Bihar in the Eighth Schedule of the
Constitution, which lists India's official languages. Its script known as Mithilakshar
or Tiruhata is one of the oldest scripts in which Sanskrit is written.
• After a long-drawn agitation in the Mithilanchal region, Maithili was included in
the Eighth Schedule in 2003. It was also included as an optional subject in UPSC.
• However, Bihar Public Service Commission is yet to include it as an optional
subject in exams, says Aruna Chaudhary head of Maithili department at Patna
University "Moreover, teaching this language has been discontinued in most
Patna University colleges as there are few takers," she adds.
• Madan Mohan Jha, a Maithili-speaking schoolteacher, says: "I am from Mithilan-
chal. I speak Maithili with my mother and wife. But my kids don't want to speak it."
13. Inferiority Complex
• Nearly 30km east of Patna, at Pali village, people speak Magahi in a dialect different from
Patna’s.
• And if you travel 50km west from Patna, people in Jehanabad, speak it differently
Similarly, Bhojpuri, prevalent in Bhojpur, Buxar, Kaimur, Rohtas,
• Saran, Siwan and Gopalganj, is spoken differently in Chhapra, Ara and Sasaram.
"Bhojpuri is limited to villages or the downtrodden people.
• If you speak Bhojpuri or Magahi in Patna, people look down upon you.
• You will seldom find two Bhojpuri or Magahi-speaking people talking in their mother
tongue.
• Maithili is the only language people can be heard talking in.
• That's why Maithili is placed better than other Bihar languages… My kids don't want to
speak Bhojpuri because they have an inferiority complex about the language," says
Vishnu Kant Tiwari, a Bhojpuri speaker.
( )
14.
15. ENDANGERED , VULNERABLE OR LOST LANGUAGES
• Pali (extinct): Therigatha, an anthology of poems by Buddhist nuns
in Pali, is one of the oldest examples of women's writing in the world.
It was compiled between the 6th and 3rd centuries BCE.
• Kaithi (endangered): It flourished after the Gupta dynasty. In the
16th century, Sher Shah introduced coins in Kaithi and it became the
language of various government records. After him, Mughals
emphasised on Persian.
• Tharu (endangered): During the Mughal era, many Rajputs from
Rajasthan fled to the UP- Bihar border, according to lore. Their
language was Tharu. Most families in Champaran that spoke Tharu
have adopted Bhojpuri as their mother tongue.
• Magahi (vulnerable): This language was derived from Magadhi.
Earlier, Magadhi became Ardh-Magadhi, giving birth to three
16. ENDANGERED , VULNERABLE OR LOST LANGUAGES
• languages - Magahi, Awadhi and Bhojouri.
• Magahi is used in nine districts of Bihar.
• Angika, Bajjika (endangered): There have been calls to save Angika, the
language named by Rahul Sankrityayan, eminent litterateur and doyen of
Buddhist studies.
• Armik (endangered): This script came to India from Afghanistan, and is
now lost.
• Musasa (vulnerable): Used to be spoken along the Bihar-Nepal border.
• Khortha': It was in use allong the Bihar-
• Jharkhand border. Lathori": Lathori language speakers, primarily
nomadic, were settled in the Buxar district.
• Brahmi": Considered to be one of the oldest scripts in the country, it gave
birth to languages like Gujarati and Bengali.
17. Aka-Bo language
• Aka-Bo language(Bo/Ba language is an Great Andamanese
language) - The last speaker of an ancient tribal language(Boa
Sr) has died in the Andaman Islands, breaking a 65,000-year
link to one of the world's oldest cultures.(Extinct- 2010).
Boa Sr, the last speaker of the Bo
language of the Andaman Islands,
has died. Photograph: Alok Das.
18. A list prepared by UNESCO of 42 languages or dialects in India that
are endangered and they may be heading towards extinction
11 from Andaman and Nicobar
Islands
1. Great Andamanese
2. Jarawa,
3. Lamongse
4. Luro
5. Muot
6. Onge
7. Pu
8. Sanenyo
9. Sentilese
10. Shompen
11. Takahanyilang
7 from Manipur
1. Aimol
2. Aka
3. Koiren
4. Lamgang
5. Langrong
6. Purum
7. Tarao
19. A list prepared by UNESCO of 42 languages or dialects in India that
are endangered and they may be heading towards extinction
4 Himachal Pradesh
1. Baghati
2. Handuri
3. Pangvali
4. Sirmaudi
Other Languages in Endangered
Category
1. Manda, Parji and Pengo (Odisha),
2. Koraga and Kuruba (Karnataka)
3. Gadaba and Naiki (AP)
4. Kota and Toda (Tamil Nadu)
5. Mra and Na (Arunachal Pradesh)
6. Tai Nora and Tai Rong (Assam)
7. Bangani (Uttarakhand)
8. Birhor (Jharkhand)
9. Nihali (Maharashtra)
10. Ruga (Meghalaya)
11. Toto (West Bengal)
20. How Do Languages Become Extinct?
• The different languages and dialects spoken in India tend to have a certain
hierarchy.
• In a region flooded with many dialects and languages, there ought to be
one dominant language.
• Usually, smaller and less-spoken languages are overshadowed and
dismissed by more popular languages in the region.
• People are motivated to speak the popular tongue as it allows for greater
social cohesion and makes it easier to communicate with one another.
• As a result, minority languages are spoken less, and gradually disappear
over decades.
• This has been the case for plenty of Indian languages.
Khushi Makasare Mar 22, 2023
Ref: https://www.prathaculturalschool.com/post/extinct-indian-languages
22. Reasons for dying native languages of India?
The decline and endangerment of native languages in India can
be attributed to a combination of historical, social, economic, and
political factors. Here are some key reasons for the decline of
native languages in India:
1.Colonial Legacy:
The British colonial period had a significant impact on indigenous
languages. English was promoted as the language of administration and
education, leading to the neglect and marginalization of many native
languages.
2.Language Policies:
The post-independence language policies in India, including the adoption
of Hindi as the official language, have sometimes marginalized other
regional languages. This has led to tensions between speakers of
different languages.
23. Reasons for dying native languages of India?
3. Globalization and Urbanization:
The increasing influence of globalization and urbanization often leads to
a preference for dominant languages associated with economic
opportunities. Younger generations may choose to speak languages
perceived as more advantageous in terms of education and employment.
4. Economic Factors:
Many native languages are associated with rural or traditional
occupations. As people move to urban areas for better economic
prospects, they may feel compelled to adopt the languages spoken in
those urban centers, contributing to the decline of their native languages.
24. Reasons for dying native languages of India?
5. Educational System:
The education system, which often prioritizes the use of major languages
of instruction, can contribute to the erosion of indigenous languages.
Lack of educational materials, qualified teachers, and support for native
languages in schools further accelerates their decline.
6. Media Influence:
Mainstream media, including television, films, and online content,
predominantly uses major languages. This can lead to a decline in the
use and visibility of native languages, especially among younger
generations influenced by media trends.
25. Reasons for dying native languages of India?
7. Migration:
Internal migration and displacement of communities can contribute to the
loss of native languages. Migrants may adopt the language of the region
they move to, often leaving their native languages behind.
8. Linguistic Diversity:
India is incredibly diverse linguistically, with a vast number of languages
spoken across the country. The coexistence of numerous languages can
lead to competition, with some languages gaining dominance over
others.
26. Reasons for dying native languages of India?
9. Lack of Institutional Support:
Many native languages lack institutional support, including resources for
language documentation, development of teaching materials, and
promotion. This lack of support hampers efforts to revitalize and sustain
these languages.
10.Social Stigma:
Some native languages may be associated with lower social status, and
speakers may face discrimination or stigmatization. This can lead to a
loss of pride in one's linguistic heritage and a reluctance to pass the
language on to future generations.
27. Reasons for dying native languages of India?
• Concluding remarks: Efforts to address language decline in
India should involve a combination of educational reforms,
cultural initiatives, community engagement, and policy changes
that support linguistic diversity and encourage the preservation
of native languages. Recognizing the importance of each
language and promoting multilingualism can contribute to a
more inclusive linguistic landscape.
28. How to conserve a dying languages?
• It is very simple. We need to create livelihood support for the
speakers of the language. If they have livelihood available within
their language, nobody would want to switch from their language to
any other language.”
• The Scheme for Protection and Preservation of Endangered
Languages (SPPEL), which started in 2013 at CIIL (Central Institute
of Indian Languages, Mysore), aims to document about 520
languages.
• To begin with, 117 languages have been taken for documentation
and descriptions tasks.
• India's Endangered Languages Need to Be Digitally Documented.
29. How to conserve a dying language?
1. Documentation:
• Recording and Archiving: Document the language through
recordings, videos, and written materials. Create a
comprehensive archive that includes vocabulary, grammar
rules, stories, and cultural practices associated with the
language.
30. How to conserve a dying language?
2. Community Involvement:
• Community Engagement: Encourage active participation and
engagement from the community speakers. Involve them in
language revitalization efforts to instill a sense of ownership and
pride in their linguistic heritage.
• Community Language Programs: Establish language
classes, workshops, and immersion programs within the
community to teach the language to new generations. These
programs can include both formal and informal settings.
31. How to conserve a dying language?
3. Inter-generational Transmission:
• Family and Home Environment: Promote the use of the
language within families and at home. Encourage parents and
grandparents to speak the language with younger generations
to facilitate inter-generational transmission.
• Storytelling and Oral Tradition: Emphasize the importance of
oral traditions, storytelling, and folklore as means of passing
down linguistic and cultural knowledge. Create platforms for
elders to share their wisdom through oral narratives.
32. How to conserve a dying language?
4. Education:
• Incorporate Language in Schools: Work with educational
institutions to integrate the endangered language into school
curricula. Offer language classes, bilingual education, or
immersion programs to ensure that children are exposed to the
language from an early age.
• Teacher Training: Train teachers to become proficient in the
endangered language and provide them with the necessary
resources to effectively teach it. Support the development of
language teaching materials.
33. How to conserve a dying language?
5. Technological Tools:
• Digital Resources: Leverage technology to create digital
resources, such as online dictionaries, language-learning apps,
and interactive multimedia content. These tools can make the
language more accessible to a wider audience.
• Social Media and Online Communities: Establish online
communities where speakers of the language can connect,
share resources, and engage in discussions. Social media
platforms can be powerful tools for fostering a sense of
community among language enthusiasts.
34. How to conserve a dying language?
6. Cultural Revitalization:
• Cultural Events and Festivals: Organize cultural events,
festivals, and celebrations that highlight the linguistic and
cultural heritage associated with the language. This can help
create a positive environment for language use.
• Collaboration with Cultural Institutions: Partner with
museums, cultural centers, and other institutions to showcase
the endangered language through exhibits, performances, and
interactive displays.
35. How to conserve a dying language?
7. Advocacy and Policy Support:
• Advocacy Campaigns: Raise awareness about the importance
of language preservation through advocacy campaigns. Garner
support from government agencies, NGOs, and the wider
community.
• Policy Development: Advocate for policies that support the
preservation of endangered languages, including recognition,
funding, and inclusion in official documents.
36. Conclusion:
• Conserving a dying language requires sustained efforts,
collaboration, and a deep understanding of the linguistic
and cultural context.
• Combining multiple strategies can contribute to a
comprehensive and effective language revitalization
initiative.
