Revive dying native languages, cultures

Periodical surveys of the status of languages in the world increasingly point to the existential threat faced by most of them. A large number of them, especially those spoken in a small territory or scattered across regions, and most indigenous and tribal languages are on the verge of extinction. It is not just the speakers of these languages or linguists who are worried about the trend. The United Nations has noted that at least one tribal language faces extinction every two weeks. The Unesco’s Atlas of World’s Languages in Danger is a guide to the status of languages in different stages of vulnerability, and its every edition raises more and more red signals. It lists about 2,500 languages but notes that 250 of them have gone extinct in the last 70 years. At this rate of extinction, about 90% of the world's languages may be lost before 2100.

Languages are not only the means of communication but also repositories of thousands of years of social and historical experience and accumulated traditional knowledge. Every language represents a civilization and is a window to the world. It also delineates identities of various kinds like geographical and ethnic specificities. That is why it is important to preserve them. But most languages are fighting hopeless battles and losing themselves into silence. The tide of globalisation and the homogeneity that it forces on the conduct and cultures of people are major reasons for the disappearance of many languages. Migration often means abandoning of the mother tongue and adoption of other languages by communities. An educational system and social and economic lives dominated by one or two languages cause other languages to fall into disuse and disappear. Many communities find that their languages are no longer useful for them. That is why 96% of the world’s existing languages are spoken by about 3% of the population.

It is impossible to revive a language if it becomes seriously endangered. Preserving a language in books and speech labs does not help. It is dead if it is not spoken by people. The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues has underlined the importance of keeping languages alive as they are central to the cultures and world views of many communities. But it is a difficult situation, and languages follow the law of nature and go down in overwhelmingly adverse circumstances. According to the Unesco atlas, there are 196 endangered languages in India. There are proposals to keep some of them alive by introducing short courses in primary schools, or by designing other schemes. There are also initiatives launched by some groups, organisations and even individuals to save some languages. But the prospects are not very bright.