4 Himachal dialects on verge of extinction
Tribune New Service
New Delhi, February 18
More than 40 languages or dialects in India, including four from Himachal Pradesh, are considered to be endangered and are believed to be heading towards extinction as only a few thousand people speak them, revealed a census directorate report.
According to the report, submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), there are 22 scheduled languages and 100 non-scheduled languages in the country which are spoken by a large number of people — one lakh or more. There are 42 languages which are spoken by less than 10,000 people. These are considered endangered and may be heading towards extinction, sources in the MHA said.
Even a UNESCO report, the MHA officials said, also mentions about 42 Indian languages or dialects, which are endangered.
The languages or dialects which were considered endangered, include 11 from Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Great Andamanese, Jarawa, Lamongse, Luro, Muot, Onge, Pu, Sanenyo, Sentilese, Shompen and Takahanyilang), seven from Manipur (Aimol, Aka, Koiren, Lamgang, Langrong, Purum and Tarao) and four from Himachal Pradesh (Baghati, Handuri, Pangvali and Sirmaudi).
The other languages in the endangered category are Manda, Parji and Pengo (Odisha), Koraga and Kuruba (Karnataka), Gadaba and Naiki (Andhra Pradesh), Kota and Toda (Tamil Nadu), Mra and Na (Arunachal Pradesh), Tai Nora and Tai Rong (Assam), Bangani (Uttarakhand), Birhor (Jharkhand), Nihali (Maharashtra), Ruga (Meghalaya) and Toto (West Bengal).
A senior MHA official, however, said: “The Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore, has been working under a central scheme for the protection and preservation of endangered languages of the country.”
As per the scheme, grammatical descriptions, monolingual and bilingual dictionaries, language primers, anthologies of folklore, encyclopedias of all languages or dialects — especially those spoken by less than 10,000 people — are being prepared, the official said.
