Experts call for saving threatened languages

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, October 12 

There should be stress on the understanding the importance of regional languages in the field of technical and scientific education. This was the central idea expressed by various speakers who attended the All-India Regional Languages Conference being held by the Punjab Bhasha Akademi, which concluded here today.

The importance of regional languages in the fields of education and technology, visual media, social sites and translation was debated on the fifth day and concluding academic session of the conference here today.

Speaking on the state and possibilities of regional Indian languages which had been cited to be on the brink of extinction as per a UNSECO report, Italian language expert Andrea Draco empaasised on the need for surveys to be conducted on these languages which faced the treat of extinction and steps needed to be taken to ensure their survival. 

Ritesh Kumar (Agra), Arimardan Kumar (West Bengal), Biswadeep Gogoe (Mysore), Kaushal Kumar (JNU), Sandeep Singh (Mysore), Rituraj Sharma (Jammu), Bijesh (Aligarh), LB Kishore Kumar (Tamil Nadu), were the other language scholars who spoke during the sessions today.

Delegates called for concerted efforts to save all the threatened regional languages in the country which clamoured for patrons who would further their propagation with sensitivity. A call was given for such conferences to be conducted in other states as well and for scholars to keep individualistic and factionalist elements at bay while giving every endangered language a genuine thought and support.

Akademi co-convener Dr Sukhwinder Singh Sagha thanked the delegates present and said increased efforts would be made about propagation of the cause of regional languages and also for taking the discourse about them to the public.