18th Feb 2018 10:02:PM Editorials
Eastern Sentinel Arunachal News

On January 26, 2010, when 85-year-old Boa Sr passed away at Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, many things died with her. The most important of the cultural heritage that faded into oblivion with her passing away was her language - Bo, of the Great Andamanese family of which she was the last speaker. And with that an endangered language had met its end.

Every time a language dies, it is a huge loss.  A language defines a community, a culture. Languages hold a world of knowledge. We lose knowledge and history and lose connection to a land when a language is lost.

Songs, stories, words and expressions — developed over many generations — are also lost. Each language is a unique way of talking to the world, about the world. Countries with the greatest linguistic diversity are usually also the ones with the most endangered languages.

The lack of a lingua franca has put Arunachal at an even greater dilemma as majority of its languages have fallen into disuse and are on the brink of extinction. As many as 82 tribal languages spoken in the state are on the verge of becoming extinct according to a survey.

The 2009 UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in danger data, 26 languages of Arunachal Pradesh have been identified as endangered. 

A language's survival becomes threatened primarily if it is abandoned by its speakers. The community's interest in safeguarding its linguistic heritage - which implies the language and other cultural symbols is cited as the most vital factor by most scholars.

As the world turns increasingly globalised, it is impossible to thwart the penetration of world languages. The advent of English and Hindi has become a prerequisite for a better life and inclusion into mainstream society. Communities are continuously switching to politically and economically more powerful languages.

However, the silver lining is— a language's survival becomes threatened primarily if it is abandoned by its speakers. Moot point is it is not about the language but of its speakers. Language thrives due to its speakers.

 


Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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