An appeal for linguistic diversity as a democratic right – Professor Ganesh Devy at TEDx Mumbai

Professor Ganesh Devy talks about how languages evolve. And how local Indian languages are dying, taking with them a treasure of historical knowledge and wisdom. “Why are you talking to sparrows?” [Prof. Devy narrates the reply of the Bo woman in the Andaman, the last speaker of her people’s language, who died 26 January 2010]; and … Read more

Tribal languages face extinction as “young people want to be part of the mainstream culture” – Uttarakhand

Excerpts from The Telegraph, Calcutta, Sunday , July 25 , 2010Death of a languageJad, a tribal language in Uttarakhand, is slowly going extinct. Hemchhaya Detravels to the tribe’s remote habitat and explains how many native languages around the world are dwindling under the onslaught of globalisationNarayan Singh Negi, leader of the Rong Ba tribe, in the … Read more