LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 21:5 May 2021
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

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Assessing Language Vitality:
A Case Study of Cholanaikkar Tribe in Kerala, India

Dr. Sreelakshmi KM


Language contact and language shift are two inevitable processes which a speech community goes through, as they come in contact with another speech community, gradually leading to a complete shift-loss of their native tongue. It would not be a false statement to say that the idea of language death/vanishing tongues no more remains a myth. Over the years we have seen people shifting from their mother tongue to the dominant language. In the present scenario one can hardly find a monolingual speaker. A language can easily become extinct because its speakers diminish; and after a long time, it loses its speakers; then finally the language disappears (Lauder 2011; Lauder 2018).

Cholanaikkar, one of the oldest tribes in Kerala, is at the verge of extinction today. With a population of less than 400, these natives are struggling to keep its roots alive. They are mostly spread over the western ghats of Kerala including Karulayi, Chungathara and Vazhikadavau. The heavy monsoons help these Western Ghats flourish more that the tribe’s life is completely depended on the forest’s rich flora and fauna. Cholanaikkars survives on the wild roots, forest greens, wild mushrooms, seeds, plant shoots, honey, reptiles, wild animals, etc.

The language of Cholanaikkar, cholanaika, belongs to the Dravidian language family. As per the UNESCO, this language comes in the definitely endangered group. Even though the government has identified the tribe as a protected tribal group, the risk of language loss still remains a threat. One of the reasons behind this language loss is the cultural mixing. The cultural mixing is an inevitable factor for these tribes as they come in contact with the mainland people on a daily basis including labour.

In the recent years, the local ecological knowledge to resource management has been described well by researchers. (Berkes et.al.2000, Gadgil, et.al. 2000, Pilgrim, et.al. 2007, 2008, Berkes 2008). Maffi (1998) describes language as a resource for the nature. According to her the growing body of literature exists on the interlinkages between linguistic, cultural, and biological diversity (Maffi1998, 2005). The knowledge of the language is often non translatable but links the speaker to their diversity. The cultural understanding of the community can not only lead to their sustainable managements but also to the ecological interactions and relevance of it (Pilgrim, 2008). Wolfram, Walt, and Schilling (1998) points out that when a language and ecology becomes extinct, their identity too dies with it.


This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.


Dr. Sreelakshmi KM
tlk2sri@gmail.com

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