Mother tongues are quietly dying
The Kora language is primarily spoken by the Kora tribe.
As they have regular contact with Bangla speakers and follow Bangla curriculum for education, many Bangla words have infiltrated their language. Having no script of their own, they, like many other ethnic groups, use the Bangla script to document their language and ensure its preservation.
Similarly, the Bishnupriya Manipuri community use their own language for communication within their community, but they are educated in Bangla and use the Bangla script in writing. However, the Meitei in Manipur still use their script in some cases along with Bengali.
Shubhashish Sinha, poet, playwright and organizer of Manipuri theatre, said: “Bishnupriya had her own script, which was lost due to various reasons. Research is now underway to recover her own script.”
In 2019, the government listed 50 ethnic groups in the Gazette of the Minor Ethnic Groups Cultural Organization Act 2010. Of these, 41 languages are in use.
A 2010 anthropological study by the International Mother Language Institute estimated that 14 languages of ethnic groups are dying out.
Endangered languages include Kondo, Kharia, Kora, Saura, Mundari, Kol, Malto, Khumi, Pangkhowa, Rengmitka, Chak, Khiang, Lushai and Laleng or Patra.
Preserving these languages has become challenging because they do not have a written form or alphabet. Furthermore, the number of people speaking these languages has decreased over time, and the younger generations of these communities need to learn or use the language more frequently.
It is important to act now to preserve the endangered languages, said Sanjib Drong, general secretary of the Bangladesh Tribal Forum. “Many more languages would be lost otherwise.”
Sanjeev said that if the International Mother Tongue Institute is not strengthened, it will be international “in name only” without any significant impact on language conservation.