<font><font face="georgia,serif">A Push to Support Language Diversity in India<br><br>BY TORY STARR ⋅ JULY 5, 2012 [media link]<br>    <br>In western India, in the state of Gujarat, lies the small town of Chhota Udaipur. Many people from the Rathwa tribe live here. Down a narrow dirt road, past cotton plants and piles of harvested corn husks, 80-year-old Latu Rutia rises from the cot on his back porch. Rutia wears just a loincloth and an earring. He speaks in his native language of Ratwee. Rutia says in the schools his grandchildren attend they are taught in the state language, Gujarati. “They are forced to speak differently,†he says.<br>
<br>Rutia worries that elements of the Rathwee language are trickling away, even though it’s believed there are nearly a million speakers. However, the number of speakers may be less important than how and where the language is spoken.<br>
<br>That’s where the People’s Linguistic Survey of India comes in. They have field workers spread across the country documenting Rathwee and hundreds of Indian languages.<br><br>Access full article below:<br><a href="http://www.theworld.org/2012/07/india-language-diversity/">http://www.theworld.org/2012/07/india-language-diversity/</a><br>
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