Listen up, 196 Indian languages are dying (fwd link)

Tue Mar 3 17:15:43 UTC 2009

Listen up, 196 Indian languages are dying

Dhamini Ratnam, Hindustan Times
Mumbai, March 02, 2009
First Published: 23:23 IST(2/3/2009)

India has earned the dubious distinction of having the largest number of
languages in danger of extinction. For instance, only 31 people in south
Andaman Island speak Jarawa, while just 138 people in Himachal speak Handuri.

According to the UNESCO Atlas of World’s Languages in Danger, released in
February, more than 2.5 crore Indians stand to lose their linguistic heritage
unless immediate measures are undertaken at a social and policy level.

The 196 Indian languages that face extinction include Dakpa from Arunachal
Pradesh (with 1,000 speakers) and Byangsi (with 1,734 speakers), along the
India-Nepal border.

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