Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages of India

The Government of India has initiated a Scheme known as “Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages of India”.  Under this Scheme, the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), Mysore works on protection, preservation and documentation of all the mother tongues/languages of India spoken by less than 10,000 speakers keeping in mind the degree of endangerment and reduction in the domains of usage.          According to the criteria adopted by the UNESCO, a language becomes extinct when nobody speaks or remembers the language.  The UNESCO has categorized languages on basis of endangerment as follows:- (i) Vulnerable (ii)           Definitely Endangered (iii)         Severely Endangered (iv)         Critically Endangered The Critically Endangered Languages as per UNESCO Report are: LANGUAGE/DIALECT                               SPOKEN MAINLY IN 1.      Aimol                                                   Manipur 2.      Aka                                                      Manipur 3.      Baghati                                     Himachal Pradesh 4.      Bangani                                                Uttarakhand 5.      Bellari                                                   Karnataka 6.      Birhor                                                   Jharkhand 7.      Gadaba                                                Andhra Pradesh 8.      Great Andamanese                               Andaman & Nicobar 9.      Handuri                                                Himachal Pradesh 10.  Jarawa                                                 Andaman & Nicobar 11.  Koireng                                                Manipur 12.  Koraga                                                 Karnataka 13.  Kota                                                    Tamil Nadu 14.  Kuruba                                                 Karnataka 15.  Lamgang                                              Manipur 16.  Lamongse                                             Andaman & Nicobar 17.  Langrong                                              Manipur 18.  Luro                                                     Andaman & Nicobar 19.  Manda                                                 Odisha 20.  Mra                                                      Arunachal Pradesh 21.  Muot                                                    Andaman & Nicobar 22.  Na                                                       Arunachal Pradesh 23.  Naiki                                                    Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh 24.  Nihali                                                   Maharashtra 25.  Onge                                                    Andaman & Nicobar 26.  Pangvali                                                Himachal Pradesh 27.  Parji                                                     Odisha 28.  Pengo                                                   Odisha 29.  Pu                                                        Andaman & Nicobar 30.  Purum                                                  Manipur 31.  Ruga                                                    Meghalaya 32.  Sanenyo                                               Andaman & Nicobar 33.  Sentilese                                               Andaman & Nicobar 34.  Shompen                                              Andaman & Nicobar 35.  Sirmaudi                                               Himachal Pradesh 36.  Tai Nora                                              Assam 37.  Tai Rong                                              Assam 38.  Takahanyilang                                       Andaman & Nicobar 39.  Tangam                                                Arunachal Pradesh 40.  Tarao                                                   Manipur 41.  Toda                                                    Tamil Nadu 42.  Toto                                                     West Bengal