What are the Critically Endangered Languages in India? India boasts of a rich culture with many languages and dialects spoken across the country. At this age, many of these languages are almost extinct as these were not passed down every generation. When there are only a few people who know a language, there are many surveys which come up. A language is threatened with extinction when the speakers of that language become old enough and pass away without passing it on to the next generation. This can happen not only within a country or district but also on a much bigger global level. It is thus generally advised to pass on one’s culture and language down to the next generation in order to preserve our history.
As per UNESCO, a classification system is followed which categorizes the present status of every language. These can range from being vulnerable to totally extinct. Usually, the languages which are put into the critically endangered category are those where the speakers of the language are the grandparents and who did not pass it on to their children. We have taken information from the UNESCO list which provides information about all the languages in the world in every category. We have extracted details about India and further analyzed it depending on how many people speak that particular language. The list consists of the most endangered languages in India with valuable information taken from the UNESCO list.
Toda is a language that is used by the Toda people who live in the Nilgiri hills. It is a Dravidian language. Kota language is similar to Toda but it suffers the same fate. It is in a critical place as well. There are about 1,006 people who speak this language today. Jarawa language, Shompen language, and Puram languages are few of the ones that have made it to this list. The Jarawa language is mostly spoken in the Andaman islands by the hunters. As of now, only 38 people speak this language. Shompen language is part of the Austroasiatic group of languages. Only about 100 people speak this language. The Puram language is spoken in the Senapati districts of Manipur. There are about 503 people who speak this language today. You can check out the complete list of the Critically Endangered Languages in India. Take a look and flaunt your knowledge!
