On a mission to preserve the language

Chennai

Speaking to DT Next on Thursday, Dr G Palani, assistant professor of Tamil literature at the university and head (in-charge) of the Centre, said that there were over 30 tribal communities living in Tamil Nadu and they had their own language, besides using Tamil as the common language. 

“For example, the Irular tribe has its own language, but they use Tamil as their common language. Some tribal languages don’t have a script. With several tribes living across India, it is not only important for us to document their language but also their lifestyle, as language and lifestyle are inter-related,” he said. 

Dr Palani pointed out that when a language did not have a script it would not be possible for it to have a literature either, which would make it difficult for the language to flourish. 

“A language will flourish only if people continue to speak it, or if there is proper documentation of it, or else there is every chance that these languages could become extinct, a fate that has befallen several around the world,” he added. Citing an example of how the Kanikaran tribe had their own methods of treatment of illnesses, Dr Palani said that the life of tribes was closely associated with nature and related aspects.  

The Centre plans to conduct a seminar in the university, where they will present research papers about the language spoken by tribals, like Kurumbar and Irular.

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