World Indigenous Language Day 2019

World Indigenous Language Day

Dept of Anthropology

Sikkim University

Indigenous endangered languages of Sikkim

9 August is the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. This year 2019, the international day is dedicated to the International Year of Indigenous Languages 2019. On this special day dedicated to indigenous peoples, there are several activities dedicated to the human rights, languages, ancient histories, and rich cultures, several activities of the indigenous people. 

This programme is a part of the said celebration and activities. There are other activities to come too. 

What is indigenous and Who is indigenous?

The term “indigenous” is defined in various ways over the years - often it connotes to tribes, first peoples/nations, aboriginals, ethnic groups, adivasi, janajati. Or even to the occupational and geographical terms like hunter-gatherers, nomads, peasants, hill people. In many cases, the term “indigenous” has negative connotations leading to discrimination and sufferings. 

Rather than to define “indigenous people” the United Nations  identify them based on the fundamental criterion of self-identification. 

• Self- identification as indigenous peoples at the individual level and accepted by the community as their member. 
• Historical continuity with pre-colonial and/or pre-settler societies 
• Strong link to territories and surrounding natural resources 
• Distinct social, economic or political systems 
• Distinct language, culture and beliefs 
• Form non-dominant groups of society 
• Resolve to maintain and reproduce their ancestral environments and systems as distinctive peoples and
  communities.
  

There are more than 370 million indigenous people spread across 70 countries. 22% of the world’s population. 

They practice unique traditions, and ways of relating to people and the environment. 

Indigenous peoples are the holders of unique knowledge systems and beliefs. 

They possess invaluable knowledge of practices for the sustainable management of natural resources. 

Indigenous peoples represent the greater part of the world’s cultural diversity.
They retain social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant societies in which they live. 

They are the descendants of the first settlers. Conversely, the new arrivals later became dominant through conquest, occupation, settlement or other means. 

They speak the major share of the world’s almost 7000 languages. 

Since they are marginalised in various forms, their language and culture are endangered in various degrees. 

Hence, indigenous peoples’ language are also endangered languages, and endangered languages are, mostly, the language of the indigenous peoples. 

Since, human language is intimately connected with individual, society, culture and environment, it thrives on domains of its use. Hence, we need policies to safeguard them. 

For a linguist, each language reflects an example of human linguistic ability. This linguistic ability has nothing to do with nationalities, caste, class, etc. Every language tell us what it means to be human. 

To regard “human” is to enable the people to participate in governance, education, cultural continuity, and other facets that are crucial for human survival. In other words, indigenous languages are crucial for education to employment as well as for environment to economy. 

This is also to say — endangered language and indigenous peoples’ — two sides of the same coin.  

Language endangerement is a global crisis- world’s linguistic diversity is depleting fast. 

India has a major share in it. 

For us, from this region - Darjeeling, Doars and Sikkim - there are more than 35 languages that are endangered. Other than Nepali, Hindi and Bangla, all other languages of this region is endangered. 

My colleague Meiraba will speak more on this topic later on today. 

However, I will highlight few initiatives that Sikkim University has committed towards achieving its objectives. 

1. Proudly, Sikkim University has a CEL, and has mandate to work on the more than 34 endangered language son this region. Currently, the CEL is working on Magar, Gurung, Bhujel, Sherpa and Rokdung/Bantawa. 
2. Indigenous language departments are established - first in the world. 
3. Department of Political Science, Anthropology, Sociology, Peace and Conflict Studies, Education, History, etc. are engaged in research on indigenous communities of the region. 
4. Department of Nepali, since its inception is working on languages and folklores of the indigenous communities of the region. There are several MPhil dissertations - Kulung, Bhujel, Thulung, Magar, Tamang, and several MA dissertations. There are PhDs in progress on these languages by the members of the indigenous communities. 
5. University Departments are constantly in contact with the communities through various measures and methods. 
6. Importantly, we look forward to students and various departments to work on various languages and communities strengthening the objective to make these languages and communities sustainable. 
7. Task to do - to pursue linguistics department in the given reality. 

As per the Census of India 2011, Sikkim has population of 6,10,577 constituting 5.26% of the total population of India. 

Of its total population, 3,82,200 speaks Nepali (accounting 73.64 % including other scheduled languages) and 26.36% non-scheduled languages. 

Bhotia, Lepcha, Limbu, Rai, Sherpa and Tamang along with their “Other” mother tongues are classified as Non-Scheduled Languages  

while Gurung, Newari, Magar, Sunuwar, etc. are “Other” mother tongues (with 5333 persons) despite being Sikkim’s State Official Languages. 

Sikkim has 11 official languages, of which other than Nepali all 10 official languages are endangered. 

Other than Nepali, which is one of the scheduled languages and the official languages of Sikkim as well as lingua franca, all other State Official languages are endangered to various degrees blurring the distinction between the state official and non-official languages as well as between Non-Scheduled Languages and Other mother tongues. 

Census makes this division — on the speaker number as well as on the “availability of linguistic information” 

Hence guaranteeing the official status is not enough to safeguard one’s language and one’s heritage. 

Further, if one has to ascertain emerging domains of language use; paradoxically, Nepali too falls in the line with other languages of the state.

Language is a parasite. It depends upon the speaker, community, policy, etc. In other words, it depends upon the ecological on which it can sustain. 

If one observes in context of Sikkim, the following facts emerge:

1. There is an urgent need to document, promote and revitalize the indigenous languages considering language endangerment. 
2. Census of India recapitulates that most of the India’s languages are undescribed, yet to be identified and classified; and most of them are at the brink of extinction. 
3. Sikkim shows that recognition as official language is not adequate for its sustainability. 

We need to conceive this situation in a new way:

In a radically new way to look at the distribution of global linguistic diversity, to assess the threat of extinction, and to prioritize research, 

Anderson and Harrison (2006) coins “language hotspot” to represent areas where we find a concentration of: a high levels of endangerment, a high genetic diversity in terms of language family, and a low levels of documentation — writing systems, grammars, dictionaries, texts, and audio and video materials. 

Based on the biodiversity hotspots model, “language hotspot” model is basically designed to visualise, track the trend, and to prioritise resources. They have identified more than two dozen hotspots to date. 

Sikkim with its depleting diversities require major policy-to-practice strategies to strengthen the biocultural diversity. These three-tier approach may prove beneficial for Sikkim to maintain and promote its bicultural diversities: 

1. Language documentation is essential basis to formulate language policy.  Sikkim need to do language documentation of the indigenous languages of the state to formulate efficient language policy. 
2. Since what supports one language may not support another to sustain  (see Mühlhäusler 2002: 376), publication of grammars, dictionaries, writing systems and school syllabi is not a magic spell to drive away the language endangerment. 
3. Rather than efforts on individual languages, a coordinated effort towards vitalising linguistic ecology is prerequisites for a healthy biocultural diversity. Hence, it is social policy rather than language policy that is needed to maintain it (Nettle 1999). This leads to include language endangerment as a public service akin to public health, public transport, etc.

To make a point home, since Sikkim cannot afford ‘to miss forest for the trees;’ —  to make common people as well as linguists, language activists, politicians, policy makers, environmentalists, etc. towards Sikkim’s endangered indigenous languages.