Context: The increasing prevalence of English as a language globally has led to the extinction of regional and native languages. Any loss of language is not only a loss of linguistic diversity but also a loss in terms of the associated cultural variations, opinions, views, and knowledge.

Importance of Language Diversity

• Unifying Force of English: English has historically connected diverse linguistic communities in India since British rule, but poses challenges in remote areas.

• The Quest for a Universal Language: Consideration arises on why a common global language is not adopted for simpler and stronger global communication.

• Biblical Tale of Tower of Babel: The narrative illustrates the power of a shared language. Language serves as a vital tool for transferring information and emotions.

Threat to Linguistic Diversity

• Projected Language Extinction: A mathematical model predicts that 40% of languages (with less than 35,000 speakers) may vanish within a century, shrinking diversity.

• Dominance of Major Languages: Half of the world's population primarily speaks just 10 languages. This trend endangers linguistic diversity worldwide.

• Impact of Migration: Migration prompts shifts towards dominant languages, eroding mother tongues over generations. Hindi vs. English dynamics in India reflect this phenomenon.

What are the possible reasons behind loss of linguistic diversity?

• The decline in language diversity and the extinction of languages are closely linked to migration patterns.

• When people migrate to countries where a dominant language is spoken, they adopt that dominant language to access the social and economic benefits.

• As a result, first-generation migrants typically become bilingual, the next generation may have a weaker grasp of their mother tongue. The third generation may no longer speak their mother language, even within the family.

• India serves as an illustrative example. There is increasing migration to English-speaking nations. English currently boasts 340 million native speakers and over 1.2 billion second language speakers.

What are some facts about the Language Diversity Index (LDI)?

• Language Diversity Index (LDI) calculates the probability that two randomly selected individuals from a population will have different mother tongues.

• This index ranges from 0 (everyone shares the same mother tongue) to 1 (no two individuals have the same mother tongue).

• Naturally, countries with a smaller variety of mother languages tend to have a lower LDI. Countries with a greater diversity of mother tongues have a higher LDI. For instance, the United Kingdom has an LDI of 0.139, compared to India’s 0.930.

• In terms of LDI, the three countries with the lowest rankings are Haiti (0.000), Cuba (0.001), and Samoa (0.002). The top three countries are Papua Guinea (0.990), Vanuatu (0.972), and the Solomon Islands (0.965).

What are the impacts of loss in linguistic diversity?

• When these languages disappear, they take with them elements of identity, culture, and indigenous knowledge.

• The extinction of languages leads to a reduction in cultural diversity and an increase in cultural homogenization.

Preserving Endangered Languages

• UNESCO's Alarming Report: UNESCO identifies 42 endangered languages in India, predominantly spoken by tribal groups with less than 10,000 speakers.

• Language Diversity as Cultural Richness: Analogous to biodiversity, linguistic diversity is vital for preserving unique cultures, knowledge, and identities.

• Urgent Global Strategies Needed: Initiatives must be pursued to document, protect, and revitalize endangered languages. Other institutions should follow suit to curb language disappearance.

Causes For Decline

• GOI does not recognize languages with less than 10,000 speakers

• In and out migration of communities which leads to dispersal of traditional settlement.

• Changing employment pattern which favours majority language.

• Changes in social and cultural values.

• Growth of “individualism”, which puts self interest over that of community.

• Encroachment of materialism in traditional communities allowing spiritual, moral and ethical values being overshadowed by consumerism.

What needs to be done?

• The proven method to ensure the survival of language is the development of schools that teach in languages of minority (tribal languages) which enables the speakers to preserve and enrich the language.

• A vast digital project - on the lines of Project Tiger - for preserving and growing India's endangered languages must be launched.

• Audio-visual documentation of the important aspects of such language - like storytelling, folk literature and history.

• Existing work from groundbreaking initiatives like Global Language Hotspots can be used to enhance such documentation efforts.