Background

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has declared the International Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022-2032 to invite fresh attention to the marginal languages and cultures of the world. It is also important that the first major and internationally acknowledged vibration was drawn in 2009 when UNESCO announced the list of endangered languages within its different parameters. Many stakeholders of languages and cultures in the world started working on this aspect, but even after many years of this entire exercise, not much has been achieved on the ground, especially in the field of socio-economic studies and language planning, on which a satisfactory future of the marginal languages and cultures can be assured. Although some theoretical interventions can be seen in the field of marginal linguistic surveys and description, that is not enough to flourish an integrated linguistic society where a parallel space may be acquired for minor languages and their communities. In the meantime, India is working towards implementing the Nation Education Policy (NEP)-2020, which is a transitional education policy and an outspoken policy for languages too, and probably the first ever Indian government policy that has admitted the phenomena of endangered languages and also advocated for its betterment. However, the entire debate towards promoting marginal languages and cultures has significant relevance in the Indian context as it is a multilingual and multi-ethnic setting, and pluralism has been an asset to the Country, whose betterment is promised by the Indian Constitution as well. Our complex multilingual scenario and multi-ethnic cultures have always nurtured our civilization and society. But, presently, in the age of globalization, a clear threat can be seen in the marginal linguistic identities, and a sense of insecurity has evolved towards mother tongue education in middle-class society, too. Therefore, our academic duty is to provide a better platform to marginal linguistic communities and their ethnic knowledge for their growth, popularity, and healthy survival through academic interventions so that the role of different languages in our family, society, education, and employment may be underlined and multilingualism as an asset may be retained in our practices.

Theme of the Seminar

Any comprehensive study of a language is not limited to its structure but also demands an inquiry into the socio-economic setting of that particular language. Of course, form and structure are basic input for any linguistic study, but it should not be limited to linguistics, as many things are changing rapidly around us; hence, cross-disciplinary approaches and a fresh sight to examine languages and their surroundings are needed; thus the responsibility of linguists is becoming more accountable. Now, the involvement of a language in education, research & development, employment, and the market is directly related to its survival. Simultaneously, the mediums of teaching & research, information technology, and operating systems are building a better path for a language and advancing their potential. Thus, a study on language endangerment will not be completed under the preview of traditional linguistic approaches and paradigms.     

In the contemporary multilingual scenario, there are around 6000 languages spoken across the world, but there is a widespread consensus that, by the end of this century, about 90% of languages will disappear or become extinct entirely, replaced by more widely used and economically productive languages. This situation is generally referred to as language endangerment, a term used broadly for languages that are threatened with absolute loss. Many culturally rich languages have already disappeared from society for real use. The shrinking process in the language domain is a clear alarm for a society to expand the use of mother tongues in their practices through regular language domains and save the biodiversity around society. There is no doubt that, like the natural disappearance of languages and civilizations, the extinction of living organisms is a natural event happening in a routine manner.

The texture of Indian society has various deep colors from its roots, which are flourishing, at least at the current stage, without a strict borderline between language, culture, and ethnicity. Life practices are directly associated with biodiversity and natural resources available around our livelihood, but now, the invisible threats from globalization have resulted in a complete loss of pluralism. Therefore, a red signal may be seen in the path of marginal languages from now on in going out of their real or indigenous form. The Indian constitution protects the language rights of all, including the right to mother tongue education. Now, NEP-2020 promotes mother tongue education, but the education system has encouraged the growth of dominant languages more, and most of the smaller languages are not included in educational practices. The Internet, which is a strong vehicle of globalization, has always promoted dominant languages; consequently, the digitization process is another threat zone for Indian marginal languages. Furthermore, Digital India has boosted the digital aspect of human life, and Bhashini is being practiced to nurture the marginal languages on the ground, but the juncture of language and technology likely or unlikely supports globalization and its tools.  

There is an alarming situation in front of academics and humanity to search for appropriate answers for shrinking linguistic diversity and regional lifestyles. Aiming these questions, CFEL has planned a two-day national seminar titled Indian Multilingualism: Policy & Practices to highlight the practical issues and to sensitize and attract the academicians and young scholars involved in language, education, culture, digitalization, and other related areas of linguistic and socio-economic studies for marginalized communities.   

Sub-themes

 

Submissions

CFEL, V.B. invites full papers on the sub-themes in soft copy duly typed in MS Word format. The papers should be restricted between 2000 and 3000 words and must contain the title of the paper, name(s) of the author(s) with affiliation, and email ID(s). Papers presented in the Seminar will be published in a book form with ISBN. Therefore, selected papers in full length (not less than eight pages) duly typed in MS Word and corresponding of the same in PDF are expected as per deadlines, without fail. The paper's font (with size 14 main heading, 12 in bold subheadings, and 12 normal text.) should be ‘Times New Roman’ for English and Unicode for Hindi. However, we promote a multilingual environment; hence, the medium of paper presentation will not be constrained, but selected papers will be published in Hindi & English.  

Outcomes 

It is targeted to invite a fresh interdisciplinary debate on language endangerment & revitalization in India. Maximum young scholars, academicians, cultural activists, filmmakers, journalists, and native marginal language speakers will be encouraged to present papers or narrate their experiences to explore the real challenges of language endangerment. Simultaneously, renowned speakers of the area will be invited to guide the younger generation. Proceedings will be published language-wise in several volumes consisting of selective papers in Hindi & English.