LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 15:10 October 2015
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Languages of Manipur in the Fast Changing Globalized World

Naorem Brindebala Devi, Research Scholar
Prof. Ch. Yashawanta Singh

Abstract

There are many languages in the world. But it is not confirmed yet the exact number of the languages. In Manipur itself, there are three language families: Indo-Aryan, Dravidian and Tibeto-Burman. Manipuri, the lingua-franca of Manipur, is included in the Tibeto-Burman language family, besides the 33 tribal languages. It is an Eighth Schedule language which is used as a medium of instruction in schools and colleges. Some tribal language are in the status of using as a medium of instruction from standard 1 to graduate level where they are taught as an elective subject. However, social development and globalization have made a great impact on these languages. Various loan words related to computer, mobile phones, internet, cable TV and readymade phrases and sentences etc. are used with native languages with their respective verbs as an impact/effect of IT and various networks development which are the agents of globalization. It let the cultures exchanged throughout the world, translation, being the means. Globalization gives an opportunity of changing the languages but it needs care to develop the mother tongue as well as nativize it side by side.

Keywords: Globalization, translation, endangered language

Introduction

Till today there is no exact number of languages recorded in the world: it is estimated generally and reported as more than 6000 languages in the world. Regarding the number of languages there are various opinions. Ethnologue reported that there are currently 6912 living languages in the world. According to SIL International the number is 6909 spoken languages, Ruhlen (1987) reported roughly 5000 languages. These are all round about. In the word of Grenoble and Whaley (1999) ‘It is generally agreed that there are somewhere between 5000 and 6000 languages spoken in the world today’. Anderson in his papers How many languages in the world did not mention the number but he mentioned there are more than 250 language families in the world. According to Comrie, ‘The best currently available detailed account of the distribution of the world’s languages, with information on geographical location, number of speakers, and genetic affiliation, is Grimes (1996) who makes list over 6700 languages spoken in the world today. Here it can be mentioned that the last speaker of Boa of The Great Andamanese was dead on 26 January 2010.

To this controversial number India takes an important number by contributing 1657 languages of six families, namely, Indo-Aryan of Indo-European, Dravidian, Austro-Asiatic, Tibeto-Burman of the Sino-Tibetan family, Andamanese and the Great Andamanese. In Manipur itself there are three language families namely Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman and Dravidian (mostly Tamil at Moreh).

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Naorem Brindebala Devi, Research Scholar
brindebalanaorem@gmail.com

Prof. Ch. Yashawanta Singh
Department of Linguistic
Manipur University
chungkhamyash@gmail.com

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