Will we let these mother tongues die out?

Every February 21, we pay our respects to the language martyrs who had made the ultimate sacrifice so that, 71 years later, speakers of Bangla could use their mother tongue freely in all spheres of life. However, this day also brings to our attention the thousands of languages around the world whose existence is under constant threat. And we fear for the status of the languages which are dying out in Bangladesh itself, with next to no efforts being expended to preserve them. The number of living languages in the country currently stands at 42. Of these, 36 languages are spoken by Indigenous peoples.

According to a linguistic survey conducted by the International Mother Language Institute (IMLI), there are 14 languages in the country which are considered to be endangered. Of these, for instance, only two speakers of the Kharia language exist anymore. Neither of them has been able to convince their younger kin to practise the language, nor can they themselves write in it. With the passing of these two Kharia speakers – sisters over the age of 70 who reside in Sreemangal upazila of Sylhet's Moulvibazar district – the language and the culture associated with it will all but die, too. And this is the unfortunate fate facing several other Indigenous languages, including Kondo, Koda, Soura, Mundari, Kole, Malto, Khumi, Pangkhua, Rengmitcha, Chak, Khyang, Lusai, and Laleng (Patro). And even the more widely spoken ethnic languages, such as Sadri in the northern flatlands, are becoming more and more diluted with Bangla.

It is an understandable but unfortunate tragedy that the youth of many Indigenous communities themselves do not feel keen on using their own languages, with Bangla being the dominant language in all arenas. Couple that with the relevant government authorities' own lack of efforts, and it is no wonder that these languages are on their way out of existence. We must ask, what has the IMLI been doing to ensure that the country's Indigenous and ethnic languages can be promoted and preserved? The aforementioned linguistic survey has been its only notable achievement since its establishment in 2010. But even that is supposedly coming out in volumes, with the first and only one being published way back in 2019. The government's initiative to print textbooks in Indigenous languages (till a limited number of classes) also falls short as it has failed to ensure that there are teachers appointed in schools who are properly trained and can actually conduct lessons in these languages, too.

The UN has declared the period between 2022 to 2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages. We hope that our language authorities will heed this initiative and not only take active steps to preserve the dying Indigenous languages of the country, but also fulfil some of their earlier promises in this regard as well as the demands of Indigenous and ethnic communities themselves. We cannot just sit back and watch the demise of so many rich languages and the cultures attached to them. Lest we forget, the state is constitutionally mandated to "take steps to protect and develop the unique local culture and tradition of the tribes, minor races, ethnic sects and communities."