Kurumba: A Language And Community Fighting For Visibility, Pg11

Key Highlights:

• The Kurumba community, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) in Attappady, Palakkad, Kerala, speaks an oral language called Kurumba.
• The Kurumba language, lacking a script, faces endangerment due to migration for education and employment, leading to the influence of dominant languages.
• The ongoing Census exercise poses a threat to the language's recognition, as languages with fewer than 10,000 speakers are classified under "others".
• With a population of 2,719 as of 2024, the Kurumba language is unlikely to meet the Census threshold for separate classification.
• The Ministry of Education initiated the Scheme for Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages (SPPEL) in 2013 to document and revitalize such languages.

Detailed Insights:

• The Kurumbas are one of the five PVTGs identified in Kerala, residing in hilly forest regions.
• Migration for education and employment forces community members to adapt to dominant languages, causing a language shift.
• The oral nature and lack of documentation make it challenging to preserve the nuances and track changes in the Kurumba language.
• An example of language shift is the increasing use of the Malayalam word 'chechi' over the Kurumba word 'akke' for elder sister among youngsters.
• The People’s Linguistic Survey of India (PLSI) identified approximately 800 languages in India, contrasting with the Census's 121 classified languages.
• SPPEL specifically aims to document, archive, and revitalize endangered mother tongues, particularly those with fewer than 10,000 speakers.
• The survival of the Kurumba language is deeply intertwined with the community's identity and cultural practices, especially in Adivasi societies.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG): A sub-category of Scheduled Tribes identified by the Government of India as being more vulnerable.
• Language Shift: The process by which a community of speakers abandons its native language in favor of another.
• Endangered Language: A language at risk of falling out of use as its speakers shift to speaking another language.
• People’s Linguistic Survey of India (PLSI): A comprehensive survey documenting the linguistic diversity of India, initiated by the Bhasha Research and Publication Centre.
• Scheme for Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages (SPPEL): A Ministry of Education initiative to document, archive, and revitalize endangered and lesser-known mother tongues.