Kurumba Language Faces Cultural Erasure

KURUMBA LANGUAGE FACES THREAT OF CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC ERASURE

WHY IN THE NEWS ?

  • The Kurumba language, spoken by a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) in Kerala’s Attappady region, faces the threat of decline.
  • With only 2,719 community members (2024) and no written script, its limited recognition under Census classification raises concerns about its preservation and cultural survival.

Kurumba Language Faces Cultural Erasure

KURUMBA COMMUNITY AND THREAT TO ITS LANGUAGE:

  • Community Profile: The Kurumbas are an Adivasi community residing in the hilly forest regions of Attappady, Palakkad district, Kerala. They are among Kerala’s five Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
  • Oral Tradition: Kurumba is an oral language without a formal script and remains the primary medium of communication within the community.
  • Migration Pressure: Community members migrate to nearby towns and other regions for education and employment, where they increasingly communicate in dominant regional languages, particularly Malayalam.
  • Linguistic Influence: The growing influence of Malayalam is changing traditional vocabulary. For example, younger speakers increasingly use chechi instead of the Kurumba word akke for elder sister.
  • Intergenerational Decline: Limited educational facilities beyond primary schooling encourage children to adopt dominant languages, weakening the transmission of Kurumba to younger generations.

LANGUAGE SHIFT, CENSUS CLASSIFICATION AND PRESERVATION

  • Language Shift: It refers to the gradual replacement of a community’s traditional language by a dominant language. This may occur within one or two generations or through a prolonged process.
  • Documentation Gap: Since Kurumba lacks a written script and proper documentation, its linguistic characteristics largely depend on knowledge preserved by older community members.
  • Census Classification: Languages with fewer than 10,000 speakers are grouped under the category of “Others”, limiting their separate visibility in official Census records.
  • Linguistic Diversity: India’s Census recognises 121 languages, comprising 22 Scheduled and 99 non-Scheduled languages, while the People’s Linguistic Survey of India (PLSI) has identified around 800 languages.
  • Preservation Initiatives: The Scheme for Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages (SPPEL) was launched by the Ministry of Education in 2013 to document, archive and revitalise endangered mother tongues.

ABOUT LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY AND TRIBAL CULTURE IN INDIA:

●      Cultural Identity: Language preserves a community’s traditions, folklore, knowledge systems, customs and collective identity.

●      PVTGs: Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups are identified based on characteristics such as pre-agricultural technology, stagnant or declining population, low literacy and subsistence-level economy.

●      Constitutional Safeguards: Article 29 protects the interests of citizens having a distinct language, script or culture.

●      Educational Protection: Article 350A directs States and local authorities to provide adequate facilities for mother-tongue instruction at the primary stage to children belonging to linguistic minority groups.

●      Cultural Preservation: Documentation, community participation, mother-tongue education and intergenerational transmission are essential for protecting endangered languages and India’s linguistic heritage.