Bhasha conclave ends with discovery of 8 new dialects

The three-day Bhasha Confluence concluded here on Wednesday,with linguists identifying speakers of eight new languages,including two spoken in the Ahmedabad region. Another new language is named after Ratnagiri town of Maharashtra.

According to the participants,the finding upheld the claim that most of the indigenous tribes have become multilingual because of factors like migration.

Professor G N Devy of the Bhasha Research and Publication Centre said: “Among the new languages are Turi and Farsi. While both of these languages are urban and spoken in Ahmedabad,we also came across Takadi language spoken in the remote pockets of south Maharashtra. Two languages belonging to Tripura of Mongolian roots were also found.”

Participants held that an important component of the proposed Linguistic Survey of India would be the factors that have contributed to migration and subsequent extinction of certain languages.

A statement issued by the organisers read: “Language never dies. External forces,like in the case of many Adivasis,impose death upon it. With language dies a culture,a way of life. Hence,it is important to preserve languages.”