Overview
This lecture provides an overview of the linguistic diversity in South Asia, focusing on the four major language families and key concepts like the distinction between languages and scripts.
Linguistic Diversity in South Asia
- India recognizes 122 major and 1,599 minor languages and dialects (2001 census).
- South Asia's language diversity extends beyond India to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.
What is a Language?
- A language is a naturally developed system of verbal communication using words and systematic rules.
- Successful communication relies on shared understanding of these rules and meanings.
- Most linguistic study focuses on spoken, naturally evolved languages, not artificial or constructed ones.
Language and Ethnicity
- Language is not inherently tied to ethnicity; anyone can learn any language regardless of background.
- First language often matches biological parents, but people can adopt new languages unrelated to ethnicity.
Languages vs. Scripts
- Languages are mostly oral; scripts are written symbols representing language.
- Many languages can use the same script and a single language can be written in different scripts.
- Example: Hindi, Marathi, Sanskrit all use Devanagari script; Sanskrit can be written with several scripts.
Four Major Language Families in South Asia
- Language family: A group of related languages evolved from a common ancestral language.
Indo-Aryan Family
- Largest family, found mainly in northern India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka (Sinhala).
- Includes Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi.
- All descended from Sanskrit; influenced by Persian, Arabic, and English in vocabulary.
Dravidian Family
- Mainly spoken in southern India, with an outlier in Balochistan, Pakistan (Brahui).
- Major languages: Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam—all with rich literary traditions.
- Descended from proto-Dravidian (sometimes called Old Tamil).
Munda (Austro-Asiatic) Family
- Languages of tribal and rural communities in central/eastern India.
- Mostly unwritten, passed down orally, now endangered due to modernization.
- Believed to come from proto-Munda; may have ties to the Indus Valley.
Tibeto-Burman Family
- Spoken by indigenous groups in mountainous areas of Nepal, northeastern India, Burma/Myanmar, and Southeast Asia.
- Main languages include Tibetan, Awadhi, Manipuri, Bodo.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Language — A naturally developed verbal communication system with systematic rules.
- Script — Written symbols representing language speech.
- Language Family — A group of languages sharing a common ancestral origin.
- Indo-Aryan — Northern South Asian language family, descended from Sanskrit.
- Dravidian — Southern South Asian language family, descended from proto-Dravidian.
- Munda/Austro-Asiatic — Tribal language family in central/eastern India.
- Tibeto-Burman — Himalayan and northeastern South Asian language family.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review assigned readings on South Asian languages.
- Prepare for a closer look at the Indo-European language family in the next segment.