33 Arunachal languages on UNESCO endangered list, says Minister

Itanagar:  The UNESCO in its recent survey has enlisted 33 languages of Arunachal Pradesh as endangered out of which four are critically endangered and on the verge of extinction, a state minister on Thursday said.
Responding to a question raised by BJP MLA Gabriel D Wangsu during Question Hour, Mohesh Chai, the state Art and Culture told the state Assembly that according to the survey, 17 languages were definitely endangered and 12 were vulnerable. The department has so far documented 42 languages covering most of the major and minor tribes of the state, he said. “The research department had initiated a project – Linguistic Survey of Arunachal Pradesh – in 2015-16, which was included in the state annual development agenda of 2016-17,” the minister said. Replying to a supplementary from Wangsu, Chai said the state government was contemplating to use local language as the third language in all schools. A few languages like Galo, Adi and Bhoti have already been introduced as third language to help their preservation; he said, adding the linguistic survey would help in preservation of languages in the state.
Taking part in the discussion, Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, who also holds the finance portfolio, said the government had allocated Rs 5 crore to the department for the purpose and strategies would be formulated after thorough discussion. (PTI)