Dynamics of Language Maintenance Among Linguistic Minorities- A Sociolinguistic Investigation of the Tamil Communities in Bangalore (An Old and Rare Book)

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Language maintenance and loss are not only barometers of social transformation, modernization and urbanization, but are also indicators of shift in interactional isoglosses, and thus an important factor in the study of group dynamics. In the India of the past there was tremendous internal migration of people resulting in a language mix. As respect for the different was accepted as a core value of the culture, different languages maintained themselves even under adverse circumstances. The census shows changing ethnicity in the case of settler Bengalis. in Assam declaring sometimes Assamese and sometimes Bengali, the Wacadi speakers in Punjab declaring sometimes Punjabi sometimes Hindi, the Sindhi speakers in different parts declaring sometimes Sindhi and sometimes. Hindi as their mother tongue. One also finds split ethnicity in the Khond tribe speaking five Dravidian languages - Kui, Kuvi, Penga, Manda and Indi-awe, and the Gadbas speaking Gutob (Munda) and Ollari- (Dravidian) languages. Thus one ethnic group speaking many languages and one language spoken by many ethnic groups was considered natural. In the modernization process under the pressure of mono-model develop- mental strategies, minority languages and cultures come under increasing strain to assimilate themselves with the majority. The pluralism- assimilation, and the language maintenance - language death have thus formed an important dimension of study of the dynamics of pluralism. 7 Urbanization in India has a distinct flavour. The intrusion of the village into metropolitan cities and the industrialization resulting in. changing demography which "in turn makes them represent miniature India in its linguistic and cultural essence, are some of the aspects of this flavour. .The challenge to the ideal-typical city as evidenced in the study of push and pull factors, the changing interactional modes and consequent tensions offer an excellent field of Social Science Research in these cities.

‘The CIIL has undertaken a number of inter-disciplinary research programmes in. Bangalore City with a view to gaining insight into the dynamics of .communication in a multi-ethnic, multilingual Indian metropolis. The present study encompassing investigation into language use and language attitude by an important minority community is a distinct contribution to the field of Indian Sociolinguistics.

It is often contended that existence of many languages lead to fissiparous movements. It is not true. it is the refusal to recognise the identity of smaller languages that hardens attitudes and leads to identity assertion movements. This study, coming at a time when the majority assertion came in the form of the Gokak Movement took place, has implications which should be seriously considered by language planners. loam aware of the limitations of the study. However, if it is. a accepted by scholars as a generator of further ideas, then our effort would have been rewarded.

I congratulate the researcher and all those responsible for bringing out this study in record time.

**Contents and Sample Pages**