Source: The post on Classical Language Status Granted to Five New Languages is based on the article “Marathi, Bengali among five granted classical language status by Union Cabinet” published in “The Hindu” on 4th October 2024.
Why in the News?
The Union Cabinet has approved classical language status for five new languages: Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Pali and Prakrit.
India’s Classical Languages
Prior to this decision, India had six classical languages: Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Sanskrit and Odia.
Tamil was the first to receive classical status in 2004, followed by Sanskrit in 2005.
Current criteria for Declaring a Language as Classical
i) Antiquity: The language must have early texts or recorded history spanning 1500-2000 years.
ii) Literary Heritage: The language should have a body of ancient literature or texts considered valuable heritage by generations of speakers.
iii) Original Literary Tradition: The literary tradition should be original and not borrowed from another speech community.
iv) Distinctiveness: The classical language and its literature should be distinct from the modern form, and there may be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or offshoots.
Languages with Classical Status: Tamil declared in 2004, Sanskrit declared in 2005, Kannada declared in 2008, Telugu declared in 2008, Malayalam declared in 2013 and Odia declared in 2014.
Benefits of Classical Language Status
i) Awards: Two major annual international awards for scholars of eminence in classical Indian languages.
ii) Centres of Excellence: Establishment of a Centre of Excellence for studies in Classical Languages.
iii) Academic Support: The University Grants Commission is requested to create a certain number of Professional Chairs for the Classical Languages, at least in the Central Universities.
Employment and Cultural Opportunities
1. The inclusion of new classical languages is expected to create employment opportunities in academia, research and related fields.
2. Preservation and digitisation of ancient texts will also generate jobs in archiving, translation, publishing and digital media.
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