ForumIAS announcing GS Foundation Program for UPSC CSE 2025-26 from 19 April. Click Here for more information.
ForumIAS Answer Writing Focus Group (AWFG) for Mains 2024 commencing from 24th June 2024. The Entrance Test for the program will be held on 28th April 2024 at 9 AM. To know more about the program visit: https://forumias.com/blog/awfg2024
News:Recently, several newspapers have reported that the near-extinct Nepalese language ‘Seke’ has just 700 speakers around the world.
Facts:
About Seke Language:
- Seke means golden language.It is one of the over 100 indigenous languages of Nepal.
- It is mainly spoken in the five villages of Chuksang, Chaile, Gyakar, Tangbe and Tetang in the Upper Mustang district.
- The dialects from these villages differ substantially and are believed to have varying degrees of mutual intelligibility.
- However,there are just 700 or so Seke speakers left in the world.Of these,100 are in New York,USA,
- The Seke language has been retreating due to Nepali which is Nepal’s official language and is considered to be crucial for getting educational and employment opportunities outside villages.
- Hence,Seke may be considered to be a definitely endangered language under UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger.
- Further,as per the Endangered Languages Project (ELP),there are roughly 201 endangered languages in India and about 70 in Nepal.
About UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger:
- UNESCO’s Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger is a tool to raise awareness about language endangerment and the need to safeguard the world’s linguistic diversity.
- According to the criteria adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO),a language becomes extinct when nobody speaks or remembers the language.
- The UNESCO has categorized languages on basis of endangerment as follows:
About Endangered Languages Project(ELP):
- The Endangered Languages Project(ELP) is a worldwide collaboration between indigenous language organizations, linguists and industry partners to strengthen endangered languages.The foundation of the project was launched in 2012.
- The project aims to foster exchange of information related to at-risk languages and accelerate endangered language research and documentation, to support communities engaged in protecting or revitalizing their languages.
