Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The State Of Language, Endangerment, And Policy In India: A Forking Path, Samantha Immidisetti

Honors College Theses

The Indian subcontinent is one of the most linguistically diverse areas in the world. The 2011 Census of India reports over 1,950 languages and 720 dialects are spoken in India. Although India itself has speakers of four distinct language families, its people have a shared culture, genetics, and history that spans thousands of years. The languages spoken in India have grown, stymied, and influenced each other before reaching their current state. The multiplicity of languages led to implementation of institutionalized language protection measures during the Independence period. Despite these efforts, many languages remain at risk for endangerment and extinction. Language …