KOCHI: If languages are suppressed, the cultural values and local knowledge systems associated with them will also vanish, writer Sethu has said. “Presently, small languages are being suppressed by big languages. Languages have a culture, literature, music, grammar, and a great tradition of their own. Suppressing great languages will destroy knowledge and cultural values,” he said.
Hindi has supremacy in India. However, 70 percent of people speak other languages, Sethu added. “Languages across the world are facing challenges. Studies show that half of the world’s 6,000 languages will vanish by the end of this century. 197 languages are on the verge of extinction in India alone. This trend is experienced most in north-eastern states. In America, 191 languages are on the verge of destruction.”