BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik released a Santali-Odia-English Sabdakosha at Naveen Niwas here on Saturday. The dictionary has been compiled by an eminent expert on the Santali language Chaitanya Prasad Majhi with the help of other linguists.
It has been prepared by Janajati Bhasa Sanskruti Pratisthan. Addressing the representatives of tribal communities, the chief minister said the dictionary will further enrich the Santali language and create interest among people to learn it.
Along with the Sabdakosha, 21 primary textbooks in Saura, Kui, Kuvi, Gondi and Munda languages were also released by the chief minister. The books in tribal languages would attract the students to school education, he added and thanked the Santali linguists, researchers and the Janajati Bhasa Sanskruti Pratisthan for their work.
Santali language has been included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution. The government has been working on publishing primary textbooks in 11 other tribal languages. The government is also taking steps to conduct certificate courses in various tribal languages. The Chief Minister informed that language labs will be set up in every district which will help create an opportunity to conduct more research on tribal languages, literature and culture.