Lok Virsa Mother Languages Literature Festival 2018 Was All About Preserving Pakistan’s Endangered Languages

Today is the International Mother Languages Day. For us in Pakistan it is an excellent opportunity to celebrate the many languages that are spoken in our country. In the same realm it is also important to emphasize that many of our beloved languages are actually endangered. This means that the number of people speaking these languages is rapidly deteriorating and there is an imminent chance that in a few decades some of the languages spoken in Pakistan might actually go extinct.

How Many Languages Are Spoken in Pakistan?

Pakistan is among the few countries in the world where there is immense linguistic diversity.

Read: Rahmat Aziz Chitrali – The Preserver of Pakistani Languages

At present, 73 individual languages are spoken in various pockets across the country. Of these, at least 10 languages are either losing favour or are on the verge of extinction.

Which Pakistani Languages are Endangered?

Aer (spoken by some 300 people in Sindh); Bhaya (an unwritten language spoken in some parts of lower Sindh); Gowro (also known as Gabaro, spoken in the Kohistan region); Kalami (native to the Swat-Kohistan region); Sansi (the language of about 60,000 nomadic people of the Indo-Pak sub-continent) and Yidgha (native to Lotkoh Valley in Chitral) are considered “Threatened Languages,” by linguists.

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On the other hand, Kundal Shahi (in Azad Kashmir) and Memoni (the language of the Memon community mostly concentrated in Karachi) are quickly losing their speakers to other langues and are thus, considered, “Shifting Languages.”

Domaki, a native language of the Gilgit-Baltistan region now only has a few hundred speakers left making it a moribund or dying language.

Read: Wrap-up 2017: 17 Moments That Brought Immense Pride To Pakistan

Badeshi, is the only language (once) spoken in Pakistan that no longer has any speakers left. It is believed that Badeshi has not been spoken for at least three generations.

Lok Virsa Mother Languages Literature Festival 2018

The recently held, Lok Virsa Mother Languages Literature Festival  2018 was a wonderful effort in the right direction to promote and preserve the languages native to Pakistan. The two-day event had everything from multi-lingual poetry recitals to a musical evening and from insightful panel discussions to book launches and screenings of documentaries and films.

What was especially heartening to see was the huge attendance of children. It goes without saying that a language cannot be preserved until and unless it is passed on from one generation to the next. Thus, to see scores of children attending the panel discussions and taking part in recreational activities on various stalls made one feel hopeful about the future of Pakistan’s indigenous languages.

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To get a glimpse of what transpired at the Lok Virsa Mother Languages Literature Festival this year, click to watch the video below.

And please remember to pass on your mother language to your children!