In an effort to preserve languages spoken by the tribal communities in Karnataka, the lexicons of Hakki Pikki and Dungri Garasia tribal languages will be launched shortly.
Two dictionaries containing words spoken by the Hakki Pikki and Dungri Garasia communities have been prepared by the Mysuru-based Karnataka State Tribal Research Institute (KSTRI).
KSTRI director T.T. Basavanagouda told The Hindu that many tribal languages were on the verge of losing their distinctiveness. “We didn’t want this to happen and hence, decided to safeguard the languages by printing the dictionaries.”
Mr. Basavanagouda claimed that the dictionaries of tribal languages were being printed in the State for the first time.
“It’s our maiden effort to keep the culturally rich languages alive.”
The KSTRI had roped in language experts, including those from the tribal communities, to work on the dictionaries.
In Kannada, EnglishHe said there were plans to print the English and Kannada versions of the dictionaries. The KSTRI has taken the support of Mysuru-based Central Institute of Indian Languages to develop dictionaries in the languages of tribes such as Siddi, Hasalaru, Eruliga, Harin Shikari, and Marathi (spoken in Dakshina Kannada).
