According to the UNESCO list of endangered languages in India, the following languages/mother tongues of Karnataka are endangered:
Badaga which is also spoken in
-Tamilnadu,
- Bellari,
-Kodagu,
-Koraga and
-Tulu.
The following languages/mother tongues have been identified to be documented by the CIIL, Mysore.
Kuruba Mysore District
Hakkipikki Nomads – spread across Karnataka
Toda In and around Nilgiri Hills
Kota In and around Nilgiri Hills
Koraga Udupi, Mangalore and Kollegala regions
Soliga Mysore, Hunsur and Chamrajnagar districts
Bellara/Bellari Udupi district
Kutia / Kudia Chikmagalur, Udupi and Kodagu districts
To check this trend, the Government of India has initiated a Scheme known as “Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages of India”.
Under this Scheme, the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) will document all the tribal, non-tribal and non-scheduled languages/mother tongues of Karnataka spoken by less than ten thousand persons.
The Institute has already started working on documentation of three languages/mother tongues of Karnataka, namely, Hakkipikki, Kuruba/Kurumba and Kutiya/Kudiya.
The CIIL, in collaboration with the tribal Research Institute, Karnataka, has further initiated the documentation of six of the mother tongues/languages of Karnataka, namely, Asalaru, Siddi, Iruliga, Malaikudiya, Maratta and Tokri Koli in the current financial year.
