Q3 of 15 Page 173

Discuss the following in pairs or in groups of four

Because India’s tribal communities are basically bilingual there is a danger of dismissing their languages as dialects of India’s major tongues.

Many fail to notice that all of India’s tribal communities are basically bilingual and that all bilingual communities have an innate capacity to assimilate outside influences into their own language. It is indeed a highly evolved mechanism for responding to the non-tribal world. In fact, the tribal oral stories and songs employ bilingualism in such a complex manner that a linguist who is not alert to this complexity often dismiss the tribal languages as dialects of India’s major tongues.


More from this chapter

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1

Discuss the following in pairs or in groups of four

‘It is time to realise that unless we modify the established notion of literature as something written, we will silently witness the decline of various Indian oral traditions.’

 2

Discuss the following in pairs or in groups of four

‘Tribal arts are not specifically meant for sale.’ Does this help or hamper their growth and preservation?

 4

Discuss the following in pairs or in groups of four

While tribal communities may not seem to possess the scientific temper, there are many ideas from tribal conventions that could enrich modern societies.

 1

How does ‘A Munda Song’ show that the perspective of the tribal mind towards the girl child is different from that of (other) mainstream communities?