The Value of Protecting Endangered Language in Culture: With Special Reference to Examine the Vedda Language in Sri Lanka
- November 15, 2020
- Posted by: RSIS Team
- Categories: IJRISS, Social Science
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume IV, Issue X, October 2020 | ISSN 2454–6186
Dr. R.A.D. Priyanka Weerasekara
Department of Languages, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Belihuloya
Abstract: Veddasor Vanniyaletto; an aboriginal group of Sri Lanka have survived for several millennia by adapting and coping with internal and external stress imposed on them. Archaeological and historical evidence prove that they inhabited the island long before the arrival of Aryans and had spread all over it. At present their existence is threatened by modernization where they are forced to embrace the modernity which could also be ended up vanishing them as a cultural group. Language can be considered as the most important aspect of the identity of the culture. During the research it comes to knowledge of the researcher, lack of usage of the Veddas language was the fact behind the modernization, cultural and linguistic assimilation of the Vedda people. Through the empirical findings of this research it is clearly evident that the language of the Vedda is fading away. Finally this research has emphasized that the culture and the language of the Veddas are gradually diminishing and currently the original Vedda language does not exist anymore. The research is based on Qualitative Empirical Research Methodology and the Participant Observation Method based on Case Study has been used for data elicitation.
Keywords: Vedda Language, Endangered Language, Culture, Linguistics Assimilation, Extreme Language Mixture.
I. INTRODUCTION
Every culture represents an experiment in the survival of a unique and alternative way of life, solving or evading problems. Loss of cultural diversity is there for a loss of experience and knowledge that has proven its potential usefulness for mankind in general. Languages, besides being part of a people’s cultural heritage, constitute a complete and complex reflexion of it. As communities lose their language they often lose parts of their cultural traditions which are tied to that language, such as songs, myths, and poetry that are not easily transferred through other languages. An endangered language is a language that is at risk of falling out of use as its speakers die out or shift to speaking another language. Language loss occurs when the language has no more native speakers, and become a dead language. If eventually no one speakers the language at all, it becomes an extinct language.
