Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Language Contact
- Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics
- The Cambridge Handbook of Language Contact
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Maps Volume II
- Figures Volume II
- Tables Volume II
- Contributors
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part One Multilingualism
- Part Two Contact, Emergence, and Language Classification
- Part Three Lingua Francas
- Part Four Language Vitality
- 17 Language Endangerment, Loss, and Reclamation Today
- 18 Contact and Shift: Colonization and Urbanization in the Arctic
- 19 The Indian Diaspora: Language Maintenance and Loss
- 20 Quechua Expansion during the Inca and Colonial Periods
- 21 Indigenous and Immigrant Languages in the US: Language Contact, Change, and Survival
- Part Five Contact and Language Structures
- Author Index
- Language Index
- Subject Index
- References
19 - The Indian Diaspora: Language Maintenance and Loss
from Part Four - Language Vitality
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 June 2022
Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Language Contact
- Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics
- The Cambridge Handbook of Language Contact
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Maps Volume II
- Figures Volume II
- Tables Volume II
- Contributors
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part One Multilingualism
- Part Two Contact, Emergence, and Language Classification
- Part Three Lingua Francas
- Part Four Language Vitality
- 17 Language Endangerment, Loss, and Reclamation Today
- 18 Contact and Shift: Colonization and Urbanization in the Arctic
- 19 The Indian Diaspora: Language Maintenance and Loss
- 20 Quechua Expansion during the Inca and Colonial Periods
- 21 Indigenous and Immigrant Languages in the US: Language Contact, Change, and Survival
- Part Five Contact and Language Structures
- Author Index
- Language Index
- Subject Index
- References
Summary
This chapter is a historical overview of the maintenance and loss of heritage languages in ten waves of India's diaspora spread over six continents. Various factors that contributed to language maintenance and loss at the community level are discussed. The social and political conditions in the new homelands have played a significant role in preserving and losing the heritage languages. While some diasporic communities have held on to their heritage languages for generations, most of them lost them rapidly after relocating from their motherland. Fascination for western cultures has played havoc on immigrant languages. This chapter's discussion goes beyond the oft-debated factor of “attitude” and digs a little deeper to suggest that the real-life need for the language is the primary cause of language use and retention. If the need is lacking or even vague, the language gradually disappears. A real need for a language seems to be at the root of preventing language loss in immigrant communities. Toward the end, the paper presents a model of language advancement, language maintenance, and language revitalization.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Handbook of Language ContactVolume 2: Multilingualism in Population Structure, pp. 502 - 525Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022
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