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Classical Language

The document discusses the classical languages of India. It provides background on articles 343 and 351 which give Hindi and Sanskrit special status. Tamil was the first language granted classical status in 2004, followed by Sanskrit in 2005. The criteria for classification as a classical language include an early written history over 1500-2000 years, ancient literature considered valuable heritage, and discontinuity from modern forms. Kannada and Telugu were also granted classical status in 2008. The case is made that Malayalam meets all the same criteria as its sister Dravidian languages of Telugu and Kannada but had not received classification, which some allege is discriminatory, until recently being granted classical language status as well.

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Shivender Parmar
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495 views2 pages

Classical Language

The document discusses the classical languages of India. It provides background on articles 343 and 351 which give Hindi and Sanskrit special status. Tamil was the first language granted classical status in 2004, followed by Sanskrit in 2005. The criteria for classification as a classical language include an early written history over 1500-2000 years, ancient literature considered valuable heritage, and discontinuity from modern forms. Kannada and Telugu were also granted classical status in 2008. The case is made that Malayalam meets all the same criteria as its sister Dravidian languages of Telugu and Kannada but had not received classification, which some allege is discriminatory, until recently being granted classical language status as well.

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Shivender Parmar
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Articles from General Knowledge Today

Classical languages of India


2013- 12- 15 [Link] GKToday

Cont ent s
Art icle 343 and Art icle 351 and Special Posit ion of Sanskrit
Calls f or Classical Languages
Crit eria f or Classical Languages in India
Current Classical Languages
T he case of Malayalam
Union Minist er f or Cult ure recent ly announced t hat t he Minist ry had decided t o
grant t he classical language st at us t o Malayalam. Spoken by over 30 million
people, Malayalam was t he only major language in sout h India t hat had not
been classif ied as t he classical language. Belonging t o t he f amily of Dravidian
languages, Malayalam has a rich herit age of perhaps more t han 2,300 years.
Here is some background information:
Article 343 and Article 351 and Special Position of Sanskrit
Hindi, as we know had become a symbol of nat ionalist f eelings during t he
f reedom st ruggle of India and t he leaders encouraged it s use. We have been
t old t hat t he Sanskrit had lost the position of official language of the Union by a
casting vote. Article 343 gave Hindi the status of of f icial language of the
Union. For Sanskrit , t here is a special st at us ment ioned in art icle 351, whereby
Sanskrit was given a position of the primary source language for many languages
including Hindi.
Calls f or Classical Languages
T he f irst call f or a classical language was given by T amil academicians. T hey
claimed t hat t he Sangam ant hologies should be considered as classical
languages. It 's an ancient language and t he old T amil is t he prot ot ype of t he
Dravidian f amily of languages. T he government t ook a not e and t hen
consult ed t he expert s of t he Sahit ya Academi. Lat er a commit t ee was
est ablished and some crit eria were est ablished t o grant t he st at us of
Classical Languages.
Criteria f or Classical Languages in India
T he government of India current ly f ollows t he f ollowing crit eria t o det ermine
t he eligibilit y of language t o be considered f or classif icat ion as "classical
language":

High antiquity of its early texts/ recorded history over a period of 1500-2000
years.
A body of ancient literature/ texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by
generations of speakers.
The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech
community.
The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may
also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or
its offshoots.
Current Classical Languages
T he government declared T amil (in 2004), Sanskrit (in 2005). T hese t wo
languages are undoubt edly parent al sources f or many languages belonging t o
t he Indo-European f amily and t he Dravidian f amily of linguist ic groups. Lat er
t he government declared Kannada and T elugu (in 2008) as classical languages
of India.
T he case of Malayalam
It has been alleged t hat t he current crit erion discriminat es against Malayalam,
which as a member of t he Dravidian f amily of languages is equal on every
count t o it s sist er languages of T elugu and Kannada.
T he land area bet ween T irupat i and Kanyakumari was known in ancient days
as T amilakam, or Dakshina pat ha in Sanskrit . It inherit ed a common t radit ion
and cult ure.
T amil was t he earliest derivat ive f rom t he Prot o-Dravidian language, f ollowed
by T elugu, Kannada and Malayalam. All t hese came under t he inf luence of
Sanskrit , t he least af f ect ed one being T amil. T he ot her t hree are equal in all
respect s and share common t rait s.

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