Indian Languages

Gained in translation: Why spending on learning Indian language makes sense

As companies seek to impress people in all parts of the country, there is a demand for expertise in local dialogue

How Big Tech firms are rushing to train AI in Indian languages

Indian mobile and web consumers speak in 30 languages and around 1,600 dialects. The BBC estimates only 125 million Indians are English speakers; most have regional and local accents

UGC prepares to conduct undergraduate exams in 12 Indian languages

A nationwide change will take place in the higher education system, especially in undergraduate courses as language will cease to be a barrier in BA, B.Com, and B.Sc courses

Zomato now in Hindi, does 150,000 orders a month on regional language apps

Hindi, Tamil account for lions share of orders, at 54% and 11% respectively

Time to invest in Indian, South Asian languages: UK MP Gareth Thomas

According to the UK's Department of Education, there were no students taking Hindi GCSE from 2019 to 2022, whereas in 2015, 19 students had sat for this exam

Govt completes mother tongue survey of 576 languages across country

The Ministry of Home Affairs has successfully completed a mother tongue survey with field videography of 576 languages and dialects across the country. According to the annual report of the home ministry for 2021-22, it has been planned to set up a web archive at the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to preserve and analyse the original flavour of each indigenous mother tongue. For this purpose, proper editing in arranging the linguistic data by in-house linguists is under process, it said. The Mother Tongue Survey of India (MTSI) project is successfully completed with field videography of 576 mother tongues, the report said. The home ministry said the Linguistic Survey of India (LSI) is a regular research activity in the country since the 6th Five Year Plan. In continuation to earlier publications under this project, the volume on LSI Jharkhand is finalised and that on LSI Himachal Pradesh is nearing completion. The field work of LSI Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh is going on. Th

Proposal to make Hindi as medium of instruction unacceptable: CPI(M)

The ruling CPI(M) in Kerala on Monday opposed the recommendation of a parliamentary committee to make Hindi as the medium of instruction in technical and non-technical institutions including IITs, saying this runs contrary to the spirit of the Constitution and the country's linguistic diversity. A parliamentary committee has recently recommended that the medium of instruction in technical and non-technical higher education institutes such as IITs in Hindi-speaking states should be Hindi and in other parts of India their respective local language. It said the use of English should be made optional. "We strongly oppose these efforts which stem from the RSS conception of one nation, one culture, one language. It runs contrary to the spirit of the Indian Constitution and our country's linguistic diversity," CPI(M) tweeted. Senior Left leader and former state finance minister T M Thomas Isaac said the BJP does not believe in the country's diversity. "India is being ruled by a party that

NEP 2020 upholds Indian languages, knowledge systems: Dharmendra Pradhan

The National Education Policy 2020 announced by the Centre lays great emphasis on Indian languages and Indian knowledge systems, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Sunday. The policy is "rooted in Indianness and emphasises on learning in the mother tongue", Pradhan said at the 36th convocation of SASTRA Deemed University here. "NEP 2020 lays great emphasis on Indian languages and Indian Knowledge Systems. An icon like, Saint Thiruvalluvar is no less than any other literary figure, scholar or philosopher. It is our duty to take Thiruvalluvar's philosophy and Indian Knowledge Systems to the globe," he tweeted. National Education Policy is rooted in Indianness and emphasises on learning in mother tongue. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has time and again reinforced that all Indian languages including Tamil are national languages, Pradhan said. Pradhan appealed to the university that it should also become a 'torchbearer' of the rollout of the National Education Policy. "

NEP recognises all Indian languages as national languages: Pradhan

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday said that the National Educational Policy (NEP) 2020 recognises all Indian languages as national languages

Stalin asks Centre to celebrate Indian Languages Day instead of Hindi Diwas

Indian languages, including Tamil, should be made official languages of the Union government and Indian Languages Day should be celebrated rather than the Hindi Diwas, DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Wednesday. Quoting from Union Home Minister Amit Shah's address to the All India Official Language Conference in Gujarat, Stalin claimed that Shah batted for learning Hindi to understand culture and history. The nation comprises people who speak many languages and Shah's Hindi pitch went against the country's ideal of unity in diversity, Stalin alleged in a party statement. Hindi Diwas is observed by the Centre every year on September 14. India is known for its integrity and there must not be any efforts aimed at dividing the country in the name of "Hindia," Stalin said, an apparent hint to his party's historical line against "imposing Hindi". The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister demanded Shah that all the 22 Indian languages including Tamil, listed in the Eight

Hindi is not a competitor but friend of all regional languages: Amit Shah

Hindi language is not a competitor but a "friend" of all the other languages in the country, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said here on Wednesday as he denounced the "disinformation" campaign to pit Hindi against regional languages. He underlined the need to strengthen regional languages by keeping Hindi together. Addressing the All India Official Language Conference in Surat city, Shah said that accepting the co-existence of languages was needed and stressed the need to make Hindi flexible by taking words from other languages to expand its dictionary. "I want to make one thing very clear. Some people are spreading disinformation that Hindi and Gujarati, Hindi and Tamil, Hindi and Marathi are competitors. Hindi cannot be a competitor to any other language in the country. You must understand that Hindi is the friend of all the languages of the country," Shah said. He said regional languages in the country will prosper only when Hindi prospers, and vice versa. "Everybody should acce

BHARAT: An Indian font that integrates elements from 12 languages

India's top typographers at Rediffusion Design Studios have been working hard for the past six months to create a font that would be intrinsically and eternally Indian

SoftBank-backed Meesho adds 8 Indian languages to tap more users

Social commerce platform seeks to widen reach during festival season in the country

President Kovind calls for promotion, growth of Bodo language, literature

Addressing Bodo Sahitya Sabha, Kovind said it has played a significant role in ensuring that Bodo is included as a medium of education in both school and higher educational institutions

PM bats for local languages in courts to boost confidence in judiciary

We need to encourage local languages in courts. This will not only increase the confidence of common citizens in the justice system but they will feel more connected to it: Modi

Discussion needed with other CMs: Mamata on increased pitch for Hindi

Banerjee was replying to queries regarding Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent remarks over the importance of Hindi at an event in New Delhi

Communication breakdown

The Hindi-primacy debate has lost its relevance

Meta's counter to hate speech: Ten fact checkers in 11 languages

Meta also has people reviewing potentially problematic content in 20 Indian languages

Kochi based startup Avodha offers courses in vernacular languages

Through Avodha, student pays a small amount upfront which is roughly one-fourth of the overall fees and remainder is paid after student gets a job related to course they have studied

Need innovative ways to promote Indian languages: Vice President Naidu

Observing that language is not a static concept, he stressed the need to adopt a dynamic and proactive approach to enrich languages.