Endangered tribal languages of North Kerala find new life in dictionaries
Two endangered tribal languages spoken by the Mavila and Malaveduvan communities in north Kerala are being documented in separate dictionaries to preserve their linguistic heritage
Two endangered tribal languages spoken by the Mavila and Malaveduvan communities in north Kerala are being documented in separate dictionaries to preserve their linguistic heritage before they disappear. The dictionaries are being jointly prepared by writer and Sir Syed College faculty member Dr. Mohanan V.T.V. and tribal writer O.K. Prabhakaran Vattamathatta. The project records the vocabulary, oral traditions and cultural identity of communities with a combined population of around 60,000, spread across the Kannur and Kasaragod districts. The Mavila dictionary has been completed and is scheduled for publication in the first week of August, while work on the Malaveduvan dictionary is under way. Together, the volumes will document more than 5,000 words collected through extensive fieldwork in tribal settlements. Mohanan said the initiative was driven entirely by a personal commitment to preserving rapidly disappearing languages. “This is entirely an effort born out of personal interest. We realised these languages are slowly vanishing, and unless they are documented now, future generations may lose them forever,” he said. The project builds on Dr. Mohanan’s earlier Malayala Bhashabheda Nighandu (Malayalam dialect dictionary), published by the Kerala Bhasha Institute, while Mr. Prabhakaran’s research from Iyyama Jovv traces the history of the tribal communities’ struggle for rights.
Language loss According to Dr. Mohanan, migration, formal education and increasing interaction with mainstream society have accelerated language loss, particularly among Mavila families who migrated from Kasaragod to Kannur. Many have already lost their ability to speak their mother tongue. “During fieldwork, an 84-year-old man residing in Naduvil in Kannur told me that his father knew the language, but he himself could no longer speak it. That shows how rapidly it has disappeared,” he said. The researchers faced significant challenges in documenting the languages because community members were reluctant to trust outsiders. Dr. Mohanan said he initially visited settlements on his own, but his efforts were met with suspicion, despite repeated visits and long stays. “No matter how much effort I put in, they remained hesitant. Eventually, I realised that this approach would not succeed,” he said. Documenting the language He later identified a trusted member from within the community to continue the documentation work, which greatly improved acceptance. However, he observed that some members still stayed away from community meetings.
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