On Marathi Din, Have a Look at Languages With Classical Status in India and the Criteria
Marathi speakers will hope that their language gets the status of 'classical' language soon. Presently, six languages have the status of classical language in India.
The 'Marathi Bhasha Diwas', Marathi Language Day is celebrated on 27 February every year. It is celebrated on the occasion of writer Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar also known lovingly as Kusumagraj. Maharashtrians are proud of their language and rightly so. The Marathi language has one of the richest literature among any Indian languages. But Marathi speakers over the years have been demanding the status of "Classical language" status to Marathi which has been denied to it so far.
So why is it that despite being the official language of the second largest state in India as per population- Maharashtra, Marathi has still not received the classical language status? The answer lies in the criteria of selection for classical languages. First, the languages that have the status of classical language in India:
1)Tamil (since 2004)
2)Sanskrit (since 2005)
3)Telugu (since 2008)
4)Kannada (Since 2008)
5)Malayalam (since 2013)
6)Odiya (since 2014)
There are several criteria for being selected as a classical language. They are given below:
1) High antiquity of its early texts/ recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years.
2) A body of ancient literature/ texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers.
3) The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community.
4) 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.
According to experts, Marathi language dates back to almost 1000 years and Marathi is the fourth largest spoken language in India after Hindi, Bengali and Telugu. Marathi speakers will hope that their beloved language get the classical tag soon. But status or no status, Marathi remains to be one of the most vibrant and creative languages of India.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 27, 2018 11:43 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).