Is Pahari dialect dying in Himachal ?

Google says — One language dies every 14 days. By the next century nearly half of the roughly 7,000 languages spoken on Earth will likely disappear, as communities abandon native tongues in favor of other languages.

From quite sometime, I was thinking about the future of my mother tongue — Pahari. Pahari dialect is widely spoken in Himachal. In Himachal, the dialect changes every few miles.The Pahari spoken in one area can be different from other. Pahari languages were mostly written in Tankri script. This script differs slightly from area to area like Bushahr ,Chamba,Kangra,Mandi,Kullu etc all have their own style of grammar. Today there are very few people who can read and write Tankri. This is one of the dying scripts in India. Most of the ancient Himalayan literature ,technology and sciences were written in this language.

Although I am not fluent in Pahari but I can understand and can speak a bit. I always enjoy listening Pahari songs :). I always feel native language is not only about culture but a way of living , expressing emotions , love , humor and unique identity. Don’t you think it is always easy to convince someone in his own native language :).

One of the reason which prompted me to write this article is that from past few years I have observed that, young generation in Himachal is not very much interested in Pahari Dialect. Please pardon me I am generalizing this for the whole state but I can say this is almost true about Shimla and upper Himachal area. When I was in school I was also discouraged from speaking Pahari as it was considered as the symbol of people living in villages. We were encouraged to speak Hindi and English instead of Pahari. Learning and speaking English has become status symbol these days.Most of my friends today don’t speak Pahari at home (myself included). Our dining table conversations are in English or Hindi and not our local dialects.English has become the primary language in all private schools across the state. Today I see most parents encouraging their children to speak either in English or Hindi rather than Pahari. I have seen kids having inferiority complex speaking Pahari.Do you think our future generations will enjoy the essence of Pahari if the same trend continues ?

One of the major reasons why a dialect dies is simply because people stop speaking it.When a language becomes extinct, it takes with itself an entire culture. Himachal is known for its rich culture and Heritage and I think Pahari language has major contribution in its unique culture and traditions.A language is a culture’s pride and we should teach the same to our children.

We should encourage use of Pahari at home. We should encourage our children to listen to Pahari folk songs , dance , cultural activities. Above all we should tell our children to feel proud of their native language.

“Losing the language means losing the culture. We need to know who we are because it makes a difference in who our children are.” — Dottie LeBeau