Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email Usage of Tamil language fast declining
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/5/7/nation/17650719&sec=nation
IN a special report, Makkal Osai, said that according to Unesco, Tamil language usage was declining throughout the world.
The reasons cited were modernisation, changes in culture and the influence of Western ideas.
There was also no motivation or research done to promote the wider usage of Tamil worldwide.
The report said that there were about 12.3 million Tamils in the world and only 7.4 million used Tamil. The rest did not know how to read, write or even speak Tamil.
A survey conducted by Unesco in 2000 revealed that 1.7 million had no knowledge of Tamil and this figure will go up by 3.2% in the next six years.
The report attributed the decline to parents not encouraging their children to use Tamil. It also said that many schools in South India, where Tamil is predominantly spoken, were now giving more importance to English.
M. Ravindran, secretary of the Johor Silambam Association said that parents in Malaysia should be encouraged to enrol children in Tamil schools if the language was to be passed on to the next generation.
Tamil researcher Dr Purushothaman said that Tamil organisations should organise awareness campaigns to highlight the importance of Tamil so that Tamils could take pride in their own language.
