Saving Kuwi: IIT Madras Study Flags Threat To Indigenous Language Of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh
While EGIDS categorises Kuwi language as "safe", the UNESCO framework identifies it as "definitively endangered", highlighting weak intergenerational transmission, low literacy levels and inadequate documentation.
Published : December 17, 2025 at 10:38 AM IST
Chennai: Every language carries with it the stories, traditions and identity of its people. Yet, even as efforts are underway to protect regional languages, hundreds have vanished across the world over the last few decades, and India is no different. A recent study by researchers from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has raised concerns over the future of Kuwi, an Indigenous language spoken by tribal communities in parts of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, warning that it is losing ground and could soon become extinct.
Dr Gunti Prem Sagar and Professor Anindita Sahoo from the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Madras, Chennai, have undertaken a study on Kuwi, and the results were concerning.
Highlighting the issue, IIT Madras said languages carry centuries of culture, history, and ways of seeing the world. Yet, linguistic diversity is rapidly shrinking. Globally, nearly half of all known languages have disappeared in the last 500 years, and UNESCO warns that up to 90 percent of the world's languages may vanish by the end of this century.
In India alone, the People's Linguistic Survey of India has reported the loss of 250 languages in just 50 years, it added.
In view of this, the IIT researchers carried out a study examining why languages become endangered. It also critically compares two global assessment frameworks: UNESCO's Language Vitality Tool and EGIDS (Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale).
While EGIDS categorises Kuwi as "safe", the UNESCO framework identifies it as "definitively endangered", highlighting weak intergenerational transmission, low literacy levels, and inadequate documentation.
The study further stresses the urgent need for language revitalisation, multilingual education (MLE) in the mother tongue, stronger documentation efforts, community engagement through digital platforms, and sustained governmental support.
Preserving languages like Kuwi is not just about words, it is about safeguarding Indigenous knowledge, cultural identity, and humanity's shared heritage, IIT Madras said in its Tech-Tuesday report.
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