Rajeev Choudhary
Independent Researcher
Rajasthan, India
Abstract
This study delves deeply into the intertwined phenomena of multilingualism and language attrition in rural villages across Northeast India, offering a nuanced account of both the drivers and lived experiences of language shift. Building on established sociolinguistic theories and contemporary vitality frameworks, our research scrutinizes how socio‐economic mobility, formal education policies, media consumption, and patterns of intergenerational transmission collectively reshape everyday language practices. Through a meticulously designed survey administered to 200 respondents aged 15–70 across six strategically selected villages in Assam, Meghalaya, and Manipur, we quantify shifts in language usage, proficiency, and attitudes. The survey’s findings reveal stark generational divides: while elders maintain robust use of indigenous tongues across multiple domains, younger cohorts exhibit precipitous declines in daily use, opting instead for regional lingua francas and English in home, educational, and economic settings. Factor analyses of attitudinal scales uncover two principal dimensions—“Cultural Attachment” and “Instrumental Utility”—which cluster around contrasting views of language as identity marker versus instrument of socio‐economic advancement. Qualitative narratives enrich these statistics, highlighting community initiatives such as language clubs and storytelling circles, even as resource constraints undermine their sustainability. Our results underscore critical leverage points for policy interventions: the integration of mother‐tongue instruction into early‐education curricula, development of community‐driven media outlets broadcasting in heritage languages, and facilitation of structured intergenerational exchange programs. By mapping both quantitative trends and qualitative insights, this manuscript contributes actionable recommendations for sustaining Northeast India’s rich linguistic tapestry in an era of rapid social transformation.
Keywords
Multilingualism, Language Loss, Northeast India, Language Vitality, Sociolinguistics
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