Source: Press Information Bureau
A proposal for granting Classical status to Marathi Language was received from Marathi Language Department, Government of Maharashtra. The said proposal was placed before the Committee of Linguistic Experts for its consideration
History of classical languages
Tamil academicians made the first call for a classical language. They asserted that the anthologies of Sangam should be regarded as classical languages. It is an ancient language and the old Tamil is the prototype of the Dravidian family language.The govt took a note and consulted the Sahitya Akademi specialists afterwards. A committee was later created to grant the status of Classical Languages and some criteria were developed
Criteria related to Classical languages in India
The criteria evolved by Government to determine declaration of a language as a Classical language is as under:
- High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years.
- A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers.
- The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community.
- 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
Current classical languages
- Tamil (2004)
- Sanskrit (2005)
- Kannada (2008)
- Telugu (2008)
- Malayalam (2013)
- Odia (2014)
22 languages recognised under the 8th schedule of India
Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi
Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili, Dogri
