Traditional biological and ecological information encoded in the Sholaga language

Aung Si, Australian National University

Project Details:

Small Grant. Duration: 2010-2011. £6,621

Project Summary:

The Sholaga people (ISO: sle) of Karnataka (+11° 59' 5.28", +77° 8' 35.76"), India, are a community of around 24,000 speakers. Traditionally a hunter-gatherer people, they have been relocated by the authorities into permanent settlements since their traditional land was converted into a wildlife sanctuary in 1973. They have a detailed knowledge of the ecology of their ancestral forests, and of the biology of the local flora and fauna - this is reflected in every aspect of their language. I will record this traditional knowledge, through documentation of the Sholaga language, which is itself threatened by more powerful neighbouring languages.