Indian Languages

GN Devy's book questions common assumptions about India's languages

The book would have enhanced its accessibility for ordinary readers if more care had been paid to its presentation and delineation of arguments in support of the author's principal thesis

Regional languages face uphill battle for relevance despite 'classical' tag

Linguists raise questions around selection criteria, emphasise need to link language with employability

Centre approves 5 new classical languages: What is a classical language?

The Union Cabinet has declared 5 Indian languages-Marathi, Assamese, Pali, Prakrit and Bengali-as classical languages, aiming to preserve their rich heritage

Including evidence in question confuses ChatGPT, lowers accuracy: Study

Asking ChatGPT a health-related question that included evidence was seen to confuse the AI-powered bot and affect its ability to produce accurate answers, according to new research. Scientists were "not sure" why this happens, but they hypothesised that including the evidence in the question "adds too much noise", thereby lowering the chatbot's accuracy. They said that as large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT explode in popularity, there is potential risk to the growing number of people using online tools for key health information. LLMs are trained on massive amounts of textual data and hence are capable of producing content in the natural language. The researchers from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia, investigated a hypothetical scenario of an average person asking ChatGPT if 'X' treatment has a positive effect on condition 'Y'. They looked at two question formats - either just a question

Microsoft Translator adds two new languages, Chhattisgarhi and Manipuri

Further, the company now claims to cover more than 95 per cent of the Indian population in terms of its language support options in Microsoft Translator

Microsoft adds two more Indian languages to Translator, total tally at 20

Microsoft India on Thursday said it has added two new Indian languages - Chhattisgarhi and Manipuri - in Microsoft translator. With the latest move, Microsoft Translator now supports a total of 20 official Indian languages. These include Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu, as well as two other vernacular languages - Bhojpuri, and Chhattisgarhi, covering more than 95 per cent of the country's population. "The expansion beyond official languages underscores Microsoft's dedication to democratising technology," according to a release. Microsoft said inclusion of Chhattisgarhi and Manipuri is a testament to the company's commitment of supporting and empowering the linguistic diversity of India through its innovative language technologies and solutions. "Azure AI Translator not only enhances computing accessibility in official languages but also broade

Provide study material in Indian languages digitally: Govt to institutions

The Centre has directed schools and higher education institutions to provide study material for all courses in Indian languages digitally within the next three years, officials said on Friday. The decision is aimed at providing students the opportunity to study in their own language. "The government has directed all school and higher education regulators like UGC, AICTE, NCERT, NIOS, IGNOU and heads of INIs like IITs, CUs and NITs to make study material in Indian languages available for all courses in the next three years. "UGC, AICTE and the Department of School Education have also been asked to take up the issue with regard to state schools and universities," the Ministry of Education (MoE) said in a statement. "The above directions have emerged from the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP) for promoting multilingualism in education at every level, so that students get the opportunity to study in their own language, and can have better learning outcomes," it ...

Bhashini: Everything you need to know about AI language translation tool

Bhashini is an AI-driven language translation tool that marks a transformative step in digital inclusivity for Indian languages

LIVE: US Fed keeps key rates steady at 5.25-5.50%, signals 3 cuts in 2024

Catch all the latest updates from across the globe here

BBC to launch new firm for Indian language services in adherence with rules

The broadcaster is under scrutiny for alleged foreign exchange violations in India and an investigation was launched shortly after tax authorities searched BBC's offices in Delhi and Mumbai in Feb

NEP will address challenges in teaching-learning English: Jitendra Singh

The Technology & Bharatiya Bhasha summit aimed to facilitate a smooth transition from the current education system to one rooted in 'Bharatiya' languages, to better align with the vision of NEP 2020

Class 9-10 students to study 2 Indian languages, 1 for class 11-12: MoE

Students in class 9 and 10 will now have to mandatorily study three languages including two Indian native ones while students in classes 11-12 will have to study one Indian and one other language, according to the New Curriculum Framework (NCF). The NCF has been prepared according to the new National Education Policy (NEP) by the national steering committee, headed by former ISRO chief K Kasturirangan. At present, class 9 and 10 students study two mandatory languages and class 11 and 12 students study one language. So far, the students from 9 to 12 had to mandatorily study five subjects with an option of adding one additional subject. According to the recommendations made in NCF, the number of mandatory subjects will be seven for classes 9-10 and six for classes 11-12. "Language across stages will help students develop democratic and epistemic values, and dispositions of respect for culture and diversity in society ('cultural literacy')," said the NCF document accessed by ...

1 among 7 Indian language news consumers ready to pay for it online: Study

Potential for digital news publishers, content creators to get growth avenues, it says

Gained in translation: Why spending on learning Indian language makes sense

As companies seek to impress people in all parts of the country, there is a demand for expertise in local dialogue

How Big Tech firms are rushing to train AI in Indian languages

Indian mobile and web consumers speak in 30 languages and around 1,600 dialects. The BBC estimates only 125 million Indians are English speakers; most have regional and local accents

UGC prepares to conduct undergraduate exams in 12 Indian languages

A nationwide change will take place in the higher education system, especially in undergraduate courses as language will cease to be a barrier in BA, B.Com, and B.Sc courses

Zomato now in Hindi, does 150,000 orders a month on regional language apps

Hindi, Tamil account for lions share of orders, at 54% and 11% respectively

Time to invest in Indian, South Asian languages: UK MP Gareth Thomas

According to the UK's Department of Education, there were no students taking Hindi GCSE from 2019 to 2022, whereas in 2015, 19 students had sat for this exam

Govt completes mother tongue survey of 576 languages across country

The Ministry of Home Affairs has successfully completed a mother tongue survey with field videography of 576 languages and dialects across the country. According to the annual report of the home ministry for 2021-22, it has been planned to set up a web archive at the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to preserve and analyse the original flavour of each indigenous mother tongue. For this purpose, proper editing in arranging the linguistic data by in-house linguists is under process, it said. The Mother Tongue Survey of India (MTSI) project is successfully completed with field videography of 576 mother tongues, the report said. The home ministry said the Linguistic Survey of India (LSI) is a regular research activity in the country since the 6th Five Year Plan. In continuation to earlier publications under this project, the volume on LSI Jharkhand is finalised and that on LSI Himachal Pradesh is nearing completion. The field work of LSI Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh is going on. Th

Proposal to make Hindi as medium of instruction unacceptable: CPI(M)

The ruling CPI(M) in Kerala on Monday opposed the recommendation of a parliamentary committee to make Hindi as the medium of instruction in technical and non-technical institutions including IITs, saying this runs contrary to the spirit of the Constitution and the country's linguistic diversity. A parliamentary committee has recently recommended that the medium of instruction in technical and non-technical higher education institutes such as IITs in Hindi-speaking states should be Hindi and in other parts of India their respective local language. It said the use of English should be made optional. "We strongly oppose these efforts which stem from the RSS conception of one nation, one culture, one language. It runs contrary to the spirit of the Indian Constitution and our country's linguistic diversity," CPI(M) tweeted. Senior Left leader and former state finance minister T M Thomas Isaac said the BJP does not believe in the country's diversity. "India is being ruled by a party that