Madras University, Karur Vysya Bank jointly launch Indigenous and Endangered Languages Lab

An Indigenous and Endangered Languages Laboratory (IELLAB), with the mandate of documentation, preservation, and academic study of indigenous and endangered languages, has been set up at the University of Madras with funding from Karur Vysya Bank’s (KVB) Corporate Social Responsibility initiative.

The facility, claimed to be South India’s first dedicated lab for research on indigenous and endangered languages, was inaugurated by B. Ramesh Babu, Managing Director and CEO, Karur Vysya Bank, recently.

The lab would provide a dedicated institutional space for systematic research, documentation, and community-led preservation of endangered languages, according to S. Armstrong, Head, Centre for Endangered Languages, University of Madras.

In its initial phase, the IELLAB will focus on documenting and studying indigenous languages with strong moorings to South Indian landscapes, including Soliga, Kota, Toda, Irula, and Badaga, which are at varying levels of vulnerability.

The lab will emphasise strong community engagement with indigenous elders, scholars, and students to provide scope for inter-generation knowledge transfer and continuity of remaining cultural traditions.

The lab has been envisioned as one that combines academic rigour with technology-enabled preservation. It would focus on audio-visual archiving of languages, oral histories, folklore, rituals, and cultural practices. 

Among those present at the inauguration were AVM K. Shanmugam, Secretary, Avichi College of Arts and Science and Managing Director, AVM Productions; M. Srinivasan, Head, Social Work and Criminology Department, University of Madras; Supala Pandiarajan, Head, Department of Women’s Studies, University of Madras; and G. Sudhandiran, Associate Professor, Biochemistry Department, University of Madras.