“One language dies every 14 days. As many as half of world’s 6,000 languages are expected to be extinct by end of this century as communities are abandoning their native tongues in favour of English, French or Spanish,” he added. Odia ranks 37 among these languages and sixth classical language in the country but still facing a threat from its own people and society as Odias do not respect their own language, said noted litterateur Gourahari Das while narrating his view at Odisha Literary Festival organised by The New Indian Express here in Bhubaneswar.
Now English poses a new challenge but Odia literature has to expand its scope to remain meaningful, he added.
