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> Sanskrit is only spoken in India by an estimated 25,000 people out of a population of more than one billion, the university said. This is a somewhat misleadi
by bradrn 4y ago
> Sanskrit is only spoken in India by an estimated 25,000 people out of a population of more than one billion, the university said.
This is a somewhat misleading explanation of what Sanskrit is. The Sanskrit language is the ancestor of many northern Indian languages, similarly to how Latin is the ancestor of the Romance languages; Pāṇini wrote his famous grammatical description of Classical Sanskrit around 500 BC, give or take a hundred years or so. Sanskrit is of great significance both historically and religiously, and has been studied continuously since that time. There has also been a recent language revival effort, which is presumably what the reference to ‘25000 speakers’ is talking about.
- alberto_ol 4y agoAccording to wikipedia: There are 2,360,821 total speakers of Sanskrit in India, as of 2011. However, despite attempts at revival there are no first language speakers of Sanskrit in India. In each of India's recent decennial censuses, several thousand citizens have reported Sanskrit to be their mother tongue, but the numbers are thought to signify a wish to be aligned with the prestige of the language. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_revival https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_revival
- rep_movsd 4y agoThere are a couple of villages where Sanskrit is taught from birth. Also most schools have Sanskrit as an optional subject (its not very popular in the modern schools, but kids learn at least for 5 years) Its impossible to navigate Indian life without hearing Sanskrit - whether it is in rituals, marriage ceremonies, TV shows, ads and often even school prayers.
- devoutsalsa 4y agoA few months ago, I visited a Buddhist university in Bhutan. They were studying religious texts written in Sanskrit. It was quite interesting.
- xony 4y ago
- alimw 4y agoIn fairness to the article, it does go on to say > Sanskrit, although not widely spoken, is the sacred language of Hinduism and has been used in India's science, philosophy, poetry and other secular literature over the centuries.
- ngoilapites 4y agoHow many of those 25.000 are out of religious circles where the language is frequently used in their practice?