The language one has spoken since childhood is his ‘avveya maattu’ (mother tongue); Mother tongue is the language one learns from his mother, family members, relatives, neighbours, etc. Even though one learns mother tongue from many, it is named as mother tongue because of the greater role played by the mother. Badaga language is the mother tongue of Badagas. This is the native language, and also the first language of the Badagas. It is the language learned and used at home by the Badaga and hence it is the home language of the Badagas. Therefore, Badaga language is the language that the Badagas naturally use with ease for their linguistic expression.
The Badaga language evolved in the socio – cultural atmosphere of Badaga community. It is the primary identity of the Badagas. Moreover, the ‘Badaga language’ and the ‘Badagas’ are identical and both these words originate from the same root. The Badaga language plays a major role in shaping the Badagas’ personality, their thought processes, life style and world view. It is said that when speaking in the mother tongue, there is a direct connection between the heart, the brain, and the speech. Language is more than just a tool used for communication. It embodies beliefs, values, and identity.
The Badaga language that has been alive with vitality for many centuries; It is a language that belongs to the Dravidian family of languages; It has the fifth largest speakers among south Dravidian languages and it has its own spoken area (The Nilgiris). It is to be emphasised that Badaga is not a dialect of any language and it is an independent language. It retains many of the good old Dravidian elements. It is a language that had been isolated in the Nilgiris for hundreds of years, so it persisted with lesser borrowings from other languages; In this context, it may be observed that it has largely maintained linguistic purity.
Badaga language fulfilled the needs of the Badaga fully and there were many ballads, folk stories, dramas, proverbs, riddles, tribal medicinal notes, etc., in this language. To our dismay they have gone unnoticed and not recorded. The domains of the Badaga language is shrinking in recent years. The UNESCO surveyed that the Badaga language is on the verge of extinction and it is in definitely endangered stage.
Many factors such as globalization, liberalization are attributed to the endangered state of this language. Scholars and leaders around the world are appealing for the preservation of any language. The Badagas have the responsibility to protect the Badaga language from its extinction. First of all, every Badaga should make sure that he speaks the Badaga language with the fellow Badaga brethren. We have to go down in an attempt to record what is remaining and we have to expand the domains of the Badaga language as much as possible. Above all, we have to keep in mind that being proficient in the mother tongue will help in learning other languages and will not be a hindrance at all.