Galo
[aka Gallong, Adi, Adi, Galo]Classification: Sino-Tibetan
·vulnerable
-
Vulnerable
100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
-
30,000-40,000
-
"No reliable survey on the number of Galo speakers (as opposed to Galo tribespeople, who do not always speak Galo) has to date been conducted. The 1981 Census of India put the number of “Adi Gallong” tribespeople at 8,999 (Hussain 1995). However, the 1991 census puts the figure at a bursting 45,616! This increase is clearly not
solely due to population growth, but rather reflects the extreme difficulties of demarcating tribal and linguistic categories in North-East India, and the absence of any effective or commonly agreed-upon means for doing so.. The number of Galo speakers may be estimated at around 30,000-40,000 (or more, depending on where lines are drawn)."
- DOMAINS OF USE
-
- SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
-
- TRANSMISSION
-
- MORE ON VITALITY
-
"...the Galo remain overwhelmingly dominant in their area, their language is spoken daily and learned as a first language by a majority of children (though certainly not by all).... However, changes in this comfortable status quo are already apparent. With improvements in communication, economic opportunities, and the reach of regional, national and even international media into Arunachal Pradesh, Galo are increasingly relying on more widely spoken Indo-European languages – usually Hindi and Assamese, but also English – when leaving their immediate home surroundings."
- OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
-
Hindi; Assamese; English