R esearch S cholar An International Refereed e-Journal of Literary Explorations 94 www.researchscholar.co.in ISSN 2320 – 6101 May, 2013 Vol. I Issue II PRESERVATION OF ENDANGERED LANGUAGES THROUGH TRANSLATION Datta G. Sawant Assistant Professor of English, TACS College, Sengoan Hingoli India has rich heritage of language diversity comprising several hundred languages and dialects, approximately individual 1,652 (languageinindia.com). Today many linguistic societies have been confronted with the challenge of its language survival. And attempts are in progress on the level of government, society, literary institutions and individuals to save many endangered languages. We have two types of languages—one those which have written form or script and another those which have only spoken form. Scholars and researchers have been working on these two levels and trying to discover the ways of language survival. Among many ways of language preservation, translation is one of the most faithful and assured tools to regenerate and re-form a language. For many years, it has been assumed that translation had a major function in surviving of literature only, but with global perspectives on translation and the socio-cultural turn in Translation Studies, the scope of the function of translation has been widened and the notion of preservation of language through translation gained currency. In the multilingual country like India, translation has to play multi-functions as surviving of languages, literature and culture, a bridge of communication among a host of languages, enriching native languages and literature, an effective tool in business and industry so and so forth. With the rise of English as a lingua franca and a dominant language in India, it is very necessary to work on other languages which are on the verge of extinction. The present paper Preservation of Endangered Languages Through Translation is an attempt to discover and remaking of how translation can be proved a useful tool in survival of languages. Here the focus will be on those languages which have spoken as well as written form. Why translation is so significant? No one can acquire all, even many languages but can understand two-three languages in the country like India. We know the literature of ancient civilizations like Greeks, Romans, Indus, etc. How this ancient literature has been spread from one part to the other parts of the globe? What was the medium? The medium was nothing but translation. Though we do not understand source language of the Ramayana or the Mahabharata which is Sanskrit, the Bible which is Hebrew and later English, and of Quran which is Arabian, yet we know these sacred texts very well. How? Through translation only. In India, there is a great tradition of oral literature and hence oral translation. In every human sphere translation is significant: to understand and meet the global needs in the field of science and technology, commerce and business, arts and cultural exchange, education and research, medicine, etc. Translation is one of the booming industries ever widening its area from literature and education to professional translation in government and private sector. No business can be successful on a varied geographic and linguistic area without translation. It is a proper channel of