Archiving and cataloguing endangered indigenous languages of West Bengal, India (Asur, Birhor and Shershabadia)

This dataset comprises language profiles and both textual and audiovisual cultural materials documenting three endangered languages of West Bengal: Asur (asur1254), Birhor (birh1242), and Shershabadia (Glottolog code unavailable). On the scale of linguistic endangerment, Asur is classified as definitely endangered and is spoken in parts of North Bengal; Birhor is critically endangered and primarily spoken in the Purulia district; and Shershabadia, spoken across Malda, North and South Dinajpur, and Darjeeling, belongs to a community officially recognised as socially and educationally backward. Each language occupies a distinct ecological and social niche within the multilayered linguistic landscape of the region and faces severe attrition due to the dominance of Bengali, Hindi, and English in both public and private domains. Their preservation through systematic documentation and archiving is therefore an urgent linguistic and cultural priority.