Podcasts in Kanauji: Assisting Language Teaching and Revitalization

Podcasts are a unique media that have been used in Indigenous and endangered language communities in the form of Indigenous radio podcasts, instructional websites, or tools to aid classroom instruction. A podcast called Rituals of Kanauji speakers was created in Kanauji, a low-resource Indian language variety. Using this case study in Kanauji, I aim to examine the usage of podcasts for outside classroom instruction in low-resource and lesser-studied languages. Thus, this study highlights the uniqueness of podcasting for language revitalization, as podcasts can be created and consumed anytime and anywhere. For low-resource languages, there can be three kinds: podcasts for teaching language, those for cultural expression and general awareness, and those for entertainment purposes. The paper also describes their pros and cons as well as directions for creating a podcast, to help native speakers and linguists in their future documentary projects. Remote data collection of audio recordings was done via WhatsApp for making this podcast. The performance statistics from Kanauji's podcast demonstrate that it has helped promote the language and brought pride and prestige to native speakers. Finally, I conclude that podcasts break the norm and help in language reclamation.