ABSTRACT
Language shift occurs because of unique historical, economic, societal and political factors. The end product of language shift is a complete replacement or language death, but it is normally a gradual process, where a shift in progress can affect a language in terms of the number of its speakers, the functional domains in which it is used and the degree of competence in the language. Waddar speakers are often confronted with the fact that modernization and upward social mobility demand sacrifice of their cultural and linguistic identities. The Waddar language is one of the 'vanishing voices'. It is spoken in Solapur district differs from that of Latur district. The best way to preserve and revitalize the Waddar language, in the author's view, is to create awareness among the speech community regarding the consequences of the growing language shift and also the need to maintain their heritage language for their distinct linguistic and cultural identity.
