Language – whether spoken only, written only or having both features is not a mere set of few letters or syllables. Language is also not just a medium of communication, rather language is an art. Language represents, asserts and embodies a culture, a civilisation and a world view. Language is considered among the most fundamental features of human civilisation and culture. Also this linguistic ability is one of the fundamentally distinguishing features of humans from animals, which even the Darwinian school of evolution, concedes. In his book, Eve Spoke, evolutionist Philip Lieberman admitted:
‘Speech is so essential to our concept of intelligence that its possession is virtually equated with being human. Animals who talk are human, because what sets us apart from other animals is the “gift” of speech’ [1]
Although the origin of language is again a contentious issue among evolutionists and Etymologists, one conclusion is unanimous that ‘No language-less community has ever been found’. [2] As per the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) there are more than 6000 spoken languages in the world. However what should intrigue us most is not the fact of having so many languages but, as the UNESCO report next observes ‘half of [these] 6000 plus languages spoken today will disappear by the end of this century’! It is alarming, nerve-racking and an unbearable human civilisational disaster in making.
The UNESCO has declared 21st February as International Mother Language Day. The Day has been observed every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. The date –proclaimed by UNESCO in 1999 – represents the day in 1952 when students in Dhaka demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bangla, as one of the two national languages of the then Pakistan, were shot and killed by police. For 2015 the Day had been themed as Inclusive Education through and with Language – Language Matters. To support communities, experts and governments in securing and preserving the endangered languages the UNESCO has started its Endangered Languages Programme. One of the flagship activity of the programme is the Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger.[3]The online interactive map classifies the languages into:
- vulnerable
- definitely endangered
- severely endangered
- critically endangered
- extinct
- Revitalised
(The website also has an option to raise a request to get a language included in the classification if you do not find it in the list). There can be several reasons for a language to become vulnerable, endangered or worst case extinct. The UNESCO Expert Group on Endangered Languages in its concept paper entitled “Language Vitality and Endangerment” has tried to establish following nine criteria for what is dubbed as ‘language vitality’.
Language Vitality and Endangerment, UNESCO
Courtesy: www.unesco.org
As per the committee no single factor determines whether a language is endangered, but all the nine should be considered together:
- Intergenerational language transmission
- Absolute number of speakers
- Proportion of speakers within the total population
- Shifts in domains of language use
- Response to new domains and media
- Availability of materials for language education and literacy
- Governmental and institutional language attitudes and policies includingofficial status and use
- Community members’ attitudes toward their own language
- Amount and quality of documentation
Interestingly the UNESCO experts appeared to have conspicuously overlooked the role of western hegemonies, which are waging an extensive, persistent and an all powerful linguistic and cultural onslaught on the economically and scientifically disadvantaged societies of Asia, Africa, Latin America and indigenous people of Europe and America. The western cultural imperialism, which tries to establish one globally dominant language and culture, threatens the flourishing, nay, the very existence of local cultures, languages and diversity of the world as a whole.
Indian Scenario
The first Linguistic Survey of India (LSI) was carried out by British India. The comprehensive survey was conducted between 1894 and 1928 under the direction of George A. Grierson, Irish linguistic language scholar and Indian civil servant. The survey which describes 364 languages and dialects, was carried out over 30 years with final report comprising nearly 8,000 pages and 19 volumes, still remains the most extensive document on Indian languages albeit there are questions raised on the nature and reliability of report. According to census of 2001(the language-related data results of the 2011 Census have not yet been released by Govt. of India), there are 1365 rationalised mother tongues, 234 identifiable mother-tongues and 122 major languages. Of these, 29 languages have more than a million native speakers, 60 have more than 100,000 and 122 have more than 10,000 native speakers. The People’s Linguistic Survey of India, a privately owned research institution, has recorded over 66 different scripts and more than 780 languages in India during its nationwide survey, which the organisation claims to be the biggest linguistic survey in India. The People of India (POI) project of Anthropological Survey of India reported 325 languages which are used for in-group communication by 5,633 Indian communities.
Constitution of India on Language
The Constitution of India while declaring (Article 343) that the official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script had further added that English shall continue to be used for official purpose for fifteen years from the commencement of the constitution i.e 1950. Also the constitution made the government duty bound to promote, spread and develop the Hindi language “so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India and to secure its enrichment by assimilating without interfering with its genius, the forms, style and expressions used in Hindustani and in the other languages of India specified in the Eighth Schedule”.
Although the attempts were made in early sixties to cease the use of English for official purposes the stiff opposition and mass agitation by southern and eastern states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and West Bengal, the union government had to take back the decision. The turmoil led to enactment of The Official Languages Act, 1963 which promulgated continuation of English for official purposes beyond the year 1965.
The Eighth Schedule of the Constitution which earlier had 14 languages listed as scheduled ones, now includes 22 major Indian languages. The Official Language Resolution, 1968 makes obligatory on central and state governments to work for the “development of all these languages, alongside Hindi so that they grow rapidly in richness and become effective means of communicating modern knowledge”. Further the resolution stresses and advocates for the implementation of three-language formula in such a manner that “arrangements should be made in accordance with that formula for the study of a modern Indian language, preferably one of the Southern languages, apart from Hindi and English in the Hindi speaking areas and of Hindi along with the regional languages and English in the non-Hindi speaking areas”.
However, notwithstanding all the above said and written assertions, and despite the formation of a number of language promotion authorities and institutions, today the matter of fact is that the adhoc official communications language – English – has acquired an unprecedentedly formidable position in government, public and private spaces to such an extent that all other languages including Hindi have become literally subjugated to it. The reasons could be many – from the effects of globalisation to intellectual surrender. This is a glaring example of how a constitutional assertion could be undermined and cold shouldered (if not jettisoned completely) by the very society. This linguistic onslaught has been so intense that an impression has been created in the public psyche that studying in English medium school and speaking English fluently is fundamental for living a dignified life! This sick perception led to an un-mindful race in parental community for getting their children admitted into English school which in turn resulted into mushrooming of sub-standard private educational enterprises, rampant commercialisation of education thereby giving rise to a brand new education industry (sic). Noticing the scale and extent of profitability of establishing educational enterprises soon the business tycoons, politicians, and lawmakers – the custodians and enforcers of Constitution including Article 344 & 351 – too jumped in to get benefitted from the English-mania. Today a large number of private educational institutions are run by these three groups who are apparently more inclined towards profits than the service.
Despite the paucity of exact data on number of public and private schools and tricky nature of English medium schools the governmental and non-governmental surveys show an ever increasing number of English medium schools and their enrolment. According to statistics of District Information System for Education by National University of Education, Planning and Administration (NUEPA), English is the second-largest medium of instruction in India with more than two crore children studying in English medium schools. The ASER survey of selected states shows that more than 40% of children go to private schools. It is to be noted that in many states there is restriction on opening English medium elementary schools (with exception for minorities). Hence quite a large number of private schools secure the govt’s recognition for an Indian language medium school but in actuality run an English medium school. Also there are different notions and interpretations of freedom and right of individuals as guaranteed in Constitution which sometimes become problematic. The recent Supreme Court ruling against the Government of Karnataka’s order making primary schooling (I to IV) mandatory in mother tongue or Kannada is one such example wherein the court holds that “imposition of mother tongue affects the fundamental rights under Articles 19, 29 and 30 of the Constitution”.
The obsession for English medium schools is so pervading in Indian parents that they choose to overlook the observations and arguments by noted educationists and child psychologists favouring the mother tongue based education and exposing the reality of English medium schools. “There is a wealth of research which shows that the best medium of instruction for a child to have a conceptual understanding of a subject is his mother-tongue. Just because people want their children to study English does not mean that they need to enrol them at an English-medium school. If Indian-language schools did a good job teaching English, parents would not need to send their children to English-medium schools,” said R. Govinda, Vice-Chancellor of NUEPA. He himself studied in a Kannada-medium school where he picked up good English, he pointed out. [4] Professor Anita Rampal, dean of the faculty of education at Delhi University observes that “there has been extensive research to show that the number of years for which children study a language does not necessarily translate into them being able to speak or read the language. It is seen that if you show mastery over your first language and can read and write it fluently, you can learn a second language, such as English, a lot faster,”. She points to countless instances where textbooks are in English but children can’t make sense of them.[5]
Consequently the heedless frenzy for English is leading us to a situation where our children are abandoning their mother tongue thereby endangering a great wealth of ancestral wisdom, knowledge and culture. The UNESCO atlas of endangered languages lists a total of 197 Indian languages with further classification of 81 languages as vulnerable; 63 as definitely endangered; six as severely endangered; 42 as critically endangered and five languages into extinct category. Apparently there are no languages in India which have got revitalised. The UNESCO Universal Declaration On Cultural Diversity stresses the member nations on committing themselves for –
- “Safeguarding the linguistic heritage of humanity and giving support to expression, creation and dissemination in the greatest possible number of languages.
- Encouraging linguistic diversity – while respecting the mother tongue – at all levels of education, wherever possible, and fostering the learning of several languages from the earliest age.”
This year the Ministry of Human Resource Development through UGC and CBSE had directed all the schools and higher educational institutions to celebrate February 21 as “Matrubhasha Divas” by organising day-long activities like group songs and essay competitions in Indian languages. The objectives behind celebrating Matrubhasha Day included sensitising people about the need for greater use of mother tongue and other Indian languages. It also aimed at highlighting the need to impart, among the students, the communication skills and proficiency in mother tongue and other Indian languages, especially among English medium students.[6] The move, although made after 15 years of UN declaration, is a welcome step. However it will not be sufficient enough to preserve our multi-linguistic and multicultural heritage. The lukewarm response to the celebration by educational institutions and government alike indicates the need for going beyond a Day-dedicated tokenism. There should be targeted and measurable efforts to attract and inculcate interest in common people by creating opportunities – educational, social and economical- in local languages. Moreover, as outlined above the attitude and interest of the native speakers of a language is crucial in advancing, enriching and flourishing the language. We must realise that by abandoning our mother tongue and not caring for its nourishment and preservation we are actually committing nothing short of a crime against humanity.
Developing a lucid and vivid language capability is also considered as a key in personality development. The way we speak or write reflects the kind of personality we carry. Learning multiple languages has various advantages. Former Prime Minister of India P.V Narasimha Rao was famous for having extraordinary ability of speaking 17 languages. Learning a new language had never been so easy as today thanks to abundant online tools and print materials. The digital era has ushered a new genre of languages – the machine languages. These computer languages, spanning from an early day Fortran and Pascal to breakthrough C language to advanced Java and .NET, have been evolving over the years with one advanced version with more scalability and versatility replacing the older ones and ceasing their usage. However the human languages are remarkably different than these short-spanning efficiency-driven machine languages. Human languages are vehicles of human culture, carriers of human creativity and store houses of civilisational wealth. Therefore the answer for the question posed in the heading of this article is – Yes, the languages do matter!
Let us all individually and collectively resolve:
- To love, learn and transmit to next generations the knowledge of our mother tongue
- To strive to enhance our mother language understanding and capacities up to a modest level
- To develop a passion for language learning
- To adopt and encourage others towards elementary schooling of children in mother-language
Bibliography:
[1] Lieberman, P., Eve Spoke: Human Language and Human Evolution, W.W. Norton, New York, p. 5, 1998.
[2] Matthews, S., Comrie, B. and Polinsky, M. (Eds), Atlas of Languages: The Origin and Development of Languages Throughout the World, Facts on File, New York, p. 7, 1996.
[3] UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger
www.unesco.org/culture/languages-atlas/en/atlasmap.html
[4] The Times of India, Mar 2. 2012
[5] The Times of India, Mar 2. 2012
[6] www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/9479094_Matribhasha-divas.pdf
