The Problem Called Language

Aditi GhoshCalcutta University

And the lord said, behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; And this they begin to do; And now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

barbarian - is a pejorative term for an uncivilized person.

< Medieval Latin barbarinus < Latin barbaria< Latin barbarus, < ancient Greek word βάρβαρος (bárbaros).

< onomatopoeic, the bar-bar representing the impression of random hubbub produced by hearing a spoken language that one cannot understand, similar to blah blah, babble or rhubarb in modern English. Related imitative forms are found in other Indo-European languages, such as Sanskrit barbara.

Multilingual Scenario Two Thousand Years Back

The four main strands of this status quo in Jerusalem were Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic.Latin was the least common and was restricted largely to roman soldiers and imperial officials.

“Alexander’s sword and Aristotle’s spirit conquered the East for Greek language and culture for centuries on end.” Languages used in the city-- Aramaic.Hebrew, the fourth strand of the language status quo, was a language that was doomed.

Those in power “tagged” themselves with Latin; those who were debonair and fashionable “tagged” themselves with Greek; Hebrew became the “tag” for nostalgia: the good old days, the ancient virtues.

IcelandFranceUSA

Indonesia Africa Cameroon South Africa Namibia

‘… a system of administrative units created on linguistic basis, each of them will be to some degree homogenous and will facilitate the development of the people and the languages of the respective peoples’

Tilak 1891

Nehru on Linguistic State

language of the province should correspond with the language area (1937 )if a province has to educate itself and do its daily work through the medium of its own language it must necessarily be a linguistic area. If it happens to be a polyglot area difficulties will continually arise and the media of instruction and work will be two or even more languages. Hence it becomes most desirable for provinces to be regrouped on a linguistic basis. (1928)

Erskine

One cannot certainly have a united India if he is going to have a government conducted in many languages. I do not believe that the two things [Indian unity and linguistic provinces] are possible nor do they coincide. (1935)

Report of State Reorganisation Act

The homogeneity of language should enter into consideration only as a matter of administrative convenience (1955)

Gandhi on Official Language

a universal language for India should be Hindi’ (1905)a resultant of Hindi and Urdu, neither highly Sanskritized nor highly Persianized or Arabianized’(1925)

Gandhi on Official Language

I hail from Gujrat. My Hindi is broken. I speak to you, brothers, in that broken Hindi of mine, because even if I speak a little of English, I have the feeling that I am committing a sin’ ( all-India script and common language conference in Lucknow 1916).

Gandhi on Official Language

Let no Dravidian think that learning Hindi is difficult … Dravidian children can learn Hindi in a remarkably easy manner’ (young India, 16 June, 1920)

Gandhi on Official Language

An average Bengali can learn Hindustani in two months if he gave it three hours per day and a Dravidian in six months at the same rate.’ (Young India, 2 Feb, 1921)

Gandhi on Official Language

a spirit that is so exclusive and narrow as to want every form of speech to be perpetuated and developed, is anti-national and anti-universal. All underdeveloped and unwritten dialects should … be sacrificed and merged in the great Hindustani stream. It would be a sacrifice …, not a suicide (young India27 august, 1925 )

Manipur: Manipuri (60.4%) Assam: Assamese (57.8%)Arunachal Pradesh: Nissi (19.9%) Nagaland: Ao (14.0%)Mizoram: Lushai (75.1%) Tripura: Bangla (68.9%) Meghalaya: Khasi (47.45 %)

‘Unless the province of Assam is organised on the basis of Assamese language and Assamese culture, the survival of the Assamese nationality and culture will become impossible. The inclusion of Bengali speaking Sylhet and Cachar and immigration or importation of lacs of Bengali settlers on wastelands has been threatening to destroy the distinctiveness of Assam and has, in practice, caused many disorders in its administration.’

-- Election manifesto, the Assam Pradesh congress committee,1945.

The year 2000 marked the end of a decade of linguistic revolution

Crystal Language revolution

Diversity ≠ Divisiveness.

Divisineness is an ideologized position, it can magnify minor differences and indeed it can manufacture differences in langaues ….

Unification is also an ideooglized position.’