Cherishing Linguistic Diversity
#17 - Importance of languages and it's preservation
I avoid checking social media early in the mornings, but it's a hard habit to break. This Sunday morning, I opened Reddit and was instantly enraged. Our Home Minister, Amit Shah, made a statement on India's language policy, sparking a debate. He said -
"That Hindi must be finally accepted without opposition, even if the pace of acceptance is slow."
He went on to make many points like 'Hindi is not in competition with local languages; the nation will be empowered only by promoting all Indian languages.'1 But is it true?
I keep away from politics as I'm not an expert and might overlook my biases. However, this topic has been nagging at me, so I'm sharing my thoughts. Language is an emotionally charged topic, easy to polarize in India.
I speak Konkani, a lesser-known language spoken by about 2.5 million people worldwide. The majority are based in the little Konkan region of India, consisting of coastal Karnataka, Goa, and Maharashtra. Konkani has many dialects like other Indian languages and does not have its own script, using Kannada, Devanagari, etc. There is Goan Konkani, Konkan Marathi, and the likes.
Konkani, a language with ancient roots, evolved from Indo-Aryan languages and gained distinction during the medieval era. It embraced diverse influences, leading to unique dialects and scripts. Despite historical challenges, Konkani's resilience endures for now.
If I look at Konkani, my own language, our generation hardly speaks it well. With migration, inter-caste marriages, and other factors, even fewer people in the future will speak the language. However, it doesn't mean I believe that Konkani will be non-existent. I don't think so.
As of the 2000s, about 7000 natively spoken languages were spoken across the world. Most are minority languages in danger of extinction. 90% are expected to be extinct by 2050!2
India is a complex country, as are its languages. Ancient languages and modern dialects coexist. Ours is a country with great linguistic diversity. According to the 2011 census, 1369 dialects/languages are counted under 121 languages. Out of these, 22 are included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution, called "Scheduled Languages." The remainder, 99, are "Non-scheduled Languages."
India is deeply illiberal. The North thinks their language is superior, the south thinks they are diverse. With the right-wing BJP government in power since 2014, India's linguistic diversity has been under threat. They have backed Hindi under the one language, one Nation theory, and many policies, schemes, and incentives to popularize Hindi have been taken. Of course, it is being met with resistance, especially from the southern states. Instead of reviewing the policies, the government has decided to double down on it.
This issue has raised tempers, leading to many Twitter debates and protests. Hyper-regionalism is the trend in Indian politics, and many groups, which call themselves saviors of the language like Karnataka Rakshana Vedika and alike, protest on these topics. Opposition parties do what they are supposed to do: oppose. Both sides have their opinions and defend them fiercely. Homogenizing tendencies exist in countries with differences in language and culture, and India is no different. However, I'm not solely interested in the politics of language.
I believe that genuine liberalism is about being open, curious, and embracing different worlds. Language is not just a tool; it helps in understanding different ethnic groups, their cultures, and traditions. The diversity of languages provides us an opportunity to widen our horizons and learn from other cultures. Imagine having just one language worldwide!
Europe is a great example of language diversity. Each country has (almost) its own language and unique cultures, and they have managed to coexist and prosper. But, this threat to languages is all too real, and steps have to be taken to preserve them. In this digital world, it's happening. People are more vocal about asking for services in their language, be it movie/series subtitles, public transport messages, or signboards. Even the influencers on social media are diverse and cater to their audience in their language. I was pleasantly surprised to find Konkani reels, podcasts, and more. Social media has been an enabler.
Teaching the younger generation to speak in our native languages and using the internet and tech to translate, catalogue, and store language information can help a good deal. YouTube channels, crowd-sourced movies, food recipe websites, etc., are all trying to promote, preserve, and entertain in their languages, promoting their cultural heritage. Duolingo is a good example of how people learn other languages. Irish is being learned by more people than the actual native speakers. So, if you give people the platform and make it accessible, anything is possible.
But there is another side to this. I think people only try to learn other languages or culture when they are forced to follow some arbitrary rule/law, less from their own interests. As an expat, having lived in Singapore and now in The Netherlands, I certainly feel that. If a language is alien to us, we hesitate to engage with it. Hence, while growing up, exposing ourselves to different languages and culture is important. It expands our worldview, sort of looking out from our comfortable cocoon.
Will Konkani survive until 2050? I'm not sure, but I believe records of the language will endure, offering resources for those willing to learn. However, we must end the shallow notion of pushing one language as superior and imposing it upon others. Let linguistic diversity thrive, for it enriches our world and preserves our cultural heritage.
Giddy up!
Avinash.
UNESCO - A decade to prevent the disappearance of 3,000 languages
One Nation, One Language Policy articles - https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/the-one-nation-one-language-fallacy-7894218/
https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-news-editorials/one-nation-one-language
Konkani Language - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konkani_language
Census of India, 2011 - https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42561