Multilingualism in India
Recently I read one book title is "Multilingualism in India" edited by Debi Prassana Pattnayak. Multilingualism in India is a challenging and stimulating study of the nature and structure of multilingualism in Indian subcontinent. India with 1652 mother tongues, between 200 & 700 languages belonging to four language families,written in ten major script system and a host of minor ones, represents multilingualism unparalleled in the democratic world.
Debi Prassana Pattnayak is a linguist,educationist, and a student of Indian society and literature. As the founder director of Indian Languages he has an unusual range of research experience:sociolinguists,Sociolinguistics,Semiotic,
Aadministration and Mass communication.
In this book there are many interesting chapters :
Chapter: 1 Multilingualism and School Education in India : Special features,Problems and Prospect.
- A.k.Srivastava
In this chapter there are many interesting points :
a) The one and the only way to introduce multilingualism through a formal system of education is to make provision for the study of several languages in the school curriculum.
b) For several school children there may be differences between their mother tongue and the language of the region in which they are staying, and which they ought to study to fulfill both integrative and instrumental needs.
c) Every school joing child ought to study Hindi since it is the official language of the country.
d) English also has to be studied since apart from being the associate official language. It is also an international language through which several instrumental needs can be satisfied.
There are also may problems and prospects. The load of learning several languages in school.
Chapter : 2 Literacy in a Multilingual Context.
- R.N.Srivastava
- R.S.Gupta
The last two decades have witnessed a growing scholarly. Research in the area of literacy has involved three primary parameters :
1) Language
2) Society
3) Cognition
Focusing on one or the other of these parameters, scholars have studied different dimensions of attention has been focused on the study of literacy in close nexus with the socio-economic ecology of various societies at close relationships that exists between language ecology and literacy has received little or no attention.
A recent study on education and development conducted by the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, has discussed the problem of illiteracy with in the scenario of educational development.The study shows a close relationship between literacy and depravation and socio-economic states of India, and says :
" State of Kerala has the highest literacy ,as well as female literacy.It also has the distinction of having the lowest infant morality rate, the lowest proportion of married females in the age group of 15-19, very low death rate and the highest agricultural productivity.As against this, Uttarpradesh with literacy rate of only 27.16% and female literacy of 14.0%; is characterized by the highest infant morality rate, high proportion of married females in the age group of 15-19, and low couple protection rate."
The admirable compiled work completely neglects the relationship between literacy and configuration of language in a multilingual society.
The lack of proper understanding has generated several myths about bi- and multilingualism. Srivastava (1977) atrributes these myths to the scholars disagreeable predominant preoccupation with multilingualism with a negative interpretation, and enumerates them as follows :
a) Linguistic homogeneity is currently related to many more desirable characteristics of polities than linguistic heterogeneity.
b) Bilingualism is a source of educational disadvantage and intellectual impoverishment.
c) Bilingualism cripples the creative abilities of the human mind.
d) Bilingualism is an obstacle per se in the linguist communication within a speech community.
The uneven development of the Indian society has given rise to uneven attitudes towards the social functionality of literacy.This, in turn, has promoted the concept of functionality which is the major thrust of the literacy moment in India.
Chapter : 3 Language & Social Identity
-Jennifer Bayer
In this last chapter of this book Language and Social Identity Pattnayak quoted few lines which is very interesting,
" In the process of modernization of the traditional society of India ; caste is also in the process of transforming its structure into a corporate group while fulfilling its social group even if it continues to provide an important alternative to ones life chances and act as an identity marker in the process of change; such identity carries over to other sets of social categories."
Language & Social Identity are very much linked with ethnic identity which is a multi-dimensional concept.But what is apparent is that even though questions may be asked as to when and in what context language assumes greater importance is the most important symbol of identity.
Recently I read one book title is "Multilingualism in India" edited by Debi Prassana Pattnayak. Multilingualism in India is a challenging and stimulating study of the nature and structure of multilingualism in Indian subcontinent. India with 1652 mother tongues, between 200 & 700 languages belonging to four language families,written in ten major script system and a host of minor ones, represents multilingualism unparalleled in the democratic world.
Debi Prassana Pattnayak is a linguist,educationist, and a student of Indian society and literature. As the founder director of Indian Languages he has an unusual range of research experience:sociolinguists,Sociolinguistics,Semiotic,
Aadministration and Mass communication.
In this book there are many interesting chapters :
Chapter: 1 Multilingualism and School Education in India : Special features,Problems and Prospect.
- A.k.Srivastava
In this chapter there are many interesting points :
a) The one and the only way to introduce multilingualism through a formal system of education is to make provision for the study of several languages in the school curriculum.
b) For several school children there may be differences between their mother tongue and the language of the region in which they are staying, and which they ought to study to fulfill both integrative and instrumental needs.
c) Every school joing child ought to study Hindi since it is the official language of the country.
d) English also has to be studied since apart from being the associate official language. It is also an international language through which several instrumental needs can be satisfied.
There are also may problems and prospects. The load of learning several languages in school.
Chapter : 2 Literacy in a Multilingual Context.
- R.N.Srivastava
- R.S.Gupta
The last two decades have witnessed a growing scholarly. Research in the area of literacy has involved three primary parameters :
1) Language
2) Society
3) Cognition
Focusing on one or the other of these parameters, scholars have studied different dimensions of attention has been focused on the study of literacy in close nexus with the socio-economic ecology of various societies at close relationships that exists between language ecology and literacy has received little or no attention.
A recent study on education and development conducted by the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, has discussed the problem of illiteracy with in the scenario of educational development.The study shows a close relationship between literacy and depravation and socio-economic states of India, and says :
" State of Kerala has the highest literacy ,as well as female literacy.It also has the distinction of having the lowest infant morality rate, the lowest proportion of married females in the age group of 15-19, very low death rate and the highest agricultural productivity.As against this, Uttarpradesh with literacy rate of only 27.16% and female literacy of 14.0%; is characterized by the highest infant morality rate, high proportion of married females in the age group of 15-19, and low couple protection rate."
The admirable compiled work completely neglects the relationship between literacy and configuration of language in a multilingual society.
The lack of proper understanding has generated several myths about bi- and multilingualism. Srivastava (1977) atrributes these myths to the scholars disagreeable predominant preoccupation with multilingualism with a negative interpretation, and enumerates them as follows :
a) Linguistic homogeneity is currently related to many more desirable characteristics of polities than linguistic heterogeneity.
b) Bilingualism is a source of educational disadvantage and intellectual impoverishment.
c) Bilingualism cripples the creative abilities of the human mind.
d) Bilingualism is an obstacle per se in the linguist communication within a speech community.
The uneven development of the Indian society has given rise to uneven attitudes towards the social functionality of literacy.This, in turn, has promoted the concept of functionality which is the major thrust of the literacy moment in India.
Chapter : 3 Language & Social Identity
-Jennifer Bayer
In this last chapter of this book Language and Social Identity Pattnayak quoted few lines which is very interesting,
" In the process of modernization of the traditional society of India ; caste is also in the process of transforming its structure into a corporate group while fulfilling its social group even if it continues to provide an important alternative to ones life chances and act as an identity marker in the process of change; such identity carries over to other sets of social categories."
Language & Social Identity are very much linked with ethnic identity which is a multi-dimensional concept.But what is apparent is that even though questions may be asked as to when and in what context language assumes greater importance is the most important symbol of identity.
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