DIPLOMA IN
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
(D.El.Ed.)
Course-503
Learning Languages
at Elementary Level
Block 1 UNIT
2 INDIAN LANGUAGES
STRUCTURE
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Learning
Objectives
2.2 Linguistic
Diversity in India
2.2.1 A picture of India’s linguistic diversity
2.2.2 Language Families of India and India as a
Linguistic Area
2.3 What
does the Indian Constitution say about Languages?
2.4 Categories
of Languages in India
2.4.1 Scheduled Languages
2.4.2 Regional Languages and Mother Tongues
2.4.3 Classical Languages
2.4.4 Is there a Difference between Language and
Dialect?
2.5 Status
of Hindi in India
2.6 Status
of English in India
2.7 The
Language Education Policy in India
Provisions of Various
Committees and Commissions
Three Language Formula
National Curriculum
Framework-2005
2.8 Let
Us Sum Up
2.9 Suggested
Readings and References
2.10 Unit-End
Exercises
2.0
INTRODUCTION
You
must have heard this song:
agrezi
mein kehte hein- I love you
gujrati
mein bole- tane prem karu chhuun
bangali
mein kehte he- amii tumaake bhaalo baastiu
aur
punjabi me kehte he- tere bin mar jaavaan, me tenuu pyar karna, tere jaiyo
naiyo labnaa
Songs
of this kind is only one manifestation of the diversity and fluidity of
languages in India. We are sure you can think of many more instances where you
notice a multiplicity of languages being used at the same place at the same
time. Imagine a wedding in Delhi in a Telugu family where Hindi, Urdu,
Dakkhini, Telugu, English and Sanskrit may all be used in the same event.
How
many languages, do you think are spoken in India? At least 15-20 names must
have come to your mind. However, this is a very small number. The list is very
long and also contains within it many smaller lists. In fact, it is believed
that of about 5000 languages spoken in the world, about one-third are spoken in
India. Thus, about 1600 languages are spoken in India. We will learn more about
our multilingual heritage in this unit.
Till
about the 20th century linguistic diversity was considered to be a problem and
various efforts were made to deal with this problem. However, for the past few
years this linguistic diversity is being considered a heritage and efforts are
being made to use this heritage for the development of society and language
itself. We will also discuss this issue in greater detail. Along with this we
will also talk about the language education policy of India and about the
various constitutional provisions about language.
India
is a multilingual country. However, two languages - Hindi and English occupy a
prominent position in this region. Thus, it is important to understand the
position of these languages from a historical and current perspective.
2.1
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After
reading this unit, you will be able to:
•
Understand the linguistic diversity and
richness in India.
•
Be able to analyse India’s linguistic
diversity
•
Look at India as a linguistic area.
•
Familiarize with various categories of
languages like - scheduled languages, mother tongues, classical languages,
dialects etc.
•
Understand the stands taken by various educational
policies on language.
•
Understand English and Hindi’s historical
and present status.
2.2.1
A PICTURE OF INDIA’S LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY
You
must have heard the phrase ‘unity in diversity’ many a times. This sentiment is
very true for India. We see various types of diversity in India, for example
those in eating habits, dresses and costumes, religion, customs etc. Such types
of diversity are also commonly seen in many parts of the world. However, the
linguistic diversity as seen in India is not seen anywhere else in the world.
More
than 1600 languages are spoken in India and these languages belong to four
different language families. India is called a multilingual country because of
this linguistic diversity. In fact, multilinguality is an integral part of the
Indian temperament. We get a composite picture of India’s multilinguality from
the 1961 Language Census of India. 1652 mother tongues were identified during
this census and they were in turn classified into 193 languages.
Multilinguality in India also has many dimensions. One dimension of this
multilinguality is that the 8th schedule of our constitution names 22
languages; these are indeed some of the major languages of India. At the time
of our independence this schedule contained 14 languages only; going from 14 to
22 is an evidence of our multilinguality and of the importance people attach to
their languages. Another evidence of our multilinguality is that our
newspapers, movies, books, TV, radio, schools, offices, courts etc, function
using various languages. Similarly, there are many other dimensions of Indian
multilinguality.
Monolingualism
is a kind of artifact some people believe in and regard multilingualism as a
problem and a marker of being backward. However, multilinguality is not a problem
in India, both at an individual and a societal level. In fact, it is a resource
for us and an expression of our cultural richness. Multilinguality is also a
resource because people who know more than one language are not just proficient
users of the languages but their views on society are also more sensitive and
tolerant. “Multilinguality has very close relationship with language
proficiency, scholastic achievement, cognitive flexibility and social
tolerance.” (Agnihotri, 2007, p. 4)
Multilinguality
is not a problem but a source of strength for India. “It is natural for the
Indian person and community to accept many languages and also allow for a free
give and take policy with various national and international languages. It
would not be surprising if you find a boy speaking to his parents in Bhojpuri,
his old friends in Bhojpuri or Hindi, his college friends in Hindi or English
and doing all his office work in English. In fact, in many situations we also
find two or more languages mixing with each other. Languages become richer due
to such processes.” (Agnihotri, 2000, p. 36)
On
this issue Subbarao says, “Even though Indian languages seem to prima face
differ from each other, they share various similarities. Western countries are
predominantly monolingual. Various western linguists feel that when so many
languages are spoken in the same region, it leads to problems of
intelligibility (i.e. people find it difficult to understand each other).
However, in reality, no such problem arises. Every educated person in India
knows at least one or two languages other than his/her mother tongue. He/she is
able to easily carry on his/her day-to-day work using all these languages. You
will not find such linguistic barriers even in cities like Mumbai, Delhi and
Calcutta. Be it a labourer, businessman, clerk or an officer, nobody’s work
stops because of language.” (Subbarao, 2000, p. 41)
It
is clear from both these quotes that our linguistic diversity is not a problem
for us; neither is it a marker of our backwardness; in fact it is evidence of
our linguistic richness.
Culture
and attitudes towards diversity in languages have an important role to play in
any nation being multilingual or monolingual. America essentially came into
being when people from various continents settled there, however it still
considers itself a monolingual notion. The Constitution of America states that
only a person who knows English is eligible to become an American citizen.
There is also a lack of facilities for children who speak languages other than
English in the country. It is because of such reasons that the third generation
of American citizens does not know their mother tongues. However, the situation
in India is very different from that in America. After the Indian partition,
the Sindhi speaking population settled in India and as per the 2001 census
there are 2,535,485 Sindhi speakers in India even today. Similarly, 77,305
Indian citizens speak the Tibetan language; 10504 Indians speak Farsi, 1106
speak Pashto and 51,728 speak Arabic. Two thousand five hundred and ninety
three Indians living in Pondicherry speak French and there are also people who
speak Burmese, Hebrew, Laotian etc. It is also important to note that most of
these people speak at least 2 languages. (Sinha, 2000, p. 64)
At
the same time, we should not forget that many languages in India are on the
verge of becoming instinct and people speaking tribal languages are becoming
fewer in number. For example, the number of people speaking a particular tribal
language of Pondicherry is less than 100. Speakers of various languages have
also gone down in number between the 2001 and 2010 census.
We
have seen that our attitude towards diversity in languages influences the
existence of linguistic diversity or multiline quality. If we have a positive
attitude to linguistic diversity, we help in the existence and growth of all
the languages spoken in the environment. On the contrary, intolerance and
narrow thinking towards languages other than one’s own may result in discord
and disagreement.
Examples
of both positive and negative attitudes towards linguistic diversity can be
found in India, from its different parts and from different points of time. For
example, there are 21 sub-castes in the Naga community and about the same
numbers of languages are spoken in the community. People of a particular
sub-group speak to the other members of their sub-group in their mother tongue.
When people of one sub-group need to talk to people of the other sub-group they
use Nagameez language and when they have to speak to people outside their
community (i.e. people outside Nagaland and Manipur) they use Hindi and
English. This is an example of the positive attitude that Naga people have
towards linguistic diversity and this is what makes them multilingual. On the
other hand, residents of Goa keep fighting over the existence of Marathi and
Konkani. Similarly, residents of Belgaon in Karnataka are arguing over the
existence of Kannada and Marathi (Sinha, 2000, p. 65-66).
To
conclude, India is a country with much linguistic diversity and this diversity
is not a problem but an important resource for us. An open attitude towards
linguistic diversity helps us in maintaining this resource while narrow
thinking causes damage. Thus, we must have a healthy and positive attitude
towards all languages.
2.2.2
LANGUAGE FAMILIES OF INDIA AND INDIA AS A LINGUISTIC AREA
We
have seen that there are a variety of languages in India. Some of these
languages have common features and common identities while some do not.
Generally, languages which share common features belong to a particular
language family.
India
is not only unique from the point of view of linguistic diversity but also
because of the variety of language families that exist in India. There are four
language families in India:
1. Indo
Aryan.
2. Dravidian
3. Tibeto-Burman.
4. Austro-Asian/
Munda
Some
prominent languages in each of these language families are given below:
•
Indo Aryan: Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Assamese,
Sanskrit, Punjabi, Gujrati, Marathi, Konkani, Nepali, Oriya, Kashmiri etc.
•
Dravidian: Tamil, Telugu, Kannada,
Malayalam, Kurukh etc.
•
Tibeto-Burman: Manipuri, Angami, Bodo, Garo,
Tripuri, Tangsa, Mizo
•
Munda: Munda, Mundari, Ho, Santhali, Savara
etc.
It
would be important to note that despite the linguistic diversity and variety of
language families available in India, India is one linguistic area. For
understanding this it is important to appreciate that people speaking languages
of all four families have been living together here for thousands of years and
thus languages have borrowed greatly from each other. As a result, various
types of structural similarities have developed in these languages over time.
While taking about Indian languages K. V. Subbarao has said, “When speakers of
different language families have been living together for thousands of years,
they affect each others languages and languages borrow from each other. This
exchange gives rise to new linguistic characteristics.” Some examples are given
below:
1.
Echo words: Such words can be found in all Indian
languages. The second word is an ‘extra’ word and has no meaning if used on its
own and sound similar to the first one. For example, the Hindi word caay-vaay
(WT-ETR) The second word vaay (CTFT) has no meaning on its own in Hindi but in
this context refers to any other things like eatables that may accompany tea.
Hindi Oriya Telugu
khaanaa
- vaanaa baagho-faago duulii - gilli
paanii-vaanii cobulai-faabulai baagh-vaagh
caay-vaay caaval-vaaval any
- giny
2.
Reduplicated words: Nouns, adjectives, adverbs etc. can be
repeated to create new words in all Indian languages. When nouns are repeated
then ‘every’ is added to the meaning of the word. For example, the word
ghar-ghar in Hindi means ‘every house’.
Nouns Hindi Telugu Oriya
ghar-ghar dhaure-dhaure ishTi-ishTi
pannaa-pannaa prishThaa-prishThaa peji-peji
Adjectives dhiire -dhiire dhiire-dhire nemdi-nemdi
ga
aahiste-aahiste aaste-aaste mella-mellaga
Pronouns apnaa-apnaa nijau-nijau tanaa-tanaa
3.
All Indian languages have post positions i.e. the prepositional words are
placed after the noun. Thus instead of saying ‘on the table’ where ‘on’ comes
before the ‘table’, in Hindi one says ‘mez par’. More examples follow:
Hindi:
raam kaa,
ghar
meN
Tamil:
raamod (raam kaa)
raamkku
(raam ko)
Mundari:
HoRaa re (ghar me)
4. At the level
of sounds: Most Indian languages have retroflex sounds such as those of the
T-varg i.e. T, Th, D, Dh etc. Again a word would never begin with a velar nasal
like the one we notice at the end of ‘king’.
In
the list of languages we gave above, although Hindi and Urdu are mentioned
separately and are of course regarded as two separately languages. They are
written in different scripts; Hindi in the Devanagari and Urdu in the
Perso-Arabic script. However, they have the same structure and both were
subsumed under the name of Hindustani before the partition of India.
Check
Your Progress-1
1. How
many language families are there in India?
(a) three (b) four (c) five (d) six
2. Give
examples of some linguistic characteristics that arose in Indian languages due
to the exchange between languages of different language families.
3. Some
time back, the workers of a political party beat up non-Marathi speakers in Maharashtra.
What kind of attitude towards linguistic diversity does this incident signify?
Is such an attitude a threat to our linguistic wealth? Give your views.
4. What
are your views on Hindustani, Hindi and Urdu?
2.3 WHAT DOES THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION SAY ABOUT
LANGUAGES?
Considering,
‘language’ an important area of concern for the country, the constitution makers
of India laid down the following provisions for language in Part 17 of the
constitution after due discussion and deliberation.
Keeping
in mind the multilingual picture of India, the constitution makers did not give
place to only one or two languages but many languages of India. According to
Article 343 of the constitution, Hindi written in Devnagari script is the
official language of India and English is the associate official language.
Initially, English was given this status for 15 years but in 1963 it was
permanently made the associate official language under the Official Language
Act. Article 345 asked each state to legally adopt one or more languages spoken
in their state along with Hindi as their official languages. Hindi was declared
to be the official language of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan,
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. Punjabi was declared the official language
in Punjab, Marathi in Maharashtra and Gujarati and Hindi in Gujarat. Tamil,
Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Assamese and Bengali were declared official
languages in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Assam and
West Bengal respectively. Sikkim declared Nepali, Lepcha, and Bhutia as their
official languages. Nagaland declared English as their official language.
Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Meghalaya did not adopt any official language
and for purposes of government work, English is used here. The official
languages of the centre are used in the union territories - Chandigarh, Andaman
and Nicobar Islands and Daman and Diu and in Pondicherry the official language
is Tamil.
Another
important issue is that of national language. Many of us think that Hindi is
the national language of India. However, it is important to remember that the
Constitution of India says nothing about the existence of a national language.
At the same time, Article 351 does state that the union must promote the spread
of Hindi and develop Hindi as the medium of expression.
Check
Your Progress-2
1. Which
Part of the constitution contains provisions related to language?
(a)
17
(b) 18 (c)19 (d) 20
2. Under
which act did English get the status of associate official language?
2.4 CATEGORIES OF LANGUAGES IN INDIA.
2.4.1 SCHEDULED LANGUAGES
Languages
mentioned in the 8th schedule of the Indian Constitution are called Scheduled
Languages. 14 languages were named in this schedule in 1950. These languages
were -Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam,
Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Sindhi was included
in this list through the 21st amendment to the constitution (1967). Similarly,
Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali were included through the 71st constitutional
amendment (1992) and Boro, Santhali, Maithili and Dogri were included through
the 92nd amendment (2003). Thus, at present a total of 22 languages are listed
in the constitution as scheduled languages. Furthermore, many states are making
an effort to get their languages listed in the schedule. “Once a language gets
listed in the schedule, its name and status changes and it is identified as a
modern Indian language or a scheduled language.” (Malikarjun, 2004)
2.4.2 REGIONAL LANGUAGES AND MOTHER TONGUES
Indian
languages can also be categorized as regional languages and mother tongues. A
total of 100 regional languages were listed by the 2001 Census and most of
these languages contain within themselves many mother tongues and dialects.
Thus, a regional language contains within itself many mother tongues. The 1961
Language Census identified 1652 mother tongues. The word ‘mother tongue’
commonly refers to the language spoken at home. The census department defined
‘mother tongue’ in the following manner for the 2001 Census-“Mother tongue
refers to the language in which a person’s mother speaks to him or her in their
childhood. If the mother is not present then the language spoken at home will
be the mother tongue. If there is still doubt then the language mostly spoken
at home is the mother tongue.”(Malikarujun, p. 8)
Two
people living in the same family can also have different mother tongues, for
example when the husband and wife belong to different communities and regions.
One more point of importance is that a child can have more than one mother
tongue, if more than one language is spoken equally at home.
2.4.3 CLASSICAL LANGUAGES
Languages
which have a long history, whose grammar has been the subject of much study and
in which much literature has been written are referred to as classical
languages.
The
Indian government has laid down the following criteria for declaring a language
to be a classical language:
1. The
language has a history/ written literature which is1500 to 2000 years old.
2.
Some ancient literature/ epic has been written in the
language and the speakers of the language consider this literature/ epic a
valuable resource.
3. The
language has an original literacy tradition and not one which is borrowed from
other language communities.
Tamil
was declared a classical language in June, 2004, Sanskrit in 2005 and Kannada
and Telugu were given the status in 2008.
2.4.4 IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND
DIALECT?
People
generally consider ‘languages’ and ‘dialects’ to be different. They give
various reasons for this- languages are spoken by more people, dialects are
spoken by lesser numbers; languages have a literature, dialects do not;
languages have a script, dialects do not etc.
However,
in reality all these reasons are incorrect. From a linguistic point of view,
there is no difference between a language and a dialect. Both languages and
dialects have a grammar i.e. they are rule governed. Awadhi, Braj, Bhojpuri
have their own grammar just like Hindi, English, Sanskrit and other language.
Similar is the case of literature. Much literature has been written in so
called languages like Hindi, English and Sanskrit and also in so called
‘dialects’ like Awandhi, Mathili and Braj. The matter of script’ is also not
correct as any language of the world can be written in any script.
For example- श्याम खाता है (Devnagari script)
Shyam
khaataa hai (Roman script)
Thus,
it is clear that we cannot make a distinction between language and dialect
based on script, literature and grammar. What is called a language and what is
called a dialect is a social and political question. As Rama Kant Agnihotri
notes, “What is spoken by powerful and rich people often comes to be known as
‘language’. Grammars and dictionaries are written for this ‘language’.
Literature also comes to be written in this language. The ‘language’ also
becomes the medium in which school teaching takes place and thus gets
identified as standard language. Languages which are similar to this standard
language come to be known as its dialects. The status of a language also
changes with change in the centre of power. When the political centre for power
was Kanoj, then the language of literature was ‘Aprabhramsh’; Khadi Boli, Braj
and Awadhi became its dialects. Similarly, when the centre for political power
was Braj, then, the language of literature was Braj and the Khadi Boli spoken
in Delhi and Meerut become its dialects. And when the centre for power was
Delhi and Meerut, Braj, Awadhi etc became dialects of Hindi.”
Thus,
the main issue is that of understanding the relationship between language and
power as that is what defines what will be called language and what will be
called dialect.
Check
Your Progress-3
1. How
many languages are mentioned in 8th schedule of the constitution now?
(a) 14 (b) 18 (c)20 (d)
22
2. What
is the meaning of ‘mother tongue’?
3. What
are the necessary conditions for categorizing a language as a classical language?
4. Is
there a difference between ‘language’ and ‘dialect’?
2.5
THE STATUS OF HINDI IN INDIA
Hindi
is the language which is spoken in ‘Hind’ or India. Its ancient names ‘hinduii’
and ‘hindvii’ carry the same significance.
•
The Hindi:
This form of Hindi is not influenced by other dialects of Hindi. It also does
not contain any words of Sanskrit, Arabic and Farsi.
•
Khari Boli:
This form of Hindi is considered to be standard Hindi, today. Different from
Braj and Rekhta, this was the language of the common people, the language of
day-to-day use and it was also possible to write literature in this language.
•
Nagri Hindi:
The form of Hindi which was used to write literature.
•
Hindustani :
Both, Hindi and Urdu are a part of this form of Hindi. It uses both Hindi and
Urdu words and is a mixture of these two ‘languages’.
•
Standard language:
When, out of the many spoken dialects, one comes to be spoken by the educated
and elite sections of society, it acquires the status of a standard language.
“The standard language is not purer than the other languages. At the level of
language, all languages are equally organized. But yes, they are not equal at a
societal level.” (Agnihotri, 2007, p. 3). The Standard form of Hindi is based
on the varieties of three main centres - Meerut, Delhi and Agra.
A
categorization of Hindi dialects
|
Hindi Dialects
|
Eastern
Region
|
Eastern
Hindi
|
Awadhi
|
|
Badheli
|
|||
|
Chattishgarhi
|
|||
|
Bihari
Hindi
|
Bhojpuri
|
||
|
Maghi
|
|||
|
Maithili
|
|||
|
Western
Hindi
|
Aakar
bahula
|
Kaurbi
|
|
|
Hariyanvi
|
|||
|
Dakhini
|
|||
|
Okar
bahula
|
Braj
|
||
|
Bundeli
|
|||
|
Kanauji
|
|||
|
Rajasthani
Hindi
|
Marvari
|
||
|
Jaipuri
|
|||
|
Mevati
|
|||
|
Malvi
|
|||
|
Pahari
|
Kumayuni
|
||
|
Garvali
|
|||
Along
with the afforesaid Pahari, Nimari, Haroti, Dhudhari, Ahirati are also dialects
of Hindi. Here we seem to be talking about the Hindi language and its dialects:
Awadhii, Braj, Maithili, Raajasthani, Bhojpuri etc. But it needs to be
remembered that these ‘dialects’ are languages and at one time enjoyed the
status of a language.
When
Khadi Boli acquired prominence, due to political and economic reasons, then
these languages lost their independent identities and were forced to become
dialects of Hindi. Dr. Ravindranath Srivastav writes, “During processes of
social re-organisation a particular dialect gets more importance than other
dialects due to economic, political or cultural reasons. As a result, this
‘dialect’ starts being used as the medium of communication between speakers of
the other dialects, also. In time the speakers of these other dialects attach
their social identity to this dialect which has become the standard medium of
communication. In present times, Khadi Boli is a synonym for standard Hindi and
enjoys the status of a language while Braj, Awadhi, Bhojpuri etc. are mere
dialects.” From now on whenever we talk about Hindi, Braj, Awadhi, Bhojpuri,
Rajasthani etc. will be depicted as dialects, however it is important to keep
in mind the language-dialect distinction that we have talked about above.
Hindi
as the language of literature
Braj,
Maithili and Awadhi are the prominent languages that have very rich literature
and it is in many ways considered a part of the Hindi heritage. A lot of
literature was written in Braj till the beginning of the 20th century and it is
the language spoken in quite a big geographical area, even today. Poets like
Soordas, Mirabai, Keshavda, Rahim, Raskhan, Bihari, Dev, Dhanand, Senapati,
Bhushan, Padmakar, Ratnakar among others have enriched the literature in the
language in the medieval period.
Jaysi
and Tulsidas are the prolific poets of Awadhi. Jayasi’s ‘Padmawat’ is a
literary epic in Awadhi. Tulsidas has written a total of 12 prominent pieces -
Ramcharitramanas, Kavitavali, Gitawali, Vinaypatrika etc. Gitavali,
Vinaypatrika and Kavitavali are in Braj. Tulsidas wrote with equal control in
both Braj and Awadhi.
Various
sufi poets like Kabir, Dadu, Redas and Guru Nanak enriched Sufi literature. In
modern times, Bharatendu, Mahaveer Prasad Dwivedi, Bal Krishna Bhatt, Prasad,
Pant, Nirala, Mahadevi, Agyay, Raghuveer Sahay and many other writers have
given new shape to Hindi literature, have provided it with energy. Poems,
stories, plays, historical accounts, critiques, biographies, travelogues,
essays, diary accounts, reports written by these authors have contributed
significantly to the growth of Hindi.
The
publication of newspapers and magazines in Hindi has also contributed to giving
Hindi stability. It is relevant to mention over here the contribution of the
first Hindi newspaper ‘Udant Maatrand’ released from Calcutta in 1826 as well
as that of the second newspaper ‘Bangdoot’. Calcutta and non-hindi speaking
Bengali’s have had a significant role in the growth of Hindi newspapers and
magazines.
The
growth of Hindi as the language of administration
The
Constituent Assembly adopted Hindi as the official language of the Indian union
on 14 September 1949. This does not mean that Hindi did not have an identity in
the form of a regional language before this development. The administrative
work in various princely states (riyasat) like Gwalior, Jaipur etc was carried
out completely in Hindi. Furthermore, even though English was the official
language of the Indian government, it was necessary for the British to learn
Hindi and this had started as early as the 1800s with the establishment of Fort
William College. In 1878-79 it was necessary for every official coming from
England to India to know Hindi and Hindustani. In 1925 the Congress decided
that it would carry on its day-to-day work in Hindustani, due to Gandhi’s efforts.
Present
status: Hindi is not only the official language of the central government but
also the official language of various state governments. It is common knowledge
today that in states where the official language is Hindi, most of the
administrative work is done in Hindi. The High courts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan give their decision in Hindi and documents can
also be submitted in the language. In many states, Hindi is the alternate
medium of education for graduate courses in Science, Humanities, Law etc.
Various centers have also been established to teach computer sciences in Hindi.
In fact, in government offices a variety of work on the computer is being done
in Hindi.
Hindi
is also being used as the alternate medium in recruitment examinations of
various important offices, institutions and banks of the central government,
even through these examinations have a necessary paper for English language.
Lastly, Hindi continues to be the medium of communication among common people,
to a large extent.
Check
Your Progress-4
1. In
which language Jaysi’s Padmawat is written?
(a)
Braj (b) Awadhi (c) Maithili (d) Hindi
2. The
name ‘Hindustani’ was used to denote which two languages?
3. Hindi
is not only the official language of the central government but also the official
language of various state governments. Name these states.
4. Describe
briefly, the development of Hindi as a language of literature.
2.6 STATUS OF ENGLISH IN INDIA
Christian
missionaries from Britain came to India in 1813 and established various primary
schools which used the local language as the medium of education. Later on,
they established various English medium high schools. British administrators
established their universities after 1857 and English became the first language
for Indian education. Indians who were proficient in English became the new
class of elites. Many English medium schools were opened. English became the
medium of education at the university level also and aspiring Indians were
partial to schools which emphasized English. English continued to be a language
of prominence even after independence. At a government level it got the status
of an associate official language. Even today, schools which emphasize English
are considered to be better schools. The situation is not different at the
university level as well.
One-third
of the Indian schools were English medium between 1970 and 1980. English
continues to play an important role in India, even today. The reasons for this
are as follows:
• Important
books and most of resource material is written in English.
• English
is the language for commerce.
• Proficiency
in English is the marker of a dignified and distinct personality.
• English
is used as a medium of education.
• World-over
development in science, technology agriculture and business use English as the
medium of communication.
• At
an international level, English has an important status. It is also spoken and
understood in most countries of the world.
• English
occupies an important position at a governmental level. States use their
regional languages for purposes of official work, but English aids them in
communicating with each other.
The
place of English in the school curriculum
The
Secondary Education commission (1952-53) emphasized the importance of English.
The Education commission (1964-66) also agreed to it. It proposed the
Three-language Formula till class 10. The Three-language Formula states that
the first, second and third languages in school will be:
First
language
The
first language which should be taught in school should be the mother tongue or
regional language.
Second
language
Any
modern language or English, in Hindi speaking states.
Hindi
or English in non-Hindi speaking states.
Third
language
English
or any modern Indian language that is not being taught as the second language,
in Hindi speaking states.
English
or any modern Indian language that is not being taught as the second language,
in non Hindi speaking states.
According
to the National Curriculum Framework, 2005, “English in India is a global
language in a multilingual country…The aim of English teaching is the creation
of multilinguals who can enrich all our languages... English needs to find its
place along with other Indian languages in different states, where children’s
other languages strengthen English teaching and learning; and in ‘English
medium’ schools, where other Indian languages need to be valorized to reduce
the perceived hegemony of English…All teachers who teach English should have
basic proficiency in English…English (is) a principal reason for failure at the
class X level. A student may be allowed to ‘pass without English’ if an
alternative route for English quantification (and therefore instruction) can be
provided outside the regular school curriculum.”
Check
Your Progress-5
1. When
the British came to India in 1813, the medium of education used in primary
schools started by them was
(a)
English (b) Hindi
(c) Hindustani (d)
Regional language
2. Knowing
English is a marker of better education, richer culture and higher IQ. Do you
agree with this statement? Give reasons for your answer?
3. English
continues to play an important role in independent India even through it is a
colonial language. Why?
Since
independence, the Central and State Governments in India have continued to give
careful consideration to education, as a matter of national development and
security. It is important to understand the recommendations made by various
commissions and committees for education, for understanding the Language
Education Policy of India.
The
National Policy of Education 1968 accepted that the development of Indian
languages and literature is a necessary condition for educational and cultural
progress and until this is done, people’s creative energies will not be
utilized, there will be no improvement in the status of education and the gap
between the academic and common people will not be bridged.
The
use of regional languages as the medium of education in primary and secondary
classes has been encouraged for many years now. It has also been said that
State Governments should enforce the three-language formula for the secondary
classes. Thus, children should learn three languages at the secondary level.
While
talking about the development of languages, the National Policy of Education,
1986 has accepted that the National Policy of Education, 1968 should be
implemented meaningfully and with speed. In this context, the Ramamurthy
committee, 1990 reviewed the National Policy of Education 1986 and
significantly commented that an important reason for why rural children are not
able to access higher education is the continued dominance of the English
language. Thus, it is the need of the times that regional languages may be
encouraged as the medium of education at all levels.
According
to NCF-2005 children have an innate (by birth) potential to acquire language.
Most children have internalized various complexities and rules of language even
before they enter school and when they start school can understand and speak
two or three languages.
This
curricular framework has asked for the effective implementation of the three
language formula. There is also an emphasis on gaining acceptability for using
children’s mother tongues including tribal languages as the medium of
education. The multilingual character of Indian society should be looked upon
as a resource for developing multilingual proficiency in each child and
proficiency in English is a part of this package. This is only possible if the
pedagogy of language teaching is based on the use of the mother tongue.
Bilingualism
or multilingualism definitely has cognitive benefits. The three-language
formula is an attempt to deal with our linguistic challenges and opportunities.
It is a strategy which lays down the path for learning various languages.
Check
Your Progress-6
1. In
which years were the National Policies of Education released?
(a) 1968 (b)
1986 (c) 1990 (d) 1992
2. What
does the Three-language Formula state?
3. What
advantages did the National Policy of Education, 1968 think would come out from
the development of Indian languages and literature?
2.8
LET US SUM UP
• Multilinguality
is an integral part of the Indian linguistic heritage.
• Being
multilingual is not a problem for India, both at an individual and societal
level. It is in fact a resource and an expression of our cultural richness.
• Multilinguality
is a resource because people who know more than one language are not just
proficient users of languages but their views on society are also sensitive.
• The
culture and attitude towards language has a prominent role to play in a country
being monolingual or multilingual.
• If,
we have an open attitude to diversity in languages than we help in the existence
and growth of all languages spoken in the environment. On the contrary
intolerance and narrow thinking about languages other than our own become
reasons for discord and disagreement.
• Languages
belonging to four different language families are spoken in India, but we are
still one linguistic area.
• From
the point of view of the science of language there is no difference between
‘language’ and ‘dialect’.
• Stories,
poems, plays, historical accounts, critiques, biographies, travelogues, essays,
diary accounts, reports etc. have all contributed to the growth of Hindi.
• English
in India is a global language in a multilingual country.
• The
Three-language Formula is the strategy which lays down the path for learning
many languages.
2.9 SUGGESTED READINGS AND REFERENCES
• Agnihotri,
R. K. 2007. Hindi: An Essential Grammar. London: Routledge
• Agnihotri,
R. K. 2007. Towards a Pedagogical Paradigm Rooted in Multilinguality.
International Multilingual Research Journal, Vol.(2), 1-10
• Agnihotri,
R. K. and Vandyopadhyay, P. K. 2000 (ed.) Bha:sha: Bahubha:shita: aur Hindi.
New Delhi: Shilalekh
• Agnihotri,
R. K. and Kumar, Sanjay. 2001. Bha:sha, Boli aur Samaaj : Ek Antah Samvaad. New
Delhi: Deshkaal
• Agrawal,
J.C. 2006. Rashtriiya Shikshaa Niiti. New Delhi: Prabhat
• Bhatia,
Kailash Chandra. 1989. Bhartiiya Bhashayen. New Delhi: Prabhat
• National
Curriculum Framework (NCF). 2005. New Delhi: NCERT
• www.languageinindia.com/april2004/katmandupaper1.html
accessed on November 2011.
2.10 UNIT-END EXERCISES
1.
Describe the linguistic diversity of India
in your own words.
2.
Multilinguality is not a problem but a
resource for India. Explain.
3.
Which language families are found in India?
4.
India is one linguistic area. Explain how?
5.
What are the parameters for declaring a
language to be a classical language?
6.
Braj, Maithili and Awadhi have contributed
immensely to the development of Hindi literature. Give arguments in favour of
and against the aforesaid statement.
7.
Critiques, biographies, autobiographies,
character sketches, reports, diary accounts, travelogues, plays, essays, have
all contributed to the development of Hindi literature. Express your views on
the aforesaid statement.
8.
What does NCF-2005 say about
multilinguality? What is your opinion on its stand?
9.
How many languages are there in the 8th schedule
of the Indian constitution, at present? Name them.
10.
The positive attitude that the Naga
community has towards diversity in languages makes them multilingual. What is
it that the Naga community does, that provides evidence of their positive
attitude towards variety in languages?
ACTIVITY
1.
Do a survey of one or two villages around
you and find out if the people in the village are multilingual? Also name the
languages they know?
2.
Which activities will you organize on Hindi
Day in school in order to generate interest among children for Hindi?
3.
Find out which languages are taught under
the Three-language Formula in schools around you.
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