VI. The Death of a Language
In a recent article (Joga Singh, 2013), I had stated that even language like Punjabi, which has a literary history older (and perhaps richer too) than English , is the 10th largest spoken language of the world and is first official language of India’s Punjab state, has entered the process which ultimately leads to the death of a language. The condition of other scheduled Indian languages is almost the same. Hindi too can be included in this list. Less said the better about the non-scheduled languages. A number of them are on verge of extinction. I request the readers to read UNESCO (2003) document `Language Vitality and Endangerment’ to make assessment of Indian languages themselves. I will not go into more details on this. The following statements will, however, provide an indication of the direction Indian languages are moving into.
“This mirrors the typical process of language death; people become ashamed of their own language and abandon it in favour of a more prestigious one. Eventually, they no longer pass on their native tongue to their children so that ‘[t]he minority language is then effectively deserted by its speakers, becoming appropriate for use in fewer and fewer contexts, until it is entirely supplanted by the incoming language’ (McMahon,1994:285)”. @ (Eckert, T et al, 2006)
“However language loss… is also due to the absence of local languages in educational system. Schools play key role in preserving minority languages and consequently their culture. @ (Eckert. T et al, 2006). The Indian elite would close all mother tongue medium schools tomorrow, if they could. The Indian Knowledge Commission (a la Monek Singh Ahluwalia) is the most ignorant agency in this regard. To find the truth, you please read the Knowledge Commission’s recommendations on English language yourself.
Joga Singh, Ph.D. (York, U.K.), Mobile: +91-9915709582; E-mail: jogasinghvirk@yahoo.co