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“When a people are enslaved, as long as they hold fast to their language it is as if they had the key to their prison.”
Can you think of examples in history where a conquered people had their language taken away from them or had a language imposed on them?
Some examples of the native language taken away from its people and/or imposition of the language of the conqueror are:
(a) Portuguese becoming the lingua franca of Angola.
(b) English imposed on the various Celtic peoples.
(c) Spanish imposed on the Basques and the Catalans.
(d) Turkish imposed on the Kurds.
(A few examples have been provided for students' reference. It is strongly recommended that students develop the answer on their own.)
What happens to a linguistic minority in a state? How do you think they can keep their language alive? For example:
Punjabis in Bangalore
Tamilians in Mumbai
Kannadigas in Delhi
Gujaratis in Kolkata
A linguistic minority in a state does not have as much liberty to exercise linguistic skills as the natives of the state. They initially try to learn the jargons in order to cope with the day-to-day life activities and finally begin to understand the native language with regular interaction. At the workplace and educational organisations, English or the link language helps a lot to cope up with the work and learning process. But, when it comes to understanding the basic norms of the society, in order to socialize, one does face a sort of linguistic barrier during communication.
To keep their language alive, the linguistic minorities can form small communities where they can celebrate their festivals as per their traditions. Moreover, they can continue to speak their native language at their homes in order to make their children learn the language. People must, even, try to visit their native places at regular intervals in order to stay close to their roots.
(A model answer has been provided for students' reference. It is strongly recommended that students prepare the answer on their own.)
Is it possible to carry pride in one’s language too far?
Do you know what ‘linguistic chauvinism’ means?
Yes, it is possible to carry pride in one's language too far if one is fond of one’s own language at the cost of others. Indifference towards other languages is not healthy for any democracy like India.
When the sense of belonging to one's own language crosses the thin line between ‘pride’ and ‘proud’, it becomes linguistic chauvinism. If people feel good about their languages and traditions, they must have tolerance for other languages too. Everybody has the right to follow the religion as well as speak the language as per his/her desire. In fact, it is disparaging to distort the names of communities, for example, Bongs for Bengalis, Gujju for Gujratis, etc.
(This question is to be answered on the basis of students' own understanding and experience. However, a model answer has been provided for students' reference)
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