Debate on Mother Tongue

MOTHER TONGUE

The French take pride in showing disdain towards English. The Germans are prudes when it comes to their lingua franca. The Chinese would rather talk in Mandarin even if they know English. The Russians are protective of their language. The Japanese go to special classes to learn English. Central and South American countries are almost united in their Spanish derived lingos. Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Israel, Poland and scores of other countries take pride in their national languages. And in India, every state has its own language or dialect, all recognized by the Constitution. The country has two national languages – Hindi & English and the RASHTRA BHASHA is Hindi. However, 200 years of British rule have imbibed a view that our Mother Tongue(s) are infra dig and speaking in English is the in-thing. This has also created a North (Hindi) – South (non-Hindi) divide and an English – non-English divide. To add to this feeling of aversion towards one’s Mother Tongue, almost all employers ask for knowledge of English. There is a belief that knowledge of the English language helps in obtaining a better and higher-paying job as well as a chance to migrate to other countries where the earnings can be even higher. All these thoughts, feelings and beliefs have been nurtured over the past four decades and as people aim to improve their and their wards’ economic status, these issues are reinforced by the reality around them. Having had first-hand experience in recruitment & training for a number of years, I can say with confidence that proficiency in English is a must and it can come about only if imbibed from the earliest years of childhood! A balanced approach towards the current issue of language of instruction, would then demand that the medium of instruction be English, the second language can be the Mother Tongue and a child should also be given an option/chance to learn at least one other language, preferably foreign (it can be French, German, Spanish, etc.). This will help the child in preparing better to face the globalized economies of today in every corner of the world. However, this would call for a rational and unbiased view of the situation existing around us and extreme views should be shunned. After all is said and done, who would not like their children do better than their parents!

KALI