Politics of language

One day in our Linguistic class the teacher was teaching the function of language. The sum and substance of all those functions was, 'it is used to communicate our ideas or emotions; and an apolitical phenomenon'. This thing was difficult to digest for me.

At that time some questions puzzled my mind: why is it so that we feel pride in speaking English and not Urdu or Punjabi? And even those who speak Punjabi in social institutions like School, College and university, are labeled as 'illiterate', 'non-civilized and 'unethical'. So, why are linguistic barriers in offices? Why are those who can speak English very well considered the prestigious class of our society? These are the questions which most of ordinary students often encountered with when they step into the threshold of Linguistics as a subject.

However the answer to these questions I found in an article, "When language divides us", by Dr. Shahid Siddique who has been the former VC of AIOU. In the article he elaborates the Pierre Bourdieu's definition of power in terms of cultural capital of which Linguistic is a part. The writer clearly explains, "Language is not a just a tool of communication. It is a highly political phenomenon that is linked with power." 

Those who are in power can easily, in this way, manipulate their doctrines throughout the world. Third world countries are hit hard by it. The imperial powers can alter the syllabus of the country. They can alienate the masses from their indigenous curriculum.

For example, if we look back into the curriculum of ancient Pakistan, we shall come to know that most of the Punjabi Characters or Heroes have been replaced with the English counterpart. Today in the private sector schools west-oriented curriculum is taught to the students. In this way, the students are alienated from their native history from where they can get inspiration. The real Heroes who resisted the British Empire become the rebels.

Living in Pakistan we often see 'education apartheid in the name of linguistic barriers. Public sectors schools which are mostly attended by the middle class are deteriorating day by day. The reason is the lack of environment in which students are engaged in contemporary trends. Contrarily, private sectors pay undue focus on 'English-oriented' environment and grab the attention of the elites. As a result, we see a divided society in which all the upper positions are withhold by the students of the latter and all the lower positions are allotted to the students of the former.

It is not the language but the social status of the speaker that determines the superiority or inferiority of a language. Because English is a language of world's super power, it will dominate all other languages. In the same way as Greek, Latin and Persian enjoyed their prestigious status. But the agonizing thing happens when the foreign ideology is taught as the nativity.

There is a dire need to unlearn all those ideologies which in the disguise of moral lesson are taught through syllabus or lectures. The very steps can be taken on the behalf of teachers and the government alike. The government should set up a team of highly skilled teachers who can point out all those fault lines and suggest alternatives

-Muhammad Abrar

(31st December, 2020)