Decolonising Multilingualism By Promoting Mother Tongue

The dominance of English as a global language of education has derecognised the linguistic, cultural, and epistemic identities of multilingual people. The multilingual phenomenon has always been an integral part of human society but the nature of the plurality of language differs greatly. India as a rich linguistic country represents plurality and diversity in its society has been seen as the biggest strength.

We can see how the multilingual richness of rural areas, urban areas, and mixed population is influenced and encroached upon by monolingual education. As National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 focuses on mother tongue education, the study in this area will prove to be an asset.

Language is one of the most precious gifts that we have and each language represents a unique and distinct cultural heritage. Language is the essence and identity of culture and is a major tool for communication through which we exchange our ideas, feelings, and emotions. It will reclaim the multilingual richness of the country with reference to school education.

The renewed resource allocation and clearer policy objectives in the direction of revalorisation of local languages will achieve the ultimate end of an effective mother tongue-based education system in India.

Today, English has immensely become powerful. Why is it so, that even after independence we fail to appreciate the mother tongue as a cognitive and pedagogical resource and find absolutism in the dogma of monolingualism, as a language-teaching resource? English language is valorised as the language of salvation and progress while other languages are discursively regarded as inappropriate for educational and other purposes in the public sphere. This has resulted in developing the attitude of denigration towards one’s own language along with the overriding primacy and the exaltation of the English language. The acceptance of English as the language of global education has derecognised the linguistic, cultural, and epistemic identities of multilingual people.

This dominance of English causes serious consequences, as is rightly pointed out by Agbedo; linguistic and communication inequalities to a great disadvantage for the speakers of languages other than English, discrimination against non-English speaking people and those who are not proficient and well-versed in English, colonised mind of non-English speakers causing them to develop linguistic, cultural, and psychological dependency upon English. Maldonado-Torres defines colonisation as a “long-standing pattern of power”, while Quijano considers it a “general form of domination” and a social order in which the identities, language practices, and epistemologies of some groups are deprived of legitimacy and recognition. Coloniality additionally reproduces the superiority and hegemony of dominant ideologies and epistemologies by creating hierarchies, dichotomies, and boundaries among languages and language learning processes.

Decolonisation is the complete demolition of the coloniser’s conceptual system, which signals the onset of epistemic revolt that announces the end of mind colonisation. Decolonisation basically deals with the survival of people, culture, and their languages. It is the struggle to become self-determining and to take back control of our destinies. The Oxford English dictionary defines decolonisation as “withdrawn from its former colonies of a colonial power; the acquisition of political or economic independence by such colonies." The act of reclaiming, reformulating, and reconstituting indigenous cultures and languages has required the mounting of an ambitious research programme, something that is very strategic in its purpose and activities. The research is an attempt towards decolonisation.

There are more than 1600 mother tongues in India that belong to five different language families. It is quite evident that there is a lot of diversity in our country when we talk about languages. It is a beautiful blend of linguistic and cultural diversity. This linguistic and cultural diversity must be celebrated with much attention and with its real spirit. By giving primacy to English in schools and even in homes, we are neglecting our regional languages. Many of these languages are under threat of disappearing, with one language dying every two weeks and many more at risk. It has now become essential to promote regional languages to ensure the continuation and transmission of culture, customs, and history.

Revalorisation of mother tongue

If we look at the globe, we can see that some leading countries like China and Germany with the highest technological expertise are offering primary education in their mother tongue. Push for teaching in a universal language such as English has been shown to hinder children’s educational progress in such countries. This reveals the fact that primary education in the mother tongue is as effective and functioning as it could be in any other dominant language. The use of mother tongue-based primary education also entails that each language has the capability to provide cognitive and educational resources to its learners.

Mother tongue revalorisation refers to the new ideology, which brings fresh dimensions to the mother tongue schooling system whereby indigenous languages of colonised states are given added impetus in terms of value. It is a kind of deliberate linguistic policy aimed at re-inventing the indigenous languages that hitherto had been relegated to the background by the dominant language policy and investing them with socioeconomic and political powers, which were originally the exclusive preserve of the ex-colonial masters’ languages.

It has become very essential to promote regional languages because they are a part of our heritage. They bring us closer to understanding the diversity of cultures and communities around the world.

As NEP 2020 focuses on mother tongue education, the study in this area will reclaim the multilingual richness of the country with reference to school education. The renewed resource allocation and clearer policy objectives in the direction of revalorisation of local languages will achieve the ultimate end of an effective mother tongue-based education system in India.

Prof. M. J. Warsi is a well-known linguist and is currently serving as the President of the Linguistic Society of India