Nelson Mandela in one
of his talks says,“If you talk to a man in a language he understands that goes
to his head. If you talk to him in his languages that goes to his heart”, such is the impact of the mother language or the
native language. Language is the essentially the medium through which people
belonging to same race, culture, descent and often place communicate with each
other. It is the greatest binding factor which brings people together. February
21st is celebrated as the International mother language day by the
member countries of UN to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural
diversity and multilingualism. The decision to celebrate such day was announced
by UNESCO on November 17th 1999.
UNESCO has adopted a resolution to promote the preservation and
protection of all languages used by the people of the world. Further, UN
General Assembly has proclaimed the year 2008 as the International Year of Languages to promote unity in diversity and
international understanding through multiculturalism and multilingualism.
Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and
developing our tangible and intangible heritage. In this modern era
conservation of the cultural and traditional identity has been under serious
threat. Conscious effort has to be made preserve the mother languages as they are marks of
cultural identity too. Apart from being
the cultural identity of a community, mother language plays a crucial role in
learning and understanding the concepts of science better. Since it is the
language, in which individual can speak and express his ideas/ thoughts easily
states are encouraged to promote education and instruction in the mother
language for better results. Scientific research has shown that children who
are taught in the native language are found to have better reading, writing and
arithmetic skills. Results also indicate a positive impact on learning and
learning outcomes.
Unity in Diversity in short defines India. Our country is
known for its genetic, linguistic, sartorial and culinary diversity. Perhaps,
it has the richest treasure of linguistic diversity than any other country. As
many as 1,652 languages have been listed to be spoken in India as per 1962
census. But sadly now only 122 languages are spoken by more than 10,000 people.
There are six languages- Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu which
are spoken by more than 50 million people in India. Indian languages belong to
four of the world’s major language groups: Indo-Aryan, Dravidian,
Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Burman. This year Odia language which belongs to the
Indo-Aryan group has been declared as a classical language. It is one the
oldest languages of India bearing no resemblance to Hindi, Telugu, Bengali and
Sanskrit. It is the sixth language to be declared as a classical language after
Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.
In India as a part of promotion of native languages, the
expert committee of Sahitya Academy recommends Ministry of Culture to confer ‘classical
language status’. Four criteria are considered for the same. They are high
antiquity of its early/ ancient texts of recorded history of over 1500 to 2000
years; originality of the literary tradition and assurance that language has
not been borrowed from another speech community; considered as a valuable
heritage by generations of speakers and classical language and literature
should be distinct from the modern and there may be discontinuity between the
classical language and its modern offshoots. After being conferred the special
status they get the financial status to establish centre for excellence for the
study of language. It also provides two major awards for scholars of eminence.
Further, UGC would permit creation of professional chairs for scholars of
eminence in Central Universities.
Language plays a very vital role in process of integration
into all aspects of the public life and in particular education. It strengthens
co-operation and contributes to attaining quality education, building inclusive
knowledge societies and preserving cultural heritage, mobilizing political will
to apply the benefits of science and technology for sustainable development.
Languages are the most precious but also the most fragile treasures of mankind.
Hence concerted efforts are needed to sustain the linguistic diversity and
handover the traditional heritage to the future generations.
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