scholarly journals Urdu as Official Language: A Constitutional Mandate Compliance; Challenges; Prospective

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 261-271
Author(s):  
Saqib Jawad ◽  
Barkat Ali ◽  
Muhammad Assad ◽  
Muhammad Sohail

Though Urdu language has no religious background, it is inspired by Arabic a mother-tongue of Islam. However, after its development, Urdu was exclusively attributed to be the language of Muslims of the Sub-continent. They faced many challenges for the survival of Urdu during the Movement of Independence. For the same reason, after independence, Urdu was declared to be the National Language of Pakistan. Afterward, certain bodies were established for its proper implementation as official language of the country. This aspect is recognized as constitutional obligation in term of Article 251 of Constitution, 1973. Though, the government was given sufficient time for the compliance of the same, this task could not have been accomplished despite of lapse of almost fifty years. Even, the judicial verdicts could not make the concerned institutions mindful. Instead, English is the official language of Pakistan since independence. Of course, there is difference of opinion on the matter of Official Language. Among others, the medium of education and legislation including policy papers are the major issues which are on English pattern. However, if these issues are addressed, the constitutional obligation of implementing Urdu as official language may be ensured.

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-152
Author(s):  
Khagan Balayev ◽  

On April 28, 1920, the Peoples Republic of Azerbaijan was overthrown as a result of the intrusion of the military forces of Russia and the support of the local communists, the Soviet power was established in Azerbaijan. The Revolutionary Committee of Azerbaijan and the Council of Peoples Commissars continued the language policy of the Peoples Republic of Azerbaijan. On February 28, 1921, the Revolutionary Committee of Azerbaijan issued an instruction on the application of Russian and Turkish as languages for correspondences in the government offices. On June 27, 1924, the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic executed the resolution of the second session of the Central Executive Committee of Transcaucasia and issued a decree “on the application of the official language, of the language of the majority and minority of the population in the government offices of the republic”. Article 1 of the said decree declared that the official language in the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic was Turkish.


1979 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 137-154
Author(s):  
Hugo W. Campbell

In the multilingual community of Surinam the official language is Dutch. This language has occupied the official status during almost three centuries of colonial government, the intermediate stage of self-government (as part of the kingdom of the Netherlands from 1954 through 1975) and after complete independence in 1975. Though the status of official language did not change, a different language policy had to be adopted with respect to different role components in each of four historical periods. The language policy adopted in each of these periods can be considered the result of social changes which took place, and of attitudinal changes with respect to the functioning of other languages in the community. The changing role of the Dutch language in the four periods is discussed in terms of its changing socio-linguistic profile. The first change was that from an ethnic group specific position (the European population only) to an obligatory position which concerned the whole population. In each of these two periods Dutch was used in relation to all main functions (communication* education., religion and literature). During the period in which Dutch played the ethnic specific role the language Sranan was used as a promoted language to perform the same functions for the slave population of the 17th, 18th and 19th century. This language was also used as language of communication between the Europeans and the slaves. The social change from a slavery society to a society of citizens only had forced the governement to discourage the use of Sranan and to consider Dutch the only language in the country. This obligatory position was eventually disregarded in favor of a partial role of the Dutch language in a multicultural society. The recognition by the government of a multitude of cultural ambitions has led it to accept the possibility of the sharing of functions among languages. Especially with respect to intergroupcoinmunication and literature, the recognition-of the role of Sranan as national language became the main feature of this period. However, the emergency of Surinam-Dutch, as a variety (xized language) of the Dutch language used by the majority of the Dutch speaking community in Surinam, has given the governement of the new republic of Surinam an opportunity to promote cultural integration by means of this language variety. Though this too will have to share functions with Sranan (inter-group communication, literature, etc.), it is suggested that a stan-dardized version might not only change its promoted language status into that of national official language but also give a better criterion to judge and to stimulate performances in education and literature.


Author(s):  
Ghulam Mujtaba Yasir ◽  
Prof. Dr. Mamuna Ghani

Pakistan is among those very few multicultural and multilingual countries which are celebrated for their ethnic as well as linguistic diversity. From the coastal areas of Karachi to the mountainous terrain of Gilgit Baltistan six major and more than 70 minor languages are spoken in various parts of Pakistan. Urdu relishes the position of National Language whereas the official language of the country is English and is mostly used by the power-wielding strata of the country namely the government functionaries, corporate sector, and education sector. The purpose of the study was to find out the interplay between socioeconomic factors and the phenomenon of language shift. The present research is descriptive in which 300 Urdu speaking children of Saraiki families of D.G. Khan District were selected for data collection. A multiple-choice questionnaire was devised and administered to collect the required data. The results insinuated a strong interplay between socio-economic factors and the language shift.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 188-204
Author(s):  
Шарма Сушіл Кумар

Since ancient times India has been a multilingual society and languages in India have thrived though at times many races and religions came into conflict. The states in modern India were reorganised on linguistic basis in 1956 yet in contrast to the European notion of one language one nation, majority of the states have more than one official language. The Linguistic Survey of India (LSI) conducted by Grierson between 1866 and 1927 identified 179 languages and 544 dialects. The first post-independence Indian census after (1951) listed 845 languages including dialects. The 1991 Census identified 216 mother tongues were identified while in 2001 their number was 234. The three-language formula devised to maintain the multilingual character of the nation and paying due attention to the importance of mother tongue is widely accepted in the country in imparting the education at primary and secondary levels. However, higher education system in India impedes multilingualism. According the Constitution it is imperative on the “Union to promote the spread of the Hindi language, to develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India … by drawing, wherever necessary or desirable, for its vocabulary, primarily on Sanskrit and secondarily on other languages.” However, the books translated into Hindi mainly from English have found favour with neither the students nor the teachers. On the other hand the predominance of English in various competitive examinations has caused social discontent leading to mass protests and cases have been filed in the High Courts and the Supreme Court against linguistic imperialism of English and Hindi. The governments may channelize the languages but in a democratic set up it is ultimately the will of the people that prevails. Some languages are bound to suffer a heavy casualty both in the short and long runs in the process. References Basil, Bernstein. (1971). Class, Codes and Control: Theoretical Studies Towards a Sociology of Language. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Bialystok, E. (2001). Bilingualism in Development: Language, Literacy, and Cognition. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. Chambers, J. K. (2009). Sociolinguistic Theory: Linguistic Variation and Its Social Significance. Malden: Wiley Blackwell. Constitution of India [The]. (2007). Retrieved from: http://lawmin.nic.in/ coi/coiason29july08.pdf. Cummins, J. (2000). Language, Power and Pedagogy. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Dictionary of Quotations in Communications. (1997). L. McPherson Shilling and L. K. Fuller (eds.), Westport: Greenwood. Fishman, J. A. (1972). The Sociology of Language. An Interdisciplinary Social Science Approach to Language in Society. Rowley, MA: Newbury House. Gandhi, M. K. (1917). Hindi: The National Language for India. In: Speeches and Writings of Mahatma Gandhi, (pp.395–99). Retrieved from http://www.mkgandhi.org/ towrds_edu/chap15.htm. Gandhi, M. K. Medium of Instruction. Retrieved from http://www.mkgandhi.org/towrds_edu/chap14.htm. Giglioli, P. P. (1972). Language and Social Context: Selected Readings. Middlesex: Penguin Books. Gumperz, J. J., Dell H. H. (1972). Directions in Sociolinguistics: The Ethnography of Communication. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Haugen, E. (1966). Language Conflict and Language Planning: The Case of Modern Norwegian, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Hymes, D. (1974). Foundations in Sociolinguistics: An Ethnographic Approach. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Hymns of the Atharva-Veda. Tr. Maurice Bloomfield. In: Sacred Books of the East, 42, 1897. Retrieved from: http://www.archive.org/stream/ SacredBooksEastVariousOrientalScholarsWithIndex.50VolsMaxMuller/42.SacredBooks East.VarOrSch.v42.Muller.Hindu.Bloomfield.HymnsAtharvaVed.ExRitBkCom.Oxf.189 7.#page/n19/mode/2up. Jernudd, B. H. (1982). Language Planning as a Focus for Language Correction. Language Planning Newsletter, 8(4) November, 1–3. Retrieved from http://languagemanagement.ff.cuni.cz/en/system/files/documents/Je rnudd_LP%20as%20 LC.pdf. Kamat, V. The Languages of India. Retrieved from http://www.kamat.com/indica/diversity/languages.htm. King, K., & Mackey, A. (2007). The Bilingual Edge: Why, When, and How to Teach Your Child a Second Language. New York: Collins. Kosonen, K. (2005). Education in Local Languages: Policy and Practice in Southeast Asia. First Languages First: Community-based Literacy Programmes for Minority Language Contexts in Asia. Bangkok: UNESCO Bangkok. Lewis, E. G. (1972). Multilingualism in the Soviet Union: Aspects of Language Policy and Its Implementation. Mouton: The Hague. Linguistic Survey of India. George Abraham Grierson (Comp. and ed.). Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India, 1903–1928. PDF. Retrieved from http://dsal.uchicago.edu/books/lsi/. Macaulay, T. B. (1835). Minute dated the 2nd February 1835. Web. Retrieved from http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00generallinks/macaulay/txt_minute_ed uca tion_1835.html. Mansor, S. (2005). Language Planning in Higher Education. New York: Oxford University Press. Mishra, Dr Jayakanta & others, PIL Case no. CWJC 7505/1998. Patna High Court. Peñalosa, F. (1981). Introduction to the Sociology of Language. New York: Newbury House Publishers. Sapir, E. in “Mutilingualism & National Development: The Nigerian Situation”, R O Farinde, In Nigerian Languages, Literatures, Culture and Reforms, Ndimele, Ozo-mekuri (Ed.), Port Harcourt: M & J Grand Orbit Communications, 2007. Simons, G., Fennig, C. (2017). Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Twentieth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Retrieved from http://www.ethnologue.com/country/IN. Stegen, O. Why Teaching the Mother Tongue is Important? Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/2406265/Why_teaching_the_mother_tongue_is_important. “The Tower of Babel”. Genesis 11:1–9. The Bible. Retrieved from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+11:1–9. Trudgill, Peter (2000). Sociolinguistics: An Introduction to Language and Society. London: Penguin. UNESCO (1953). The Use of the Vernacular Languages in Education. Monographs on Foundations of Education, No. 8. Paris: UNESCO. U P Hindi Sahitya Sammelan vs. the State of UP and others. Supreme Court of India 2014STPL(web)569SC. Retrieved from: http://judis.nic.in/ supremecourt/ imgs1.aspx?filename=41872. Whorf, B. L. (1940). Science and linguistics. Technology Review, 42(6), 229–31, 247–8. Sources http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011-documents/lsi/ling_survey_india.htm http://www.ciil-lisindia.net/ http://www.ethnologue.com/country/IN http://peopleslinguisticsurvey.org/ http://www.rajbhasha.nic.in/en/official-language-rules-1976 http://www.ugc.ac.in/journallist/ http://www.unesco.org/new/en/international-mother-language-day


1981 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heinrich P. Kelz

SUMMARY Language Planning in the Philippines and the Development of a Philippine National Language The numerous languages spoken in the Philippine archipelago — though all belonging to the same language family — are so different from each other that normally speakers of different languages can only communicate by help of a lingua franca. They may either employ one of the six dominant native languages spoken by more than 80% of the total population: Tagalog (24.5%), Sugbuanon (Cebuano, 24.1%), Iloko (Ilocano, 11.3%), Hiligaynon (10.2%), Bikol (Vicolano, 6.8%), and Waray (Samar-Leyte, 4.8%) or they may use English. With the growing influence of the United States of America since the turn of the century and the building up of a new school system, English has gained predominance in the fields of education and administration, thus frustrating the first attempts at the establishment of Tagalog, the language of Manila, as a common official language. During the past 80 years, English has undergone a development towards what can rightly be called Filipino English, differing from British as well as American English. In 1936, when the Philippines had become a Commonwealth under President Quezon, Tagalog — mainly because of its comparatively wide influence and because it had already been the subject of rather detailed linguistic research — was again chosen to become the future national language. This decision was strongly opposed by the speakers of Sugbuanon and Hiligaynon, and, at the end of the 1950s, the government was forced to change the name of the National Language from Tagalog to Filipino. Since 1936, the national language-planning institution Surian ng Wikang Pambasa has been working on the further improvement of this Tagalog-based language, absorbing elements from various other native and non-native languages. Next to the universities, which are active in the field of language-planning, it is above all the influence of schools, films, newspapers, and the cultural attraction of Manila, the center of the Tagalog area, which helps to strengthen the significance of Pilipino (now called Filipino) as a National Language. The development, however, has by no means been completed, and its political impact has led to the formation of five schools which are at variance about questions of linguistic content and form, but also about the status an official National Language is to have within the framework of society. At present, language-planning institutions in the Philippines still have to solve four major problems which result from the conflicting positions of (a) English vs. the various native languages, (b) the native National Language vs. the other native languages, (c) the "old" national language Pilipino vs. the "new" one, Filipino, and (d) the purist vs. liberal trend in language-planning. The predominance of English has gradually been reduced by a growing tendency towards a "Bilingual Approach," and Tagalog/Filipino has won considerable favor in many parts of the country. But the rivalry between Pilipino as Official Language and Filipino as National Language is the center of a problem which cannot be solved by official planning alone. RESUMO La lingvoplanado en Filipinoj kaj la estiĝo de fïlipina nacia lingvo La multaj lingvoj parolataj en la filipina arhipelago ĉiuj apartenas al la sama lingva familio. Sed ili tiom diferencas unu de la alia, ke parolantoj de apartaj lingvoj kutime povas interkomunikiĝi nur per komuna helplingvo. Ili povas utiligi au unu el la ses ĉefaj indiĝenaj lingvoj, parolataj de pli ol 80 pc. de la enloĝantaro, t.e. la tagala (24,5%), la sugbuana (cebuana, 24,1%), la iloka (11,3%), la hiligajna (10,2%), la bikola (6,8%) kaj la varaja (4,8%), au ili uzas la anglan. Pro la kreskinta influo de Usono ekde la komenco de nia jarcento kaj la kreigo de nova lerneja sistemo, la angla ekregis en la edukado kaj la administrado, tiel malhelpante la unuajn klopodojn starigi la tagalan, la lingvon de Manilo, kiel komunan oficialan lingvon. Dum la pasintaj 80 jaroj, la angla evoluigis gis prave nomebla filipina angla, kiu diferencas disde la brita kaj la usona anglaj lingvoj. Kiam en 1936 Filipinoj igis Komunumaĵo sub la Prezidanto Quezon, la tagala, ĉefe pro sia relative vasta influo kaj car pri gi jam ekzistis iom vasta lingvistika esplorado, estis ankoraǔfoje elektita kiel estonta oficiala nacia lingvo. La parolantoj de la cebuana kaj la hiligajna forte oponis sin al tiu decido, kaj fine de la 1950-aj jaroj, la registaro estis devigata sangi la nomon de la Nacia Lingvo for de la tagala al la pilipina. Ekde 1936 la lingvoplana institute Surian ng Wikang Pambasa plue plibonigadas tiun lingvon, kiu bazigas en la tagala, ensorbante elementojn el pluraj aliaj indiĝenaj kaj neindigenaj lingvoj. Krom la universitatoj, kiuj aktivas en la lingvoplanado, cefe la lernejoj, filmoj, gazetoj kaj la kultura altirpovo de Manilo, la centro de la tagallingva zono, fortigas la gravecon de la pilipina, kiu nun nomiĝas la filipina, kiel Nacia Lingvo. Sed la evoluo certe ne finigis. Gia politika efiko kreis kvin skolojn, kiuj varias inter si pri demandoj de lingva enhavo kaj formo, sed ankaù pri la rolo de oficiala Nacia Lingvo en la kadro de l'socio. La lingvoplanaj institucioj en Filipinoj nuntempe devas solvi kvar cefajn problemojn, kiuj rezultas de la konfliktaj roloj de: a) la angla vid-al-vide al la diversaj indiĝenaj lingvoj; b) la indigena Nacia Lingvo vid-al-vide al la ceteraj indigenaj lingvoj; c) la "malnova" nacia lingvo, la pilipina, vid-al-vide al la "nova," la filipina; kaj c) la purisma vid-al-vide al la liberala tendencoj en la lingvoplanado. La superregado de la angla laùstupe reduktigis gis kreskanta tendenco al "dulingva aliro," kaj la tagala/filipina gajnis konsiderindan favoron multloke. Sed la konkurado inter la pilipina kiel Oficiala Lingvo kaj la filipina kiel Nacia Lingvo estas la koro de problemo, ne solvebla nur per la oficiala planado.


2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
George Echu

In multilingual Cameroon, 247 indigenous languages live side by side with English and French (the two official languages) and Cameroon Pidgin English (the main lingua franca). While the two official languages of colonial heritage dominate public life in the areas of education, administration, politics, mass media, publicity and literature, both the indigenous languages and Cameroon Pidgin English are relegated to the background. This paper is a critique of language policy in Cameroon revealing that mother tongue education in the early years of primary education remains a distant cry, as the possible introduction of an indigenous language in the school system is not only considered unwanted by educational authorities but equally combated against by parents who believe that the future of their children lies in the mastery of the official languages. This persistent disregard of indigenous languages does not only alienate the Cameroonian child culturally, but further alienates the vast majority of Cameroonians who are illiterate (in English and French) since important State business is carried out in the official languages. As regards the implementation of the policy of official language bilingualism, there is clear imbalance in the use of the two official languages as French continues to be the dominant official language while English is relegated to a second place within the State. The frustration that ensues within the Anglophone community has led in recent years to the birth of Anglophone nationalism, a situation that seems to be widening the rift between the two main components of the society (Anglophones and Francophones), thereby compromising national unity. The paper is divided into five major parts. After a brief presentation of the country, the author dwells on multilingualism and language policy since the colonial period. The third, fourth and last parts of the paper focus on the critique of language policy in Cameroon with emphasis first on the policy of official language bilingualism and bilingual education, then on the place of indigenous languages, and finally on the national language debate.


2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-143
Author(s):  
Manynooch Faming

The purpose of this article is to provide a specific case study of the contradictory discourses concerning Lao as the national language, as the official language, and as the medium of instruction. Through the diglossia framework or Lao as a touch stone, the article investigates how non-mainstream and ethnic minority students use the national language in comparison to their mother tongues and other languages at schools. The result shows that students often use their mother tongue and other non-national language to negotiate their social positions among the majority and the dominant groups.


2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 39-56
Author(s):  
Aishah Mohamad Kassim

The latest statistics from the Department of Statistics in Singapore (2020) shows that more Malay families speak English at home. However, this trend is common across all ethnic groups in Singapore. Over the five decades of independence and enforcement of the bilingualism policy, the Malay language, which is the National Language and language commonly spoken in Malay households, is gradually being replaced with English. Other statistics reveal that the Malay language, which is the mother tongue of the majority of the Malays, is used less frequently, even from the early years of socialisation in a Malay household and the exposure of Malay only begins at the preschool level (Maliki, 2020). There is an assumption that, as long as the government maintains the Malay language in the education system through language learning in Singaporean schools, the bilingual policy will continue to maintain the usage of vernacular language. This development is likely to create more issues towards learning and teaching the Malay language as a mother tongue. Hence, this study utilises the approach of the sociology of language to discuss the reasons and impact of the language shift in efforts to preserve the status of the Malay language among the Singapore Malays.


2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Graham

This essay explores the ways in which Ireland's sacralised national language figures in Beckett's work. Oblique references to Irish in the Beckett oeuvre are read against a history of Anglo-Irish investment in the language as a mode of ‘impatriation’, a means by which to circumscribe anxieties surrounding an identity fraught with socio-political anomalies. In addition, the suspicion of ‘official language’ in Beckett's work is considered in light of his awareness of the ‘language issue’ in his native country, particularly in relation to the powerful role of the Irish language in the reterritorialisation of the civic sphere in post-independence Ireland.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Myrna Asnawati Safitri

<p>Degradation of peatland ecosystems occurs as a result of excessive exploitation leading to peat drainage and fires. This was influenced by a masculinity perspective in resource tenure and utilization. Ecofeminism presents a different perspective on narratives and inter-relationships of human with nature, including the place of women in them. Injustice that befalls women occur due to unequal power relations in the control and utilization of resources in the peatland ecosystem. This paper discusses the Government of Indonesia’s efforts to reduce gender injustice through Peatland Restoration’s policy. Two policies are discussed here, namely the Social Safety Safeguard and Peat Cares Village Program. It is concluded that women's participation must be able to resolve the imbalance of power relations among women as well as between gender. This requires sufficient time and everlasting education.</p><p> </p>


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