Importance of Mother Tongue

[goodboy_mentor]

Was reading some posts by Dr. Garga Chatterjee on his blog, how many non Hindi, indigenous languages are fast disappearing from the Indian subcontinent, due to many deliberate and dubious policies of the Central Government and the Indian deep State. I will not be cluttering this post with that material and that is already available in plenty on the internet. Those who value their mother tongue, their culture, it's history and it's future can surely search the net for "importance of mother tongue". And do share this thread to the maximum on the net and social media.

Having said this, would share one video here, because I was surprised to see that even in Pakistan, now they are realizing the importance of their mother tongue. In the video, the Punjabis in Lahore are demanding for implementation of teaching in Punjabi language in schools and colleges. They are saying that dropout rates are as high as 25% in schools because children do not properly understand the language they are taught in. They are also demanding that competitive exams should also be held in Punjabi, instead of Urdu or English. They are now realizing that during British rule, a well planned frenzy against their mother tongue was deliberately created by certain political entities. That was done so that they do not get proper education, leading to disconnect from their roots and heritage. The video is below -



Had also earlier posted some videos of Syed Fakir Azizuddin and Pakistani TV talk show, where they are discussing and having re-look at their own history. The posts were here.

[KK20]

I respect cultural heritage but I view language as merely a vehicle to communicate with each other. One has to be able to communicate effectively first then choose what is best for the environment they find themselves in. Even if you had to stick to "mother tongue" you will notice a drastic shift in how it is spoken today vs 100 years ago. people change and language changes with generations and environments.

i good talk about language and how we think is here:

[sumbriavikramaditya]

I belong to Jammu and here Dogri is the mother tongue of Dogra people. My mother and father both speak to each other in Dogri but while they speak to me and my brother they use Hindi/Hindustani. My grandfather talked in Dogri with us. I studied in BSF School, affiliated to CBSE, in junior School local teachers were in majority and in senior school most of the teachers were from UP, MP and Bihar. Then I joined engineering college in Punjab, where most of the teachers used Punjabi as medium of communication, even during Classes, as most of the students were Punjabi. Then I joined a BPO in Delhi which served foreign clients from US, UK and Australia. After that I joined my father in his line of work, where we have to interact mostly with rural population of Jammu in Dogri, where one rarely uses Hindi/Hindustani for communicating.

My wife is from Doda district of J&K. This region is very rich in culture and linguistics. I am very much surprised to find this small region with so much Lingual Diversity. Languages like Khash, Bhaderwahi, Siraji and Kishtwari are spoken in this small area. My father-in-law is from Khash speaking area and my mother-in-law is from Siraji speaking area. But my wife studied in a school affiliated to Jammu and Kashmir State Board of Education (JKBOSE) and did her college from Jammu City where mostly Dogri and Hindi is used. She can understand Dogri, Siraji, Khash and Bhaderwahi but communicates only in Hindi and English.

I feel very lucky to have this experience, but also know not everyone is equally lucky. I have always thought about my children, what will they do?

[goodboy_mentor]

I respect cultural heritage but I view language as merely a vehicle to communicate with each other. One has to be able to communicate effectively first then choose what is best for the environment they find themselves in. Even if you had to stick to "mother tongue" you will notice a drastic shift in how it is spoken today vs 100 years ago. people change and language changes with generations and environments.

i good talk about language and how we think is here:

Thanks for posting such an informative video. If you carefully listen to the video, it exactly contradicts your assertion that it is "merely a vehicle to communicate with each other". It is much more than that. The language shapes the cognitive capabilities of the individual. If you change the language of particular group of people, you change the cognitive capabilities of entire group of people. You change their self perception. You disconnect them from their cultural heritage, their collective wisdom, their political outlook, their history, their folk songs, their folk history, their folk myths. In short when you want to destroy a people, you first destroy their language. When you are ruled by a dubious or untrustworthy government having an underhand agenda, then it is a very dangerous situation. Respecting or speaking your mother tongue does not mean it is disrespect or an insult to some other language.

I belong to Jammu and here Dogri is the mother tongue of Dogra people. My mother and father both speak to each other in Dogri but while they speak to me and my brother they use Hindi/Hindustani. My grandfather talked in Dogri with us.

I have come across lot of Dogri people outside Punjab, they speak excellent Punjabi that is indistinguishable from native Punjabi speakers. Is Dogri language a dialect of Punjabi? See the video below, this girl from Jammu is singing in excellent Punjabi -


Here is another Dogri girl from Jammu singing Punjabi folk song -

I have always thought about my children, what will they do?

Always speak in your mother tongue with them. Encourage them to always prefer to speak in their mother tongue. They will learn other languages themselves.

[KK20]

I acknowledge the importance of languages. I work in an multi ethnic , multi cultural environment and English is the common ground. So in context of this I said that first I need to make sure we have a two way communication going to get a task done.
Yes until I watched that talk . )) I now have to reconsider my opinions. ))

[goodboy_mentor]

International Mother Language Day is celebrated by United Nations on 21 February every year. Details can be read by visiting the United nations website link by clicking here.