- It is established well beyond doubt that English is the premier language in the world which keeps growing stronger by the day vis-à-vis reach, acceptability, traction, heft, and influence. Countries hitherto known to resist the increasingly prominent role being essayed globally by the English language had to give in to the pressure of their respective citizens to accord the due primacy. Of course, India as a nation had a head-start over English due to historical reasons which spectacularly succeeded in reaching out to nook and corner over a period of time. We all know the clamoring for the truly global language and how it pans out here with such passion.
PC: Babbleon
- Nonetheless, some political leaders and parties would want to enlighten us about the importance of sticking to our mother tongue without getting sold on to a foreign language. However, how hollow, and hypocritical such exhortations sound in the present-day scenario needs no further elaboration. English has acquired the position of being the truly global language gets further substantiated by the fact that more and more countries are opting to concur prominent position as the truly global language. Indian politicians though will leave no stone unturned in whipping up local emotions to highlight the prima donna role of mother tongues in shaping our young minds.
- Nobody disputes the critical role of a mother tongue in shaping our organic growth. In the same vein, none can deny the indispensability of acquiring English language skills incommensurate with the universally growing demand. As such, political debates about language can convey the impression of fierce contestation and an issue that remains unsettled. Approach the subject from the other end, that of voters unambiguously communicating their preferences, and the picture is quite different altogether. Citizens will not settle for less anymore. Now, consider developments across states, administered by different political parties for a moment.
PC: iils india
- The Chennai Corporation in Tamil Nadu has now extended spoken English classes in schools run by it from just a handful to the entire list. The state of Karnataka plans to introduce spoken English sessions in primary classes in its proposed model government schools as well. Note that the demand from parents has led to a sharp rise in the proportion of English medium schools in India. It’s worthwhile to note that more than a quarter of schoolchildren are now enrolled in the English medium, making it the largest after the Hindi medium. Thankfully, this trend has influenced the political system and state governments are now experimenting with bilingual textbooks in government-run schools.
- States like Telangana, Maharashtra, and Karnataka are going ahead with printing textbook content in both regional language and English to get children acquainted with key terms in both languages. Such an approach should be lauded as pragmatic since the rapid expansion of knowledge is more easily accessed with a knowledge of English, the world’s most important lingua franca. For millions of parents, the pragmatic choice has been more than one language and it’s a sensible choice as being multilingual confers many advantages as the country moves in that direction. Yes, English will continue to garner a chunk of the attention even more in the days ahead.
