FB Discussions - Local language and local identities

English superiority has to go. All indian languages need to regain dignity. and not be poor cousins of English. Much as that may actually suit us.

Rajiv Ramnath Cultural identify is also a double-edged sword. On one hand it builds a sense of self. On the other hand, it serves to reduce empathy towards others.

Rajiv Ramnath And now, could I suggest an alternative stance? Let's take pride in the number of languages (and accents) we can communicate in. smile emoticon

Komakkambedu Himakiran Anugula English is always a language while mother tongue is the soul.

Aparna Krishnan Now you will be called chauvinistic ! You may even be called right wing !!

Komakkambedu Himakiran Anugula Proud about that!

Aparna Krishnan Rightwing BJP they will say

Komakkambedu Himakiran Anugula Haha not that, BJP and the right wing are Hindi chauvinists. 

I'm proud of being a native language chauvinist!

Aparna Krishnan Guess today anyone with any conviction about the country and its deep richness is a chauvinist. happy to get into the same boat !

Komakkambedu Himakiran Anugula Problem is native languages are discriminated against at the cost of English and Hindi. There are about 900 million Indians who neither know Hindi not English. They are officially second class citizens.

Aparna Krishnan Rajiv Ramnath, most Indians are rooted in Indian languages. Now one suggestion will be to teach all Indians English. As Hima said, the soul is nourished by the mother tongue, and a foreign language deserves only second place. But apart from that, even 

Rajiv Ramnath >> deliver good English to the poor .. let's also do that RR: Glad you agree. smile emoticon

Rajiv Ramnath >> .. reality of government schooling .. Indian languages need to be promoted RR: (And here I am asking, not commenting) What is the guarantee that given the state of Govt. education, that education in the native tongue will be any better?

Aparna Krishnan I certianly dont mind 'also English'. So long as primary respect is to their language. But anyway my or your agreeing is irrelevent - it can never happen, given the social and political realilty in india, and that every public spending is coming down.

Aparna Krishnan Also as Hima said, learning in mother tongue enables learning. As I have observed vernacular learning enables far more of local learnings. The Telugu textbook has far more of local concepts than the English.

Aparna Krishnan If Telugu medium teaching is bad, English is worse. In AP many govt schools, including ours, has an English medium section. The pits. The teaching infrastructure is simply not there Rajiv.

Rajiv Ramnath Don't understand what you mean by English medium "section"? Do you mean some students can choose to study in English medium while most others study in Telegu medium only? Something else?

Aparna Krishnan Yes.

Rajiv Ramnath Ok, so what is wrong with having one section in English medium for those who want to study in it? Just trying to understand your point.

Rajiv Ramnath Ok, I re-read your comment. Basically you're saying that the English medium section is so badly taught that the resources should be diverted to the Telegu medium instruction. Correct?

Aparna Krishnan India is a poor country. Also the poor are becoming less and less of a priority. To demand space for Indian languages is the only way. To make govt schools deliver English and other luxururies will never happen.

Aparna Krishnan I am not speaking of 'allocating resources' only. i want reservations for the people who perforce have studied in Telugu medium. Reservations in work.

Rajiv Ramnath Ah! Now I understand. I would support that (for what it is worth :-))

Aparna Krishnan If the ability of the elite to sell themselves in the global market comes down, it is not really my concern. Especially when the inbuilt cost as in the issue here is that it is at the cost of discrimination of the 900 million.

Komakkambedu Himakiran Anugula Studies have shown when primary education is in mother tongue, kids pick up other languages much better.  

Aparna Krishnan Tk Ramkumar, this has been my understanding from the village. wrt an earlier thread on this.

Tk Ramkumar At one level, the problem is not learning in English or an Indian language. The problem is, teaching in Indian languages is often shoddy and the students don't learn the basics. I have known law graduates, who have graduated in Tamil medium not knowing the fundamentals of law either in Tamil or English. On the other hand i have known Tamil medium graduates who have good knowledge in engineering, though they are not confortable in English. My point is, no generalisation can be made that teaching in an Indian Language makes it easier for the students to learn. The choice has to be with the student and parents. I also don't agree that kids who learn in English have an unfair advantage and so all must be taught in Tamil. It is like asking to ban education since it gives an unfair advantage to some. To make things equal for the underpriviledge, affirmative action is the answer. The reservation policy is an affirmative action. Yes it is also not working well. Let us make that work and let the kids get a chance to have a better education, irrespective of their language of instruction. Some 4 years ago I went to Mylai Balaji Nagar in Pallikaranai to asses if a study centre deserves to be supported. You may be aware the residents are evictees from Mylapore and live in deprolable conditions. I met over a 100 children of different age groups. There was genuine interest in learning. Our family has been supporting them these past years. There progress is comendable. All they need is a reasonable opportunity and some dedicated teachers, who will make education enjoyable.

Aparna Krishnan I agree. The details have to be see and understood, and current response has to be based on the reality. At the end of the day I teach my village children English, because the future is bleak enough for them, and some English may give an edge - knowing the while that the dream is to create a space where their strengths in their language wil hold them in stead the way English holds us in stead ! Only that is viable and just in any larger sense.