ARUNACHALEE LANGUAGES: AT THE BRINK OF DEATH
A language serves as an outlet for human expressions, emotions, feelings and thoughts. It is the manifestation of evolution of human mind, which in turn, depicts the accumulation of ideas, facts, events, experiences, things, etc. through the times. Evidently, growth and development of any language is intricately associated with unwinding of vast unknown and multi-dimensional enlargement of knowledge-base. It represents the collective wisdom and communal consciousness of any group of people. Obviously, language is the core of civilizational evolution.
Arunachalee languages, therefore, are the foundation of our glorious existence, unending quest and relentless journey through the times. Our Indigenous languages serve as the repository of traditional and indigenous knowledge in terms of vocabulary, messages, perceptions and understanding of the Nature and its events and processes. Over the years, in our urge to quick modernization, the very foundation of our civilizational evolution is weakening and seemingly vulnerable. Arunachalee languages are being ignored and pushed to the verge of extinction. Consequently, the traditional and indigenous knowledge-base is shrinking, rather vanishing.
The sole reason for the diminishing popularity of our languages may be attributed to the lack of its use. There may be various reasons for non-use of our native languages, again, like being away from the native place since childhood, negligence of one’s own culture, and for that matter, language in the name of being sophisticated, so on and so forth. In today’s age of globalization, being away from the native place can’t be helped with. But then, this shouldn’t be any excuse for not knowing one’s own mother-tongue. If it is, then it shows a serious shortcoming on the part of parents concerned. Those children who are brought up far way from their native place would certainly not be perfect in so far as their knowledge and understanding about their tradition, culture and language is concerned; nobody is perfect; but the mere fact that they are trying should be worthy of appreciation. If it’s the case of negligence to one’s own culture and language in the name of modernization or sophistication, it’s totally absurd.
Interestingly, our Academia & Intellectuals are striving hard to create/develop a common script for our Indigenous languages, but this hasn’t met with much success owing to composite of such factors as severe disagreements & politicking among themselves, arbitrariness, obscurity, non-feasibility, impracticality, non-realistic and unscientific nature of those developed yet, though each one, undoubtedly, has devoted substantial span of years pioneering, researching and working on it respectively. Attempts are, meanwhile, on to sort-out the shortcomings and arrive at all-acceptable, amicable and wholesome solution. As such, periodically, workshops and seminars are held towards this end.
Having witnessed 2 or so such gatherings attended by imminent and esteemed personalities of our state, we have only dislike and regretful feeling for such gatherings. We wonder, what a sheer waste of time, energy and money? Essentially, these gatherings should aim at bridging the differences, cementing consensus and recognizing individual contribution. Unfortunately, influential and affluent wrest/hijack the occasions or platforms to reinforce their own work at the cost of rest of the contributors. Inevitably, nothing is achieved, and every good-will is destroyed and collective wisdom and communal consciousness get disarrayed.
However, the point here isn’t about highlighting the dismal state of affairs surrounding development of common script or settlement of differences. A script, no doubt, is needed, but the need of the time is the realization among masses of the dwindling indigenous languages and consequent implications associated with the loss of indigenous cultural legacy of our land, which is tremendously unique.
While, on one hand, we aren’t even a bit concerned about the dwindling of our native languages, on the other hand, we blissfully showcase our prowess and command over alien languages, as if knowing alien languages is some kind of Godliness or extra-ordinary achievement. No offence to any language, but the extent to which some alien languages like Hindi, Assamese and English have penetrated deep into the fabrics of the Arunachalee society is alarming. Today, the sight of an average Arunachalee guy/gal communicating or interacting with another fellow Arunachalee of the same tribe in either Hindi or Assamese or English is quite common. This apart, we have a whole lot of Arunachalee families today where the kids speak to their parents in some non-native language, even though the parents may interact among themselves in their mother-tongue. Talk about paradoxes! If the former case is disheartening, then the latter case is simply disgusting. This calls for a sincere introspection within ourselves as to where we went wrong?
Having said that, we must also clarify that by all these arguments, we don’t intend to urge upon the Arunachalees to shun away the foreign languages completely. In fact, the more languages one knows, the wider section of people one can reach out to. The crux of the problem lies not in speaking any alien language, but in replacing it with one’s own mother-tongue. One should know where to draw the line while speaking/learning any alien language, and that it certainly shouldn’t be at the cost of one’s own mother tongue.
---NYALI ETE,
& LOD NAKKU
(Assistant Surveyor Works), Civil-Hydro-Power,
Govt. Of Arunachal Pradesh, Itanagar
Arunachalee languages, therefore, are the foundation of our glorious existence, unending quest and relentless journey through the times. Our Indigenous languages serve as the repository of traditional and indigenous knowledge in terms of vocabulary, messages, perceptions and understanding of the Nature and its events and processes. Over the years, in our urge to quick modernization, the very foundation of our civilizational evolution is weakening and seemingly vulnerable. Arunachalee languages are being ignored and pushed to the verge of extinction. Consequently, the traditional and indigenous knowledge-base is shrinking, rather vanishing.
The sole reason for the diminishing popularity of our languages may be attributed to the lack of its use. There may be various reasons for non-use of our native languages, again, like being away from the native place since childhood, negligence of one’s own culture, and for that matter, language in the name of being sophisticated, so on and so forth. In today’s age of globalization, being away from the native place can’t be helped with. But then, this shouldn’t be any excuse for not knowing one’s own mother-tongue. If it is, then it shows a serious shortcoming on the part of parents concerned. Those children who are brought up far way from their native place would certainly not be perfect in so far as their knowledge and understanding about their tradition, culture and language is concerned; nobody is perfect; but the mere fact that they are trying should be worthy of appreciation. If it’s the case of negligence to one’s own culture and language in the name of modernization or sophistication, it’s totally absurd.
Interestingly, our Academia & Intellectuals are striving hard to create/develop a common script for our Indigenous languages, but this hasn’t met with much success owing to composite of such factors as severe disagreements & politicking among themselves, arbitrariness, obscurity, non-feasibility, impracticality, non-realistic and unscientific nature of those developed yet, though each one, undoubtedly, has devoted substantial span of years pioneering, researching and working on it respectively. Attempts are, meanwhile, on to sort-out the shortcomings and arrive at all-acceptable, amicable and wholesome solution. As such, periodically, workshops and seminars are held towards this end.
Having witnessed 2 or so such gatherings attended by imminent and esteemed personalities of our state, we have only dislike and regretful feeling for such gatherings. We wonder, what a sheer waste of time, energy and money? Essentially, these gatherings should aim at bridging the differences, cementing consensus and recognizing individual contribution. Unfortunately, influential and affluent wrest/hijack the occasions or platforms to reinforce their own work at the cost of rest of the contributors. Inevitably, nothing is achieved, and every good-will is destroyed and collective wisdom and communal consciousness get disarrayed.
However, the point here isn’t about highlighting the dismal state of affairs surrounding development of common script or settlement of differences. A script, no doubt, is needed, but the need of the time is the realization among masses of the dwindling indigenous languages and consequent implications associated with the loss of indigenous cultural legacy of our land, which is tremendously unique.
While, on one hand, we aren’t even a bit concerned about the dwindling of our native languages, on the other hand, we blissfully showcase our prowess and command over alien languages, as if knowing alien languages is some kind of Godliness or extra-ordinary achievement. No offence to any language, but the extent to which some alien languages like Hindi, Assamese and English have penetrated deep into the fabrics of the Arunachalee society is alarming. Today, the sight of an average Arunachalee guy/gal communicating or interacting with another fellow Arunachalee of the same tribe in either Hindi or Assamese or English is quite common. This apart, we have a whole lot of Arunachalee families today where the kids speak to their parents in some non-native language, even though the parents may interact among themselves in their mother-tongue. Talk about paradoxes! If the former case is disheartening, then the latter case is simply disgusting. This calls for a sincere introspection within ourselves as to where we went wrong?
Having said that, we must also clarify that by all these arguments, we don’t intend to urge upon the Arunachalees to shun away the foreign languages completely. In fact, the more languages one knows, the wider section of people one can reach out to. The crux of the problem lies not in speaking any alien language, but in replacing it with one’s own mother-tongue. One should know where to draw the line while speaking/learning any alien language, and that it certainly shouldn’t be at the cost of one’s own mother tongue.
---NYALI ETE,
& LOD NAKKU
(Assistant Surveyor Works), Civil-Hydro-Power,
Govt. Of Arunachal Pradesh, Itanagar
posted by Nyal Lee | 4:07 AM
1 Comments:
Untill and unless we don't appreciate our own tradition, culture and language and keep on blindly aping other foriegn culture; the death of arunachalee languages is inevitable.
With lotsa languages in the state, do you really feel that there can be a common script? Can't our language survive without a script?
Post a Comment
<< Home