The ability to speak is generally recognized as one of the most significant traits of ‘being human’. That separates us from primates who almost have the same level of intelligence in every other aspect. For millennia, humans have been using unique combinations of words that evolved into what we call languages.
We all ‘inherit’ a language by birth that is closer to our hearts than any other language. Called the native tongue or mother tongue, this is language that we learn to speak by immersion, mainly because our parents and others nearby speak it every moment of the day. Scientists are still trying to decipher how we can learn a complex language so fast – a typical three-to-four-year-old has a fairly good vocabulary and the ability to form very complex sentences.
In our country, the native tongue is either Sinhala or Tamil, but if you have ‘mixed community’ parents, it is quite possible to pick up both languages and be equally fluent. In countries such as Switzerland, most people learn to speak (if not read and write) three or four languages. But there is always one particular language that you will call your own.
Both Sinhala and Tamil are now among the world’s most widely spoken languages, used in all major cities in the world and face no immediate danger. But there is a fear that children of third generation migrants in Western countries may not pick up these languages as there is little use for them in a foreign setting. This brings us to the question of how languages survive. One simple answer is ‘intergenerational transmission’ – in other words, it goes from one generation to the other.
Native tongues are worth celebrating – and perpetuating, because many of mankind’s languages are becoming extinct. This is the idea behind the International Mother Language Day which will be celebrated worldwide on February 21. International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by UNESCO’s General Conference in November 1999. The date represents the day in 1952 when students demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bangla, as one of the two national languages of the then Pakistan, were shot and killed by police in Dhaka, the capital of what is now Bangladesh. In fact, it was Bangladesh that proposed the very idea of having Mother Language Day to the UN.
Languages, with their complex implications for identity, communication, social integration, education and development, are of strategic importance for people and planet. Yet, due to globalization processes, they are increasingly under threat, or disappearing altogether.
More than 50 per cent of the approximately 7,000 languages spoken in the world are likely to die out within a few generations, and 96 per cent of these languages are spoken by a mere four per cent of the world’s population. Only a few hundred languages have genuinely been given pride of place in education systems and the public domain, and less than a hundred are used in the digital world. Nearly 250 languages have become extinct since 1950.
When languages fade, so does the world’s rich tapestry of cultural diversity. Opportunities, traditions, memory, unique modes of thinking and expression — valuable resources for ensuring a better future — are also lost. It is thus essential to preserve all languages, even if they are on the verge of disappearing.
The loss of a language for ever is a black mark on the collective human conscience. A language represents a particular culture, a way of life and the very soul of a particular community of people. Therefore, all attempts must be made to preserve our languages for posterity. Some countries have braved all odds to revive languages on the verge of extinction.
Languages are not static. They are dynamic entities that evolve with the passage of time. They interact with other languages and borrow words, which become ‘native’ over a period of time. Did you know that there are around 15,000 French words in English ? Or that English words have crept into almost every language on Earth thanks to its global dominance ? There are many Portuguese words in Sinhala. There are many similar words in Sinhala, Hindi, Bengali and Malayalam. This can be attributed to the fact that all languages are derived from various language groups.
We are marking this day at a time when linguistic diversity is increasingly threatened. Language is fundamental to communication of all kinds, and it is communication that makes change and development possible in human society. Using — or not using — certain languages today can open a door, or close it, for large segments of society in many parts of the world.
The most important factor is that learners must have access to education in their mother tongue. It is through the mastery of the first language or mother tongue that the basic skills of reading, writing and numeracy are acquired. Local languages, especially minority and indigenous, transmit cultures, values and traditional knowledge, thus playing an important role in promoting a sustainable future.
This does not mean that one should concentrate solely on the vernacular languages. Learning a foreign language is essential. While English is the most widely studied foreign language, there is widespread interest in languages such as Chinese Mandarin, Spanish, German, French and Swahili. This ties up with this year’s Mother Language Day theme of “Sustainable Futures through Multi-Lingual Education”.
One factor which led to the conflict in Sri Lanka was the language barrier – most Sinhalese did not understand or speak Tamil and most Tamils did not understand Sinhalese. This created divisions and suspicions. There was also an inclination to do Government correspondence mostly in Sinhala, which led to resentment among the Tamil-speaking populace.
However, with the conflict behind and honest moves for reconciliation underway, the authorities now insist on Sinhala and Tamil speaking children learning each other’s language. This will create a more tolerant, open society in the next few decades, where everyone in Sri Lanka is proficient in all three languages including English. With both languages being taught to all students from an early age, when languages can be picked up easily, tomorrow’s Lankan society will be truly multilingual and multicultural.
Languages can bridge cultural and ethnic divides. Learning another person’s or community’s language opens a door to their soul. Go anywhere in the world and just speak a word or two in the mother tongue of a native – you will instantly know the difference it makes. It earns you a lot of respect and gives you a lot of confidence as well in a strange country or region. Languages bring communities – and the world together. In celebrating languages, we are celebrating the very essence of humanity – and life.