Is it necessary to know GOOD English?

I came across this discussion with Indian author Chetan Bhagat on NDTV. One of the topics they discussed was whether is it necessary to know English or good English to make a mark in your professional and personal life? English an important language in India for decades. This might be mainly because of our colonial history, but English commands a special status in Indian society. A person able to speak and write English fluently is often considered a scholar and intelligent. Many people from India assume an English-speaking person is an intellectual. I learned to speak and write English very late in my life, my entire primary education was in Marathi, and even though in college the medium of instruction was English no one really spoke in English. I was first exposed to spoken English when I joined for my PhD at the National Chemical Laboratory where people from all over India were there so Marathi was not an option as a language of communication with everyone, and from there onward I am constantly surrounded by people speaking in English. One can easily understand by reading my blog posts, comments, tweets, or Facebook posts that English is not my native language, but I am very comfortable with communicating in English as it allows me to connect with people all over the world. At the same time, I am also aware that my English skills are not that GOOD in a conventional sense, but the question is, is it necessary to know GOOD English?

Having a command of any language is great, I really admire everyone who has an impressive command of any language. This skill gives that person the power to put their thoughts in a very articulative way, they become masters in the craft of playing with words. Reading wonderfully worded articles and books is an amazing experience. A beautiful combination of words mesmerizes us, it leaves a deep impact on our minds. That is why there are not many successful professional writers. But is it necessary to know good English or any other language to express your thoughts in that language? I personally don't think so, we need some medium to express our ideas and thoughts, and language is one of those mediums. The purpose of any language is to allow us to express our thoughts in a manner that others can understand. If we can do that, then we all are smart and effective users of that language. I admire the talent of people who are masters of expressing their thoughts in beautiful manure, I will keep on trying to learn that craft but not being a master in that shouldn't stop me from sharing my views. As it is not only the right of people with a great voice to sing a song, it is not a rule that only people with good command of that language should write in it. We all can express our thoughts in whatever language we feel comfortable with. I see many people hesitate to communicate with others just because they think their language skills are not good enough, I always encourage them to at least give it a try and see how easy it is to express and connect with people, you just have to get over that hesitation and be honest with your expression. Just get over that initial hesitation and start communicating in whatever language you are comfortable with, after all, thoughts and ideas matter not the language in which they are communicated. If you want to say something, say it, the language doesn't matter, people will relate to it if the thought is genuine. Good luck.  

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. Dialogues with Chetan Bhagat

Reviving Sanskrit - Forcing it on students is not a solution

The main purpose of any language is to act as a mode of communication between people. Language also helps in preserving historical records and transmitting knowledge from one generation to another. No one can deny the use and importance of language in our society. The need for communication is very essential part of human existence and different languages serve this very important purpose. I don't know the exact count of world languages, but I am sure there are hundreds of them. Some ancient languages like Heabrue are even spoken today and some like Sanskrit are not. The languages that are not spoken in today's world are also studied as there is a vast amount of literature that can be useful even today. Sanskrit is one such language. It is not a spoken language anymore, but there exists a vast amount of literature in Sanskrit. Most of that literature is translated into many other languages and available for everyone to read, so, not knowing Sanskrit is not at all a hindrance in today's world to studying the literature that was available only in Sanskrit a couple of hundred years back.

I am writing this post on this issue because I have first-hand experience about being forced to learn Sanskrit. I was forced to study this language in 10th grade because Sanskrit was considered as a "scoring subject." During my school days, we had three language curricula, Marathi (regional language) and English were compulsory and one could choose the third language. We had Hindi and Sanskrit as options as the third language. I chose 50% Hindi and 50% Sanskrit. My favorite language was Marathi, but between Hindi and Sanskrit, I always liked Hindi better than Sanskrit and found it much easier to understand and study because I was more familiar with that language because of Hindi movies. But in 10th grade, I was part of so so-called scholar batch which was specially trained by our school to score better in the board exams and that is why everyone in that batch was forced to take only Sanskrit as the third language as it was supposed to boost our overall score. Our Sanskrit teacher was really nice, she was a calm and polite lady with a lot of patience, she tried her best to train everyone by taking extra classes at her own home but I struggled to understand even the basics of Sanskrit. I was not at all happy that I was forced to study it. I knew that it was not going to help me to boost my score but it would reduce my score, and that's what happened. I managed to somehow pass that subject by scoring 53 out of 100. I really hated the fact that I was forced to study Sanskrit. I was too weak or scared to register my protest in school. Neither my parents nor I had any clue about this language, they felt bad for my struggle but beyond that they couldn't do much. It took a lot of time and effort from my side to overcome my dislike for Sanskrit due to this bitter experience. The point here is forcing any language on students is not going to make them like or popularize that language. The same story was with English, many of my friends struggled in English because there was no connection with English, and we did not know how to read or speak English. Many of my friends struggled to pass English, it was the second lethal subject after maths that students used to fear. they studied it because it was compulsory and even after studying it for 5 years (from 5th to 10th) most of them didn't like or have any clue about it. 

I am not against teaching any particular language in schools as some of my friends got this impression when I was debating with them about this issue. In Indian schools two languages are compulsory (the regional language and English), so they already teach two languages to students. The third language is for academic purposes, so let students choose which one they want to study. Students should get a choice, let them choose which Indian or foreign language they want to learn as a third language. If they opt for Sanskrit then by all means teach it to them. I am sure it is a wonderful language like many others. Even though I studied that language for 3 years I am in no position to comment about that language as my opinion will be very biased. Sanskrit or any other language can not be revived by forcing people to learn it, this is not a correct method to revive any language. Spread awareness about the merits and demerits of learning Sanskrit, create enough job opportunities that will require people to know that language, and then people will learn it on their own. Forcing it on students might create more students like me who dislike that language just because they were forced to learn it. I hope school authorities offer Sanskrit as an option for a third language rather than making it a mandatory subject. Every language deserves to be taught in school but proper platforms should be developed and methods should be used so that students don't suffer. I hope the interest of all students is taken into consideration before implementing any such decision. 

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. Make Sanskrit compulsory: Singhal
2. German row: parents move court

Purpose of language is to unite people please don't use it to divide them

Our ancestors invented language to use it as a useful tool for communication. Like every animal on the planet, we also need to communicate with each other, and efficient communication is the key to our survival. Spoken languages were invented to satisfy our need to communicate with each other. Humans are social animals and we like to communicate with each other more compared to other animals. Our body language might be universal, but there are thousands of spoken languages and different dialects. Spoken languages differ from country to country and region to region. The spoken language is a very good medium to form bonds between people and communities. India is such a diverse country and pluralism in every sense whether it is language, religion, food, clothing, or culture is a unique feature of India. Even today in India, most states speak different languages and have very unique cultural features, even within the state there are different dialects of the same language. Diversity and pluralism are unique features of India but these things also pose very unique challenges. India doesn't have any national language, so sometimes, it is difficult to manage in states where people don't speak and understand the local language. Hindi is spoken by more than 40% of people in India, and it has the status of the unofficial national language of India. But there are many states (especially in the south and northeast) where they don't understand and speak Hindi. I don't think India needs any national language because of its unique diverse nature. Hindi is already one of the most popular languages in India and its use can be encouraged without making it a national language.

English is also a very popular language in India, especially among the educated class, this is mainly because of its demand in the job market and its status as the international language. The dominance of English in higher education (especially in the area of science and commerce) has created unique challenges for students who get their primary education in a regional language. They face the mammoth task of getting familiarized with the English version of various concepts and terms when they enter college. I faced a similar problem when I started my higher education and believe me it was not an easy task, for the first few months I had no clue what my teachers were teaching in class. Current protests of UPSC aspirants against aptitude tests in the English language is another example of a complicated language problem in academia. Students coming from regional language medium schools feel discriminated against when they see unfair advantages offered to students from English or Hindi medium schools. This issue is very complicated but is also a very important one and I hope our government can come up with some viable solution where students from regional language schools don't feel discriminated.

The Belgaum border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka is also because of language problems, in spite of Marathi being a spoken language among the majority of its residents Belgaum was included in Karnataka rather than Maharashtra. This has created a border dispute between these two states which is still going on. The matter is pending in the Supreme Court, no one knows when this issue will be resolved but a lot of politics is already being played using this topic. A recent lathi charge by Karnataka police on a protesting mob confirmed once again the urgent need to attend to this issue. The purpose of any language is to connect people, not to divide. Language was invented to communicate with each other not to discriminate each other, this politics using language to divide people should stop. I always wonder why two states belonging to the same country fight over a piece of land, after all that part is a part of India how does it matter if Belgaun is with Maharashtra or Karnataka. Trivial matters like this get stuck in a political deadlock. Even though the state governments from both states belong to the same political party there is no progress in resolving this conflict. Ultimate sufferers in all these types of issues are common people, they suffer as their daily lives get disturbed by all these protests and actions taken by the government to curb the agitation movements. Various political parties try to reap benefits by instigating people's emotions and sensationalizing the issue. They should take some concrete steps to resolve this issue rather than sensationalizing it.

Border disputes or exam issues related to language are avoidable or easily resolvable but the wasted interest of some political parties or organizations doesn't allow any resolution. People who are suffering because of these issues need to realize this and act to protect their interests not the interests of selfish political parties. Respective governments also should stop their attempts to crush any peaceful demonstrations by using brutal force. People have the right to express their grievances peacefully and as a government, they have to listen to people's problems and try to find some reasonable solutions. Ignoring any problem only aggravates it, no authority (government or private) should discriminate against people, and discrimination on any basis should not be used as a political tool to divide people. The role of language is to unite people, please let it do its job of uniting people.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]