On March 16, 2018, Dr. Uzma Anjum, a linguistic expert, expressed serious concerns about the threats related to the survival of local languages in Pakistan. She was speaking to participants from Pakistan and Afghanistan belonging to Swat, Bannu, Kohat, Kabul, Kunduz and Ghazni areas, and mostly enrolled in universities in Islamabad, at the 8th workshop of the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) under its Afghan Studies Center initiative in Islamabad.
She warned that by the end of this century, as linguistic experts predict, the world might lose almost half of the languages that are spoken today. This raises alarm for Pakistan which, being a linguistically and culturally rich country, hosts 74 languages; however, many of these are dying and being replaced by the dominant languages due to the underprivileged socioeconomic status of their speakers. The vitality or endangerment of languages, in her view, depends on the asymmetrical distribution of the resources and powers. With resources and powers come the provisions of standardizing languages through writing dictionaries, defining grammar and publishing literature, in addition to using specific institutions that promote norms of those languages. This is a privilege that minority languages spoken by poor and underprivileged people do not have, resulting in their gradual death.
Dr. Uzma was of the view that the vanishing of certain languages is thus a political issue where the political connotation can be based on interests of certain political groups as well. If we go back i
nto the history of Pakistan, she reminded, the Urdu language once remained a symbol of Muslim integration in the Indian Subcontinent. Further, language politics is sometimes also linked to dialest or pronunciation where speakers of a particular dialect are perceived as speaking a more culturally advanced form of the language. She cited the example of England in this case where she said proper pronunciation was considered a social status. Politicians may, therefore, try to use that desired dialect rather than their own when in the public eye. Linguistic attitudes, thus, are important for promoting or undermining languages.
Also, she said, certain languages are dying because their identity has become a stigma for that specified language. She used the term ‘othering’ to explain this and stated that many people in Pakistan belonging to minority groups fail to avail good jobs as they are not fluent in the dominant languages.
She stated that the global trend of abandoning native tongues in favor of English has severely impacted the fate of languages in many countries. The promotion of national and regional languages is increasingly being undermined by the inclination towards encouraging the English language in schools where, in the case of Pakistan as participants also p
ointed out, students are encouraged to speak ‘polite’ languages, such as Urdu and English, and refrain from speaking in their mother tongues, especially, Punjabi or Pothwari. However, she also stated that without adequate documentation, a language that is losing its speakers can never be revived. Planning a language policy in different provinces of Pakistan is the need of the hour, she stressed.
She concluded by saying that there is a need to allow breathing space to everyone in the society, irrespective of their popularity, majority or status. Moreover, in particular, the women in every society also play a very pivotal role in keeping languages alive by passing on their mother tongues.
CRSS Project Director Mr. Aized Ali, who was the moderator of the session, thanked the participants and the distinguished Chief Guest for her insightful lecture. Then he presented her with an honorary shield of appreciation by CRSS. He briefed the audience on CRSS’ Pak-Afghan Track 1.5/II initiative Beyond Boundaries that is aimed that improving the bilateral relations between the two countries through continued civil society engagements and told them that Afghan Studies Center was an off-shoot the initiative.
The workshop was attended by 14 Afghans and 5 Pakistanis. In the interactive discussion session at the end, the participants discussed the diversity of languages existing in Afghanistan including, Pashto, Dari, Hazaragi, Uzbek, Turkmen, Balochi and Pashayi, as well as how every language comes with its own culture and worldview. This was the 8th workshop under CRSS’ Afghan Studies Center initiative which was focused on training the youth of Pakistan and Afghanistan on one platform and making them the future leaders of the region. In addition, the Center also conducts a monthly Pak-Afghan Youth Dialogue. The session ended with a group photo.
