Globalisation: ‘Urdu facing no extinction threat’

Speakers blame limited use on internal factors.

ISLAMABAD:

Noted writers and literati have observed that even though Urdu is not facing the threat of extinction due to globalisation, some scholars are unnecessarily painting a gloomy picture about its future prospects.

They were speaking at a one-day Urdu conference titled “Globalisation and Future of Urdu Language”, held at the National University of Modern Language (NUML) on Wednesday.

At the conference, arranged by the Department of Urdu Language and Literature, renowned scholars and academics from different universities presented their scholastic views on the future of Urdu as lingua franca.

Renowned playwright Dr Asghar Nadeem Syed, who was the chief guest, said that there are a number of myths and misconceptions about globalisation and its impact on languages, cultures and societies.  “Our intelligentsia and scholars have painted a doomsday scenario with regard to its effects on the Urdu language,” he said, noting that globalisation was a centuries’ old process of labour migration, academic exchanges, technology transfer, trade, and sharing of systems and philosophies.

Dr Syed said there was no threat to Urdu from globalisation, rather “we ourselves were responsible for its decline”.

University of Gujrat Sialkot campus Director-General Dr Anwaar Ahmed said, “Technological developments and modernity should not scare us. We should accept them to keep abreast of the changing patterns and times.”

Islamia University Bahawalpur Faculty of Distance Learning Dean Dr Najeeb Jamal said that Urdu will continue to exist till the time laymen speak it. He urged the need to translate books in other languages into Urdu to understand other societies, languages and culture for our own learning.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2014.