KARACHI:
During the ancient times, communities and regions around the world created their own unique language so that people were able to communicate with each other. With time, these languages, which were first based on visual drawing painted inside cave walls, slowly started to evolve. They soon took the shape of a series of characters and alphabets, which were compiled and used as a form of communication through written letters and manuscripts. Then, with the advent of the printing press, books started being published and widely distributed among the masses. As a result, only a selected few languages were able to spread globally.
After globalisation, however, as written communication started to take universal precedence, the English language emerged as the front-runner, since the West was the main hegemonic force at the time. Today, English has become the default medium of communication and is therefore spoken in every corner of the world. Other languages have, since then, slowly disintegrated while some have become extinct. The same phenomenon can be seen in Pakistan.
Back in the day, the Indian sub-continent was a diverse region where multiple communities with different cultures and rich languages coexisted. After the British arrived, they started thrusting their ideals, culture and way of living onto the people, making the Indians believe that they were more ‘civilised’ and hence superior. They started to introduce English in the education system and made learning the language a pre-requite for working in the government. Soon after, local cultures and languages lost their originality and beauty. Now, these rare languages are only spoken by a selected few.
Shaista Rasheed
Kech
Published in The Express Tribune, January 24th, 2021.
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