Regarding the question of whether India has an "official" language or not, and my response to that question a while back, I was informed that I was wrong to claim that Hindi was India's "official" or even "national" language. I had misgivings about that reply, so I finally got a chance to google "rashtra bhaSa" and found the following<br>
article.<br><br>Do we need a rashtra bhasha?<br>Pritish Nandy<br>25 September 2012, 09:49 AM IST<br>177<br><br>Last week, on my way to work, I saw an Air India hoarding proclaiming 14 September as Hindi Diwas. It was the only reminder of the fact that India still has a rashtra bhasha. I wonder how many young Indians know this.<br>
<br>There was a time when the Government made a big deal out of Hindi Diwas. It was an occasion to assert that we must reject English and switch over to Hindi, the language that promised to bring us all together under one flag. English, it was argued, was a colonial relic and since we had removed the statues and renamed the roads, it was time to stop using the language of the British. To make this happen, the Government set up a huge department and gave it hundreds of crores.<br>
<br>Today, decades later, English has not only grown in India, it has dug deep roots. Even the poorest Indian wants his children to study in English medium. No, it is not because we are any less nationalistic today. It is because, despite the enormous reach of Bollywood, people still want their children to speak their mother tongue at home (Tamil, Punjabi, Marathi, Bengali, whatever) and use English to reach out to the world. In fact, south of the Vindhyas, English is the actual unifying language, not Hindi. People there have made it amply clear they will continue to use it even if Delhi disapproves.<br>
<br>In short, we have realised that English is not about bondage. It’s about freedom. The freedom to converse with the world as equals, to reach out to new markets, discover new things. Even the French speak English today. So do the Chinese. The Japanese held out for a while. But even they are now convinced it makes good sense to do business in English. National pride, wonderful as it may be, has nothing to do with the language of work and learning. One can be proficient in English and yet retain one’s culture, one’s heritage. If you ask people anywhere in the world to list their ten favourite authors in English today, most will name at least three of Indian origin. Instead of spurning English, we own it today.<br>
<br>The world’s most widely read English newspaper is Indian. The second most widely read financial paper in English is also Indian. As the Government remains paralysed by its paranoia of social media, more and more young Indians are using English apps for news, business, healthcare, markets. Governance will soon become language agnostic. Our cell phones, computers, tablets are making young Indians in the remotest corners of this country into world citizens. In the North East, English is the only language that can see you through the entire region.<br>
<br>The moral of the story is: A young nation must make its own choices. Try as hard as it wants, no Government can force its will on its citizens. The time for the Papa State is over. Young India wants to take its own calls and this is one example where the Government has shown wisdom and quietly backed off. If we can do this with something as sensitive as language, I am sure we can show the same wisdom in issues relating to caste, region and religion. Instead of using a heavy hand, if the State occasionally steps back and allows the will of the people to prevail, I am sure many of our conflicts will disappear. Do we really need to call VT station by another name? Will a Hill Council in Darjeeling change the lives of people? Will carving Telengana out of Andhra really make a difference to the lives of people there? Instead of all these reservations, why not let young Indians learn the importance of merit? Let’s chuck the tired clichés about social engineering. Let’s discover a new political lexicon.<br>
<br>This could be the best reforms. To finally build an India that leaves behind its old animosities, its old prejudices to seek a new future. We cannot right every historical wrong but we can certainly forget them and move on. <br>
<br><br><a href="http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/extraordinaryissue/entry/do-we-need-a-rashtra-bhasha">http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/extraordinaryissue/entry/do-we-need-a-rashtra-bhasha</a><br><br>So according to this writer, India indeed has a rashtra bhasha, but little is claimed for it any more. So my question still is "what does rashtra mean"--official or national?<br>
<br>HS<br><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Nov 20, 2012 at 11:43 PM, RAMANUJAM MEGANATHAN <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:kankoduthavanithan@gmail.com" target="_blank">kankoduthavanithan@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Dear All<div>In the discussion of 'national' and official language, there was a mention about Hindi as a national language of India by HS. I would like to bring to the notice of all THAT INDIA DOES NOT HAVE A NATIONAL LANGUAGE. Hindi is the official language of India and English is Associate Official language. There was a national commission in the 1956 on official language in India. This was as a result of the debates in the constitutional drafting committee that declaring Hindi as a national language may lead to linguistic disputes and division.</div>
<div>Indian Constitution has a separate schedule on Languages.</div><div>RAMANUJAM MEGANATHAN</div><div>NCERT, INDIA<br><div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Nov 20, 2012 at 10:31 PM, <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:lgpolicy-list-request@groups.sas.upenn.edu" target="_blank">lgpolicy-list-request@groups.sas.upenn.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br>
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Today's Topics:<br>
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1. Re: national vs officila language (<a href="mailto:dzo@bisharat.net" target="_blank">dzo@bisharat.net</a>)<br>
2. Re: national vs officila language (Harold Schiffman)<br>
3. RE: The Dark Reality of Secession Fantasy (jayrkirk42)<br>
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----------------------------------------------------------------------<br>
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Message: 1<br>
Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2012 05:08:27 +0000<br>
From: <a href="mailto:dzo@bisharat.net" target="_blank">dzo@bisharat.net</a><br>
Subject: Re: [lg policy] national vs officila language<br>
To: "Language Policy List" <<a href="mailto:lgpolicy-list@groups.sas.upenn.edu" target="_blank">lgpolicy-list@groups.sas.upenn.edu</a>><br>
Message-ID:<br>
<1246215828-1353388108-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-1201909381-@b14.c17.bise6.blackberry><br>
<br>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"<br>
<br>
I don't have access to Fishman's article at this time either, but hope it's okay to offer some impressions on use of the terms.<br>
<br>
As varied as the definitions of "offIcial language" may be (that subject has been a matter of discussion on this list), usage of "national language" seems even more varied and less exact.<br>
<br>
In addition to the definition mentioned by Dr. Mostari, "national language" may also be a category of language defined by law alongside "official language." This is the case in a number of African countries for example (notably in former French colonies). This usage has been omitted from some discussions of the term that I've seen.<br>
<br>
On the other hand, I have heard foreigners - again in Africa - refer to the official language as being the national language (meaning presumably that the former is intended to be used nationwide?). This sort of conflation of the two concepts seems to me to be fairly common.<br>
<br>
Returning to national language as a legal category in Africa, some countries so designate a few of the more widely spoken, while some others include all (indigenously spoken) languages of their population, which would indeed mean that some with very few speakers are considered "national languages."<br>
<br>
My understanding is that "national" in this context depends on how one means the term. Clearly "national" is not necessarily the same as nationwide. But it could mean that it is part of or belongs to the nation, even if in the case of many languages, only a minority of the population speaks it.<br>
<br>
Brann (1994) discusses the terminology in more detail, including 4 meanings of "national language," and relationship to other terms. Citation below; there is a summary of main points on the Wikipedia article on the subject. (Probably should be a summary of Fishman's article there too.)<br>
<br>
Brann, C.M.B. 1994. "The National Language Question: Concepts and Terminology." Logos [University of Namibia, Windhoek] Vol 14: 125–134<br>
<br>
HTH,<br>
<br>
Don Osborn<br>
<br>
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T<br>
<br>
-----Original Message-----<br>
From: mostari hind <<a href="mailto:hmostari@yahoo.com" target="_blank">hmostari@yahoo.com</a>><br>
Sender: lgpolicy-list-bounces+dzo=<a href="mailto:bisharat.net@groups.sas.upenn.edu" target="_blank">bisharat.net@groups.sas.upenn.edu</a><br>
Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:50:40<br>
To: Language Policy List<<a href="mailto:lgpolicy-list@groups.sas.upenn.edu" target="_blank">lgpolicy-list@groups.sas.upenn.edu</a>><br>
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Subject: RE: [lg policy] national vs officila language<br>
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Message: 2<br>
Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2012 10:33:11 -0500<br>
From: Harold Schiffman <<a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a>><br>
Subject: Re: [lg policy] national vs officila language<br>
To: Don Osborn <<a href="mailto:dzo@bisharat.net" target="_blank">dzo@bisharat.net</a>>, Language Policy List<br>
<<a href="mailto:lgpolicy-list@groups.sas.upenn.edu" target="_blank">lgpolicy-list@groups.sas.upenn.edu</a>><br>
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Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"<br>
<br>
This is a confusing topic, and I don't think there's a way to lock down a<br>
definition.<br>
In India, e.g. Hindi is the "national" language, but not the only<br>
"official" one, since English is also co-official at the national level.<br>
Then there are the "official" languages of various states, a lot of them.<br>
<br>
HS<br>
<br>
<br>
On Tue, Nov 20, 2012 at 12:08 AM, <<a href="mailto:dzo@bisharat.net" target="_blank">dzo@bisharat.net</a>> wrote:<br>
<br>
> I don't have access to Fishman's article at this time either, but hope<br>
> it's okay to offer some impressions on use of the terms.<br>
><br>
> As varied as the definitions of "offIcial language" may be (that subject<br>
> has been a matter of discussion on this list), usage of "national language"<br>
> seems even more varied and less exact.<br>
><br>
> In addition to the definition mentioned by Dr. Mostari, "national<br>
> language" may also be a category of language defined by law alongside<br>
> "official language." This is the case in a number of African countries for<br>
> example (notably in former French colonies). This usage has been omitted<br>
> from some discussions of the term that I've seen.<br>
><br>
> On the other hand, I have heard foreigners - again in Africa - refer to<br>
> the official language as being the national language (meaning presumably<br>
> that the former is intended to be used nationwide?). This sort of<br>
> conflation of the two concepts seems to me to be fairly common.<br>
><br>
> Returning to national language as a legal category in Africa, some<br>
> countries so designate a few of the more widely spoken, while some others<br>
> include all (indigenously spoken) languages of their population, which<br>
> would indeed mean that some with very few speakers are considered "national<br>
> languages."<br>
><br>
> My understanding is that "national" in this context depends on how one<br>
> means the term. Clearly "national" is not necessarily the same as<br>
> nationwide. But it could mean that it is part of or belongs to the nation,<br>
> even if in the case of many languages, only a minority of the population<br>
> speaks it.<br>
><br>
> Brann (1994) discusses the terminology in more detail, including 4<br>
> meanings of "national language," and relationship to other terms. Citation<br>
> below; there is a summary of main points on the Wikipedia article on the<br>
> subject. (Probably should be a summary of Fishman's article there too.)<br>
><br>
> Brann, C.M.B. 1994. "The National Language Question: Concepts and<br>
> Terminology." Logos [University of Namibia, Windhoek] Vol 14: 125–134<br>
><br>
> HTH,<br>
><br>
> Don Osborn<br>
><br>
> Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T<br>
><br>
> -----Original Message-----<br>
> From: mostari hind <<a href="mailto:hmostari@yahoo.com" target="_blank">hmostari@yahoo.com</a>><br>
> Sender: lgpolicy-list-bounces+dzo=<a href="mailto:bisharat.net@groups.sas.upenn.edu" target="_blank">bisharat.net@groups.sas.upenn.edu</a><br>
> Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:50:40<br>
> To: Language Policy List<<a href="mailto:lgpolicy-list@groups.sas.upenn.edu" target="_blank">lgpolicy-list@groups.sas.upenn.edu</a>><br>
> Reply-To: Language Policy List <<a href="mailto:lgpolicy-list@groups.sas.upenn.edu" target="_blank">lgpolicy-list@groups.sas.upenn.edu</a>><br>
> Subject: RE: [lg policy] national vs officila language<br>
><br>
> _______________________________________________<br>
> This message came to you by way of the lgpolicy-list mailing list<br>
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--<br>
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br>
<br>
Harold F. Schiffman<br>
<br>
Professor Emeritus of<br>
Dravidian Linguistics and Culture<br>
Dept. of South Asia Studies<br>
University of Pennsylvania<br>
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br>
<br>
Phone: <a href="tel:%28215%29%20898-7475" value="+12158987475" target="_blank">(215) 898-7475</a><br>
Fax: <a href="tel:%28215%29%20573-2138" value="+12155732138" target="_blank">(215) 573-2138</a><br>
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Message: 3<br>
Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2012 09:50:42 -0600<br>
From: jayrkirk42 <<a href="mailto:jayrkirk42@yahoo.com" target="_blank">jayrkirk42@yahoo.com</a>><br>
Subject: RE: [lg policy] The Dark Reality of Secession Fantasy<br>
To: Language Policy List <<a href="mailto:lgpolicy-list@groups.sas.upenn.edu" target="_blank">lgpolicy-list@groups.sas.upenn.edu</a>><br>
Message-ID: <<a href="mailto:9yeqa5h1u9s0dha0bnb35tc8.1353426642643@email.android.com" target="_blank">9yeqa5h1u9s0dha0bnb35tc8.1353426642643@email.android.com</a>><br>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"<br>
<br>
Martyrdom syndrome - everybody's got it, legitimate or not. If you perceive that your ideology is being persecuted, it somehow makes it more legitimate.<br>
<br>
I enjoyed this, being a Floridian recently transplanted to Texas. In Florida I grew up with the regional identity of the South being important. In Texas, the state identity of being Texan is the big deal. In both cases, there was a sense that these identities are more American than America itself, as you said. Granted, Texans would probably be fine having their own identity, since they aghast do, anyway.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Sent from my Samsung Epic™ 4G TouchGareth Price <<a href="mailto:garethowenprice@gmail.com" target="_blank">garethowenprice@gmail.com</a>> wrote:Hi All,<br>
<br>
I thought some of you might find interesting a recent op-ed I wrote for the Huffington Post. It's on language, nationalism and the recent secession petitions in the US:<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/garethprice/secession-petitions_b_2152763.html?utm_hp_ref=tw" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/garethprice/secession-petitions_b_2152763.html?utm_hp_ref=tw</a><br>
<br>
(If that link breaks, then this one is shorter: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/c35d6fn" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/c35d6fn</a> )<br>
Comments welcome - bearing in mind that some of the nuances of the issues have to be glossed over for a non-academic audience.<br>
<br>
There's also a couple of older pieces on language and politics, here:<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/garethprice/" target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/garethprice/</a><br>
<br>
Apologies for the paucity of my contributions to the list this year ... I've been snowed under ...<br>
<br>
Best,<br>
<br>
Gareth<br>
<br>
--<br>
Gareth Price, Ph.D<br>
Visiting Assistant Professor<br>
Linguistics Program<br>
Duke University<br>
316 Languages, Box 90259<br>
Durham, NC 27708-0259<br>
USA<br>
<br>
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</blockquote></div><br></div></div></div>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>
University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br>
<a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------<br>
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