<div dir="ltr">Karnataka Language Policy Issue<br><div><br><div class="gmail_quote"> Forwarded From: <b class="gmail_sendername">E. Annamalai</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:annamalai38@yahoo.com">annamalai38@yahoo.com</a>></span><br>
Date: Wed, Feb 12, 2014 at 6:37 PM<br>Subject: Re: Mother tongue decision in court<br>To: Harold Schiffman <<a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com">haroldfs@gmail.com</a>><br><br><br><div><div style="font-size:12pt;font-family:HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif">
Dear Harold,<br><br>As I told you, the linguists in India wanted give the Supreme Court their professional opinion on the questions it raised. My response to the questions is below, which was prepared for the linguists to use as a base to develop their response. As you have asked for it, I am giving it to you.<br>
<br>E. Annamalai<br>Director Emeritus<br>Central Institute of Indian Languages<br>Mysore, India<br><br><br><br>
<div><b><br></b></div>
<div><b>Considering the importance of the issue, the bench of the Supreme Court framed five
questions: <br></b></div><div style="font-style:normal;font-size:16px;background-color:transparent;font-family:HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif;font-weight:bold"><b><br></b></div>
<div><b>*</b> What does mother tongue mean? If it refers to the
language in which the child is comfortable with, then who will decide the same?</div>
<div><b>* </b>Whether a student or a parent or a citizen has a right to
choose a medium of instruction at primary stage?</div>
<div>* Does imposition of mother tongue in any way affect fundamental rights?</div>
<div>* Whether government-recognized schools are inclusive of both
government-aided schools and private and unaided schools?</div>
<div>* Whether the state can by virtue of Article 350A of the Constitution compel
linguistic minorities to choose their mother tongue only as medium of
instruction in primary schools? <br></div><div style="font-style:normal;font-size:16px;background-color:transparent;font-family:HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif"><br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><b>Linguists’ response</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><b> </b></div>
<div><span><span>1.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span>The term mother tongue is understood in
different senses such as the marker of ethnic identity, indicator of level of
language competence as a native speaker, the communication system acquired from
the household. For the pedagogical purpose, mother tongue is the language of early
childhood experience with which the child understands the world around her and
forms her identity in relation to others. A child can have more than one mother
tongue in this sense. The mother tongue could be the sign language. When there
is more than one mother tongue, the child, i.e. her parent on her behalf, will
choose one of them for the educational purpose.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Mother tongue in educational discussions
refers to two distinct entities. One is that it refers to a language that is in
opposition to the majority and / or the official language of the State where
the child lives. This is specified as the minority mother tongue. Another is
that it refers to a language in opposition to English, and it could be the
majority language of the state. In the context of the question under discussion,
both are mother tongues for different populations.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>The parent decides the language of the early
experience of his or her child. There is, however, the possibility of choosing
a language like English, which the child is not experienced with, as the
child’s mother tongue for extraneous reasons. In such a case, a verification
method needs to be established by the school. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal"> </div>
<div><span><span>2.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span>At the primary level, the child, i.e. the parent
on her behalf, has the right to choose her mother tongue, as defined and
determined as above, as the medium of instruction. It could be the sole medium
or be a medium in conjunction with another language, generally the official
language of the State, in a bilingual education programme or
language-across-curriculum methodology. This right is circumscribed by the
mother tongue of the child and does not extend to any random language. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>A consequential question when the mother
tongue is not the official language of the State is whether the State has the
right to obligate the students to learn the official language as a subject in
order for the child to function effectively in the State and participate in the
government when she becomes an adult. The State has this right and can decide
when and how the official language of the state is introduced as a<span> </span>subject in the curriculum.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal"> </div>
<div><span><span>3.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span>Limiting the choice of medium of instruction to
the mother tongue at the primary level is not an imposition. It is based on the
sound educational principle that the language of the early childhood experience
at home is the best means of relating the school with the home and a natural
extension of the way of learning at home to school. It is thus not a violation
of the fundamental right to education. (Everyone has a fundamental right to
marry, which can be extended to marry someone of the same sex, but not to their
sibling. This restriction is not a violation of one’s rights.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in"> </div>
<div><span><span>4.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span>Using the mother tongue of the child as the
medium of instruction at the primary level is the natural justice for any child
irrespective of kind of school she attends. It is not a matter of government’s
will. It treats all children equally irrespective of the difference in mother
tongues. As such, all kinds of schools, whether aided by the government or not,
will exercise the natural justice.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><span><span>5.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span></span>Article 350(A) is related to the right of
minorities including linguistic minorities to establish and manage educational
institutions. Read in conjunction with the preceding Articles, it is for
preserving minority culture, language and script. Using a language and a script
in school is a step in the direction of preserving them. But the courts have
read 350(A) not in conjunction with the preceding Articles. It must be read in
conjunction with preservation of culture of minorities in multilingual India
and so the mother tongue of a minority must be taught in primary schools. With
regard to the medium of instruction, it will be the medium if it is the
language of early experience of the child. If not, such a language will be the
medium. </div><div><div class="h5">
<br><div><span><br></span></div><div style="display:block"> <br> <br> <div style="font-family:HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif;font-size:12pt"> <div style="font-family:HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">
<div dir="ltr"> <font face="Arial"> On Wednesday, February 12, 2014 3:04 PM, Harold Schiffman <<a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br> </font> </div> <div><div><div><div dir="ltr">
<br clear="none"><div><div><div><br clear="none"><div>---------- Forwarded message ----------<br clear="none">
From: <b>E. Annamalai</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a rel="nofollow" shape="rect" href="mailto:annamalai38@yahoo.com" target="_blank">annamalai38@yahoo.com</a>></span><br clear="none">
Date: Wed, Feb 12, 2014 at 1:08 PM<br clear="none">Subject: Re: Mother tongue decision in court<br clear="none">To: Harold Schiffman <<a rel="nofollow" shape="rect" href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a>><br clear="none">
<br clear="none"><br clear="none"><div><br clear="none">
<div>I am sharing a draft of the note to the Court that E. Annamalai sent to the Court<br clear="none">
some time ago. .<br clear="none"><br clear="none"></div><div><div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div dir="ltr">
<br clear="none"></div><div><br clear="none"><br clear="none"><div>On Tue, Feb 11, 2014 at 11:32 PM, E. Annamalai <span dir="ltr"><<a rel="nofollow" shape="rect" href="mailto:annamalai38@yahoo.com" target="_blank">annamalai38@yahoo.com</a>></span> wrote:<br clear="none">
<blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div><div style="font-size:12pt;font-family:HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif">
<div>
Dear Harold,</div><div><br clear="none"></div><div style="font-style:normal;font-size:16px;background-color:transparent;font-family:HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif">Language Policy list today carries the news of Indian Supreme Court's Constitutional Bench taking up the case of the issue of mother tongue in education. When I was in Mysore, some linguists at the national level wanted to give a brief to the Court as a professional view. Unfortunately, there was no agreement. Some linguists wanted to raise the sociolinguistic issue of mother tongues of children and to propose a language policy in education. I wanted to specifically address the Court's questions, which are legal in nature. The Court, I believe, is looking for legal answers to
the educational question, not for educational reform. We the linguists of India missed an opportunity.</div><div style="font-style:normal;font-size:16px;background-color:transparent;font-family:HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif">
I am attaching my draft of the note to the Court that I made for discussion among linguists. I thought you might be interested. It is attached.</div><div style="font-style:normal;font-size:16px;background-color:transparent;font-family:HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif">
<br clear="none"></div><div style="font-style:normal;font-size:16px;background-color:transparent;font-family:HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif">anbudan,</div><div style="font-style:normal;font-size:16px;background-color:transparent;font-family:HelveticaNeue,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,Lucida Grande,sans-serif">
Annamalai<br clear="none"></div></div></div></blockquote></div><br clear="none"><br clear="all"><br clear="none">-- <br clear="none">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br clear="none"><br clear="none"> Harold F. Schiffman<br clear="none">
<br clear="none">Professor Emeritus of <br clear="none"> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br clear="none">Dept. of South Asia Studies <br clear="none">
University of Pennsylvania<br clear="none">Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Phone: <a rel="nofollow" shape="rect">(215) 898-7475</a><br clear="none">Fax: <a rel="nofollow" shape="rect">(215) 573-2138</a> <br clear="none">
<br clear="none">Email: <a rel="nofollow" shape="rect" href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br clear="none">
<a rel="nofollow" shape="rect" href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <div><br clear="none"><br clear="none">-------------------------------------------------
</div></div><div>
</div></div></blockquote></div></div></div></div><div><br clear="none"><br clear="all"><br clear="none">-- <br clear="none">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br clear="none"><br clear="none"> Harold F. Schiffman<br clear="none">
<br clear="none">Professor Emeritus of <br clear="none"> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br clear="none">Dept. of South Asia Studies <br clear="none">
University of Pennsylvania<br clear="none">Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Phone: <a rel="nofollow" shape="rect">(215) 898-7475</a><br clear="none">Fax: <a rel="nofollow" shape="rect">(215) 573-2138</a> <br clear="none">
<br clear="none">Email: <a rel="nofollow" shape="rect" href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br clear="none">
<a rel="nofollow" shape="rect" href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br clear="none"><br clear="none">-------------------------------------------------
</div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br><br></div> </div> </div> </div> </div></div></div></div></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>-------------------------------------------------
</div></div>