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Programme: accepted abstracts

Abstract ID: 1274

Part of General Paper Session (Other abstracts in this session)

Revitalizing Indian Languages: A Case Study of Marathi

Authors: Thorat, Ashok Rangnath; Lokhandwala, Munira
Submitted by: Thorat, Ashok Rangnath (Institute of Advanced Studies in English, India)

India is a land of many ethnic groups using 1652 languages and dialects including 22 major languages listed in the Indian constitution. And even if India is not an exception to the worldwide phenomenon of decay and death of languages, the 22 major Indian languages flourished and dominated the linguistic space till the discrete entry of English. The story of English in India is the story of increasing expansion of functional domains. First it was the language of administration, then judiciary, then education and finally entertainment and home. Though the seeds were sown during the British Raj, the real dominance has been witnessed after India became independent. Particularly after 1961, there has been a phenomenal growth in the number of speakers of English, whereas the numbers of speakers of the major Indian languages has been steadily declining. The speakers of Marathi, for example, declined from 7.6% in 1961 to 6.9 % in 2001. On the other hand, speakers of English increased from 2.32 % in 1961 to 11.38% in 2001.The Census figures indicate that all the major Indian languages are ‘threatened languages’. Alarmed by the power of English, Indian cultural elites, politicians and governments have initiated policies and programs to revitalize the Indian languages. One of the functional domains where Indian languages lag is the field of science and technology. In order to overcome this shortcoming, Indian Government launched a program known as TDIL (Technology Development for Indian Languages) that facilitated the use of Indian languages in science and technology. Similarly various State Governments introduced their own language policies in order to promote the indigenous languages. Marathi language has been a major beneficiary of these policies. Revitalization efforts at the cultural level, particularly in the metropolitan cities like Mumbai and Pune, have a very strong and positive impact on the Governments as well as the masses. Marathi literary movements, theater academies and pilgrimages like ‘Pandharpur Wari’ have been playing a vital role in reestablishing the glory of Marathi language and culture. Growing facilities of research and publications along with government grants and awards for cultural activities have generated enthusiasm among Marathi speakers. Political movements like ‘Angrezi Hatao’ and agitations for making it compulsory to write the signboards and nameplates in Marathi have mobilized the public support for the cause of revitalization of Marathi language. These movements, mainly carried out in Mumbai and Pune, have far-reaching impact on the attitude of government as well as the masses in Maharashtra State. The main aim of the present paper is to contextualize various efforts in the cities of Mumbai and Pune to revitalize Marathi language and to evaluate the impact of these efforts. It is hypothesized that these efforts, put together, will adequately strengthen this language and will help remove the lebel of ‘threatened language’. References 1. Chaudhary Shreesh (2009). Foreigners and Foreign Languages in India: A Sociolinguistic History. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press 2. Krishnaswamy N. & Burde Archana (1998). The Politics of Indians’ English. New Delhi: Oxford University Press 3. Phillipson Robert (2009). Linguistic Imperialism Continued. Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan