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Daffodil International University Forum

Condition of English in Bangladesh: Second Language or Foreign Language

By:S M Mehdi Hasan

Mother tongue or first language is perhaps the most favorite thing for any person. The
question of language has resulted into many conflicts and discontentment. The prime
example of such discontentment is the Language Movement of 1952 in Bangladesh. On
the other hand we can not live in isolation. We have to be in contact with the speakers of
other languages. Bangladesh is considered to be a monolingual country in which more
than 98% of the population is speakers of Bangla language. However, there are more than
ten languages in such a small country like Bangladesh. Monipuri, Urdu, Chakma, Santali,
Garo, Rakhain, Tipra- are just some of the other languages present in Bangladesh.

The interesting thing is that Urdu is a Indo-European language but written in Arabic
script, Santali belongs to the Mono-Khemar language family while Chakma belongs to
the Chinese-Barmese language group. So, although Bangladesh is often portrayed as a
country of linguistic unity based on Bangla language in reality it has notable linguistic
diversity. To communicate with the speakers of other languages we either need to know
their language or communicate in a Lingua-Franca that is comprehensible to both of us.

Today, the world has become a global village. Thanks to the advancement of
communication system and technology. Every country is dependent on others for trade
and commerce, education, politics etc. As a result, we have to constantly communicate
with other countries and speakers of other languages. Third world countries like
Bangladesh have to depend on foreign aid because they are not self-sufficient. As a
result, many foreigners come to Bangladesh. A third factor is the factor of religion. The
sacred language of the Muslims is Arabic, Sanskrit for Hindus, Pali for the Buddhists and
Latin for the Christians.

All these factors remind us the necessity for learning other language(s) in addition to our
mother tongue. According to this reality many countries of the world have adopted a
European language as second language which is often used in education, law court,
economic activities and government works. These languages have most of the time
official status in the constitution of those countries. Many of the cases the countries have
adopted the language of their past colonial rulers as the second language. Sometimes
these languages are also called official language. In many African countries we can see
this picture. On the other hand, some European languages have become very important in
the world for literary and economic purposes. For example, German and French are
considered to be important languages of the world because both of them have influential
literature and economic aspects associated with them.

For example, many people in our country are interested to learn French because it may
help them to get UN jobs and jobs in Multinational companies. Another attractive
motivation for learning French in Bangladesh is that it may help us to immigrate to
Canada as skill in French language gives a person some extra points in the point system
of Canadian immigration.

The title of my research is "Status of English in Bangladesh: Second language or foreign

language?" I have selected this topic because from sociolinguistic point of view the status
of English is a very interesting one. On the one hand English language is dominantly
present in every side of our national life while on the other hand in our constitution it is
clearly declared that the language of the country is Bangla. In fact, nothing is said about
the status of English language in our constitution. On one hand, economic activities in the
private companies are carried out in English while there is a government law (Bangla
procholon ain1987) that government offices must use Bangla in their official works. So
from the government point of view Bangla is the national- official language of
Bangladesh and English is the most important foreign language. But in reality English is
the second language of the country and in many places English is more important than
Bangla in Bangladesh.

Second language:

A second language is any language other than the first, or native, language learned; it is
typically used because of geographical or social reasons. The term is to be distinguished
from foreign language; linguist Eric Lenneberg uses second language in his critical
period hypothesis to mean a language consciously learned or used by its speaker after
puberty. In most cases, people never achieve the same level of fluency and
comprehension in their second languages as in their first language.

Historically in Europe, the most widely used second language (or lingua franca) was
Latin. It was used by the Church; by the Law (as it still is today); in Medicine (starting
much later); Horticulture and biological classification of plants, animals, fruits, nuts, etc.

Latin was used so much across Europe that it was called the vulgar (or common tongue);
this is why the Latin version of the Bible is called the Vulgate.

Nowadays, English is considered the world's most widespread second language; it is used
in areas as diverse as the internet, television and radio, and international aviation.

The success of English throughout the world stems from two major causes: the far
reaching influence of the British Empire, and the 20th century (and continuing)
dominance of the United States in the fields of business and entertainment.

French was for a time the lingua franca (the origin of term) in Europe. In history, both
England and France were ruled by a single crown - the language used by the royal court
was French (English was considered "the peasant's language"). Afterwards, as was the
case with English, the French empire spread its language through colonization. French
continues to be one of the world's most widely spoken languages. (Source: Wikipedia)

If we look at the definition of second language then we can easily say that English is the
second language of Bangladesh. It is widely used in many parts of our national life. Many
people watch English television channels and also use Internet. The students have to
study it for twelve years and those who want to join civil service by attending BCS exam
also have to sit for English examination. The only thing that is missing from the above
definition is the fact that except for formal occasions no one speaks in English in
Bangladesh. It is not the language used in home among family members and among
friends in informal conversation.

Foreign language:

A foreign language is a language not spoken by the indigenous people of a certain place:
for example, English is a foreign language in Japan. It is also a language not spoken in
the native country of the person referred to, i.e. an English speaker living in Japan can
say that Japanese is a foreign language to him or her.

Some children learn more than one language from birth or from a very young age: they
are bilingual. These children can be said to have two mother tongues: neither language is
foreign to that child, even if one language is a foreign language for the vast majority of
people in the child's birth country. For example, a child learning English from her
English mother in Japan can speak both English and Japanese, but neither is a foreign
language to her. (Source- Wikipedia)

From the above definition, it is seen that foreign language refers to a language that is not
native to a person. From this point of view English can be considered as a foreign
language in Bangladesh since it is not native in our country. Hardly any Bangladeshi
person speaks in English although many of them use it in education and business.

Official language:

An official language is something that is given a unique status in the countries, states, and
other territories. It is typically the language used in a nation's legislative bodies, though
the law in many nations requires that government documents be produced in other
languages as well.

Officially recognized minority languages are often mistaken for official languages.
However, a language officially recognized by a state, taught in schools, and used in
official communication is not necessarily an official language. For example, Ladin and
Sardinian in Italy and Mirandese in Portugal are only officially recognized minority
languages, not official languages in the strict sense.

Half of the countries in the world have official languages. Some have only one official
language, such as Albania, France, or Lithuania, despite the fact that in all these countries
there are other native languages spoken as well. Some have more than one official
language, such as Afghanistan, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, Eritrea, Finland,
India, Paraguay, South Africa, and Switzerland.
In some countries, such as Iraq, Italy, Russia and Spain, there is an official language for
the country, but other languages are co-official in some important regions. Some
countries, such as Australia, Sweden, Tuvalu, and the United States have no official
languages.

The official languages of some former colonies, typically French or English, are not the
national languages or the most widely spoken language.

In contrast, as a consequence of nationalism, Irish is the "national language" of the

Republic of Ireland and its first official language, although it is spoken by only a small
fraction of its people. English, which is spoken by the majority, is described only as the
second official language (Constitution of Ireland, Article .

In some countries, the issue of which language is to be used in what context is a major
political issue.(Source-Wikipedia)

From the above definition, it is seen that the notion of official language is complicated.
According to our constitution English can not be termed as the official language of
Bangladesh since it has no status in our constitution. The only language that is mentioned
in our constitution is Bangla. But English is allowed in our parliament and many
government events. For example, when there is a government event in which some
foreigners attend then in many cases the speakers use English language. Many important
government documents are written both in Bangla and English. The parliament
proceedings are kept into these two languages. When a government body organizes a fair
then often the souvenir is published in English.

Constitution:

About the language of the country the Bangladeshi constitution clearly states:

"The state language.

The state language of the Republic is [Bangla]."

(Source: http://www.pmo.gov.bd/constitution/consti2.htm#3.)

In the constitution nothing is mentioned about the status of English. English is not
mentioned as a second language or official language. So if we take the status of English
in our constitution then we cannot claim that English is a Second language or Official
Language in Bangladesh.

English in Law court in Bangladesh:

After Independence the government took the initiative to implement Bangla language in
law court. As a result, now the lower courts carry out their activities in Bangla but
English is yet very influential in High Court and Supreme Court. If a lawyer wants to
practice in Supreme court then he must have a good command over English language.
Many of the judges still give their verdicts in English language. It seems that this trend of
using English will remain for the forcible future.

English in Education sector in Bangladesh:

Formal and institutionalized education system started in Bangladesh during the British
rule. At that time Bangladesh was part of British India. There was a debate about the
medium of education. Raja Rammohan Roy argued that the medium should be English
rather than Sanskrit or Persian. During the British period the medium of education was
largely in English. Calcutta University took an initiative in 1935 to introduce Bangla as a
medium of education along with English. In Bangladesh the use of Bangla in college
level started in the 1960s. Now students can answer in the examinations in Bangla or
English. In the college level and university level after 1971 the government tried to
patronize Bangla and implement it by replacing English in the education sector but this
did not came into reality because of some basic problems. The first problem is that there
were not enough books of any field in Bangla language. This problem is more acute in
science and technology. For example, there are almost no books in Bangla about
computer technology that can be used as a reference book in the University level.

Actually there are three kinds of education systems in our country- Bangla medium,
English medium, and Madrasa system. Bangla medium schools can be divided into two
sections- government schools, and kindergarten schools. In the kindergarten schools more
emphasis is given on English language than government schools. Some of the famous
kindergarten schools of Dhaka are Vikarounnesa, Holycross, Willes Little Flower, and so
on. Although these schools belong to Bangla medium the students have to study 3-4
English books like: Radiant Way, Active English, Desk Work, Fundamental English,
Brighter Grammar, and so on. On the other hand in the government schools there is
mainly one English book (English for Today) which is published by Bangladesh Text
Book Board. The English medium schools do not follow Bangladeshi education system
and are under the supervision of British Council. The medium of instruction in these
schools is English and many of the students of English medium are even very weak in
Bangla language. There are two kinds of Madrassas - Dakhil and Kawmi. The Kawmi
Madrassas are not recognized by the government and do not receive any assistance from
the government. In this Madrassas emphasis is given on learning Arabic, Persian, and
Urdu while Bangla and English are neglected. On the other hand in Dakhil Madrassas
emphasis is mainly given on Arabic and Bangla and English are not so much neglected.

So we can clearly see that the difference in education system in Bangladesh is solely
based on the difference in the medium of education. Although Bangla is the National-
Official language of Bangladesh it is the English medium education institutes who get
more money. The rise of private universities has only increased the status and importance
of English language in Bangladesh. There are now more than 50 private Universities in
Bangladesh and the medium of education in all of them is English. These universities
charge 2 lakh to 5 lakh taka for Bachelor course. If the medium of education was in
Bangla then hardly any student or parents would get interested to pay such huge money
for the education in private universities.

From the above discussion it is clear that in our general education system English has
equal if not more importance than Bangla. In our education system English is really the
Second language as all the students have to study it as a compulsory subject for twelve
years.

English and Administration:

During the language movement the people of Bangladesh were afraid that if Urdu was
established as the State Language of Pakistan then all the government activities will be
carried out in Urdu and our people will suffer. As a result of the language movement, the
Pakistani Regime kept on carrying out government activities in English language. After
Bangladesh became independent the government of Awami League decided to replace
English with Bangla in administrative works but after the death of Sheikh Mujib this
process came to a halt and English continued to remain as the dominant language. It was
during the rule of Ershad Bangla Procholon Aeen of 1987 was created and implemented.
From that time English started to lose its significance in administration. However, it has
to be mentioned that all the international communication of Bangladesh government is
carried out through English.

English in Economic activities:

The economy of Bangladesh is dependent on foreign aids and export of some common
items like ready made garments, jute, tea, fish etc and also we import a lot of things.
Bangladesh is not self sufficient economically. Trading is more popular than production.
Trading requires constant communication with foreign companies. Many of the
companies who are involved in trading have to use English in dealing with foreigners.
Suppose, a company is doing trading with China which is not an English speaking
country. Then the company has to contact the Chinese company in English. If we look at
the advertisements of the private sector jobs then we can easily notice that most of the job
advertisements are posted in English. Even most of the private sector job advertisements
that are posted in Bengali newspapers are posted in English. Almost all the private jobs
state that the applicants must have good proficiency in English language. Almost all the
public limited companies publish their annual reports in English. Some of these
companies produce a Bangla version of their annual report but the emphasis is always on
English. So it is clear that English is the dominant language in our economic activities.

Comparison of English with Arabic, Sanskrit, and Pali in Bangladesh:

Arabic, Sanskrit and Pali are the religious languages of Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists
respectively. Even the uneducated people try to learn these languages as they are
considered to be holy. If we compare the learning of English with these languages then
we can see that English is given more importance. For example, the tuition fee of a
English coaching center is much higher than that of an Arabic coaching centre. English
private tutors get 4-5 times more money than Arabic private tutors (Huzur). So although
Arabic has religious sentiment attached to it English is considered to be more important
as it has economic benefit.

Comparison of English foreign languages like French, German, and Farsi:

French and German have become very popular for economic reasons in our country.
Learning these languages help us to increase our possibility to get a UN job. Learning
French is also helpful for getting immigration to Canada. Also there are good facilities to
learn these languages in Dhaka University, Alliance Francaise, and Goethe Institute.
Recently, the English Institute of North South University has introduced French course.
On the other hand during the Muslim reign Farsi was the language of the Royal
administration and law court in Bangladesh. At present, a student can attend Farsi course
for one semester by just paying tk. 250 in Iran Cultural Center but there are not many
students who are interested to learn Farsi, French, and German. On the other hand,
hundreds of students each year appear for TOEFL and IELTS exams in English language.

From the above picture it is clear that the status of English is much higher than foreign
languages like German, French, and Farsi. We can not deny the reality that if a person is
good at English then he can earn money in any part of Bangladesh but if a person is good
at French, German, or Farsi he has hardly any scope to earn money by using his skills in
these languages.

Recommendations:

From the discussion so far there is no doubt that English is the second language of
Bangladesh but this reality is not reflected in our constitution. Officially Bangladesh is
not known as an ESL country to the outside world. So Bangladesh should be declared as
an ESL country by the government without any delay. We learn English not because we
like Shakespeare or Dickens. We learn English from out of every day necessity. If
Bangladesh is declared as an ESL country and English language is given a clear status in
the constitution then it will not only reflect the reality but also it will help us
internationally. Now Bangladesh is desperately trying to attract foreign investors. Before
any company comes to Bangladesh for exploring the investment opportunities one of the
key areas they would look for is the availability of pool of English graduates and they
also expect that the normal workers will have basic understanding of English language. If
we become an ESL country then these foreign companies while searching about
Bangladesh will get assured about the strong presence of English language in this
country.

The same picture is there about educational sector. Many Bangladeshi students want to
go to developed countries like USA, UK , Canada, and Australia for higher education. If
Bangladesh is declared as an ESL country then these students will be benefited because
then the Universities of those countries will get the idea that English has special
significance in Bangladesh.

So I recommend to the government of Bangladesh that English should be declared as the

second language of the country by amending the constitution.

Conclusion:

Bangladesh is the only country in the world whose people sacrificed their lives for the
language. Now the historical language movement of 1952 is acknowledged
internationally as the International Mother Language Day. It is true that our people are
emotional about their language, Bangla. However, it is equally true that now our people
have become desperate about getting skilled in English language. As a result, there are
more than fifty private universities now in Bangladesh. If North South Offered BBA and
Computer Science courses in Bangla medium then they would not get even 10% of the
number of students they have now. It is now good time that we finish the great
contradiction about the language issue and declare Bangladesh as an ESL country for our
own benefit.

S M Mehdi Hasan
http://write-translate.blogspot.com/

Read more: http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/asia/index.pl?

read=158#ixzz1IMR0UTLD
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Those who worship the natural elements enter darkness (Air, Water, Fire, etc.). Those
who worship sambhuti sink deeper in darkness. [Yajurveda 40:9]; Sambhuti means
created things, for example table, chair, idol, etc.

shibli

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Re: Condition of English in Bangladesh

« Reply #1 on: May 26, 2011, 06:39:16 PM »

A Norwegian publication Aftenposten Innsikt from October 2010 contained an article
The end of Babel? where it announced that English is “the world’s most adaptable
and subversive language”. The question then, is this an appropriate description of
English in today’s world?

A brief look at some key points in history

It is vital to be aware of  past history in its essential terms, in order to know and explain
the present. First of all it is important to look at the history of English. Why is it that this
mighty language has come this far, and what services it? There are several reasons to why
English has become a true global language. One obvious reason is the British Empire. At
its very peak it covered nearly a third of the Earth’s surface. Since the English were
the masters, they would not feel obliged to learn the language of the citizens they ruled.
Instead it would be more “efficient” for the captives to learn English, and the
British were quick to set up schools in Asia and Africa where English was taught. The
best pupils were given presents made in England, and a very competitive environment
was thus established. This proved to be a very effective way of pushing the Empire’s
language, culture, religion and so forth. I would say that this was pure genious from a
modern marketing standpoint. To introduce a new and higher status “brand” as
English and its culture obviously had to be, creates emotion, and the feeling of belonging
to something greater and more futuristically viable, than the old fashioned and boring
native mindset.

Another important explanation to why English got on so well, was because of the
Industrial Revolution. England became high tech, and for others to learn about this new
technology and able to research it, manufacture it and outsource it, one had to speak and
write English very well. In other words, access to knowledge went through knowing
English. There would have been an astounding amount of new English words to be
invented in order to explain parts, assembly and how to service new machinery. After the
initial Industrial Revolution in Britain, even more invention and progress was made in the
USA where bright people invented new commercial institutions and services. In order to
be able to communicate well with influental bankers, insurance people, transportation
tycoons and oil entrepeneurs, one had to master both oral and written English. People
started using trains, steamers and cars, and in order to do so, they all had to understand
how to use these brilliant inventions, and once again English was the key factor. Not to
mention newspapers and radio broadcasts and press associations that turned up as time
went by. Culture too, such as fashion, litterature, musicals, popular music and movies, are
all an essential provider for distributing a language around. The English language
flourishes in abundance, and it adopts and expands in the most flexible way.

Globish

The end of Babel? article (which is based upon the book Globish: How the English
Language Became the World's Language by Robert McCrum) says that some of the
language in Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is an older version of the dialect
Globish, I think the article is missing the mark. Let me explain. First of all, what is
Globish? Globish is a simpler version of the English language formalized by Jean-Paul
Nerriere. The language uses a subset of standard English grammar and a list of 1500
English words. In fact Globish is not a language in and of itself according to Jean-Paul
Nerriere, but more like a lingua franca.

Globish was in fact created so that people all over the world could do international
business with each other. With this as a basis I would say that the article is somewhat
stretching its luck with the allegation that there has existed a younger version, or dialect
of globish prior to 2004, when the “language” was created. Although Nerriere has
himself said that Globish is not a true language, one cannot dismiss its impact on society.
It is a lingua franca, and it is widely used. Even the word “Globish” is created using
the words “global” and “English”, as if Nerriere would make sure that it
would be known as a “global English language” (this is of course a paradox, since
Nerriere has said that it is not a language in itself). However, a more important fact is that
globish is very much a business language, and not like the global standard English, which
is not dependant on business at all in order to exist.

 So, then, does globish contribute in an adaptable and/or subversive way with regards to
English? It clearly has a role in narrowing the gap for non-English speaking people. It can
even be a gateway into the more colourful and comprehensive English language. The
downside can be that Globish is so effective in, and for business, that people stop using
their native language in order to save time and money.

REFERENCE
http://kreativm.posterous.com/english-the-worlds-most-adaptable-and-subvers
Logged
Those who worship the natural elements enter darkness (Air, Water, Fire, etc.). Those
who worship sambhuti sink deeper in darkness. [Yajurveda 40:9]; Sambhuti means
created things, for example table, chair, idol, etc.

shibli

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Re: Condition of English in Bangladesh

« Reply #2 on: May 26, 2011, 06:41:59 PM »

The Internet & social media revolutions
In the late 20th century, and at the beginning of the 21st century new major revolutions
found their seats. Lo and behold, the world gives you the Internet, social media and tons
of information in their wake. Again Western countries found themselves in epoch-making
waters. Information is the new currency and with it comes knowledge, influence and
power. The Internet was created by ARPANET, but Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee
created the modern coding language in 1989, HTML and http://, used by sites all over the
World Wide Web. One can only speculate if him being English had anything to do with
English as a preferred language on the Web. I would suspect so since English already had
its powerful position. It would be normal and indeed the obvious language to use. A
David Crystal mentiones in his book English as a Global Language, that information put
on ARPANET was English because most users were scientists from the academic and
federal community, and of course the location of the protocols were in the USA too. It is
crucial to linger with this topic, and to have a clear understanding of it, because the
Internet has seriously positioned English as the chief lingua franca.

The Internet introduced lots of new words and technical wording into the English
language, e.g. the Web, blog, hacker, cracker, tweet, lol, ftw, pwned and the list goes on
and on. English is adapting once again (and still is), because of its flexibility.

The Internet is perhaps the most important communications revolution ever in human
history so far (next paragraphs will explain why). I was very lucky to be a part of its
humble beginning in the early 90s and up till now. In the Web’s early start one had to
know English for sure. There were very few, if any pages in Norwegian worth visiting.
Fast forward to 2011, and this has changed drastically. Now you have wonderful Web
sites in all languages. However (and Michael Specter from The New York Times agrees)
if you really want to reach a global audience, there is only one languange worth using.
Enter English, once again.
Logged
Those who worship the natural elements enter darkness (Air, Water, Fire, etc.). Those
who worship sambhuti sink deeper in darkness. [Yajurveda 40:9]; Sambhuti means
created things, for example table, chair, idol, etc.

shibli

 Faculty
 Hero Member
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 Posts: 2674
 God is only one without a second. [Upanisad 6:2]
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Re: Condition of English in Bangladesh

« Reply #3 on: May 26, 2011, 06:42:37 PM »

English, the adaptable language

Standard English is in itself a very adaptable language indeed. It is well known that
English consists of a huge amont of foreign words that have been anglified. Well, some
have, others have not. Point is that the English language’s strength is how it can
assimilate words into its extremely vast collective, for the greater good for English and its
users. It is also easy to make new words in English, for example nouns becoming verbs.
To make a doing-word out of a thing-word, e.g. he tabled the motion and chaired the
meeting. It is not a new phenomenon though, even Shakepeare did this many times.
Words like “sanctioning”, “envisioning”, “propositioning” and
“stationing”, have been around for a long time. So for example to put the word
“action” into a verb, and saying he “actioned it that day”, is not that much of a
crime. And this makes English extremely adaptable and playful. Some people will say
that defending English for the sake of clarity is paramount. But it never really holds water
because it is almost impossible to conserve a language to sustain its purity and fend off
inspiration from people. It is you and me, and the next person who uses English that will
inspire it, alter it, play with it and modernize it. For example, in a supermarket one can
see a sign that says “five items or less”. Technically it should say “five items or
fewer”, but somewhere in time people have begun using “less” instead. Almost
impossible to explain why these things happen, although I am sure that there are some
linguists with loads of theories. But that is of no interest really, because the change has
happened, and does it make English a worse language? Does it become less eloquent and
wonderful because some grammatical changes occur now and then? I think not. In fact I
think that these changes are necessary in order for a language to survive, and maintain its
strenght and blissful status. This is why people love English, because it is so easily
changeable and alive.
Logged
Those who worship the natural elements enter darkness (Air, Water, Fire, etc.). Those
who worship sambhuti sink deeper in darkness. [Yajurveda 40:9]; Sambhuti means
created things, for example table, chair, idol, etc.

shibli

 Faculty
 Hero Member
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 
 Posts: 2674
 God is only one without a second. [Upanisad 6:2]
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o

Re: Condition of English in Bangladesh

« Reply #4 on: May 26, 2011, 06:43:30 PM »

Subversive, & kindly so
Jonathan Swift, who allegedly said “These Manglings and Abbreviations… the
innovations of illiterate Court Fops, half witted Poets and University Boys”, indicating
that these factors are somewhat subversive to the English language. But the main
question raised is: is English the world’s most adaptable and subversive language?
Here we have two frontlines, as it were:

1.      Is the English language subversive to other languages?

2.      Are variations of English subversive to standard English itself?

The answer to both questions as I see it, is no. And here is why; global English is a major
lingua player, and it is undeniably the most used language worldwide. Despite this,
people are aware of their own culture, native language and thus their own identity.
English is not going to alter this in a powerful and destructive way as I see it. I think a
dominant language as English is making people more aware of their own national
identity, and the importance of preserving it. English is more of a tool, an app if you like,
to use for efficient communication all over the world.

People are always curious, craving information and want to talk to other people outside
their own borders. This is beneficial for both English and any other native language.
Since English is very adaptable and absorbing, it is a huge chance that words from
another language will be assimilated by English, and that some English words will trickle
their way to other languages. Although I have a strong feeling that the latter will not be as
much trending as the first notion.

David Crystal refers to other writers in his book (such as Salman Rushdie), and their view
upon English in the countries they are from, and it seems that none are too worried about
English being too dominant. English contain so many words from languages from all
over the world that it is easy for anyone to find a word that will satisfactorily explain a
thing or a situation, in their own country. And it seems that this goes the other way
around too. E.g. people using Urdu are making their own local versions of English mixed
up with their own old native language. This flexibility is paramount for English with
regards to its survival.

Variations of English within standard English, are there because English is so flexible. As
I see it, this is why English is the most resilient language in the world, it has the immense
strength to gobble up variations, or make them, and still keep its core healthy and alive as
a newborn child.

Dynamics, image & a conclusion

English is not a bland, stale and stiff language. It is dynamic. There are a lot of things
happening, all the time, all over the world, and this “organic being”, English, is the
world’s preferred language. In fact I would argue that English is more than just
grammar and phonetics, it is also about image. So, what kind of image does English give?
I have already mentioned that is has an aura of freedom and democratic vibes tucked
around it. English is also the language of intellectuals, the creative ones, the funny ones,
it is simply chosen because of its greatness. Persons such as Winston Churchill, Margaret
Thatcher, Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandi and Barack
Obama have all participated in bringing the reputation of English to new heights via their
speeches. English is a sign of quality, resilience and flexibility, thus making it perhaps
the strongest brand in the world. It is possible to use English in a very complex and posh
way, or extremely basic and stripped of all the extravagance, yet being able to convey the
same message to its receivers. This is truly amazing, and people want to be a part of this.
If all of that does not give English the accolade as the “world’s most adaptable
language”, then what will?
Logged
Those who worship the natural elements enter darkness (Air, Water, Fire, etc.). Those
who worship sambhuti sink deeper in darkness. [Yajurveda 40:9]; Sambhuti means
created things, for example table, chair, idol, etc.

shibli

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Re: Condition of English in Bangladesh

« Reply #5 on: May 26, 2011, 06:44:12 PM »

But make no mistake, there are people who will disagree with me on this, and are looking
for a purification of English and the abolishment of every deviation present. Perhaps
these pedants would take the same stand as this motto ”Language is the universal
whore, that I must make into a virgin”. The effort will however prove futile, it is
impossible to bring back the “original standard English” as a standard. Although the
pedants would surely find comfort in the previously mentioned slogan, and find a
soulmate in Karl Kraus. Kraus was an extreme purist when it came to language.
Language was to Kraus the most important tell-tale for the wrongs of the world. I am sure
most people will join me in amusement of an eccentric like Kraus. He was also an
Austrian, like Adolf Hitler, and the Norwegian article, The end of Babel?, plays with the
scenario of what would have happened if the British had surrendered or “made a
deal” with the Nazi regime? Let us all be exceptionally happy that we had a Britain
with a lion’s heart, and a bulldog in Winston Churchill, and together they roared and
barked out the impeccable strengths of the British, thus proving once again that English,
which has been and still is a triumphant inspiration for so many individuals, will always
survive, because it is the world’s most adaptive and kindly subversive language.
Logged
Those who worship the natural elements enter darkness (Air, Water, Fire, etc.). Those
who worship sambhuti sink deeper in darkness. [Yajurveda 40:9]; Sambhuti means
created things, for example table, chair, idol, etc.

shamsi

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Re: Condition of English in Bangladesh

« Reply #6 on: June 02, 2011, 11:53:42 AM »

I think these posts will be helpful for the teachers who teach History of English
Language...The concept of standard English has been changed indeed.The speech of
Britain is no longer regarded as the norm by which all others must be judged.Any
educated speech delivered by any non-native speaker of English is now considered
'Standard',if it does not create any misunderstanding although there are some people
still,who expect our policy makers to be flawless as they represent our country...

Shamsi Ara Huda