Leiden University Student Repository

Reygers, Tamara 2015

Language Imperialism in the Indian Education System; Linguistic Minorities and the Role of English

Bachelor thesis | International Studies (BA)

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Throughout history, globalization has become an intrinsic phenomenon in the development of world cultures and societies, connecting and driving the world communities ever closer together. An active...Show moreThroughout history, globalization has become an intrinsic phenomenon in the development of world cultures and societies, connecting and driving the world communities ever closer together. An active role in this process has been played by language. The speed at which an international language, such as English, is spreading around the globe is becoming more and more evident in the daily life of every individual. The widespread use of this language as a lingua franca at an international level can be directly related to the strong political and economic imprint that the United Kingdom and the United States of America have had throughout the past centuries. During the course of the Era of Colonialism and Imperialism, western languages were forced upon countries and cultures by military coercion in order to facilitate the exploitation of colonies and be able to economically support the European markets. The spread of western languages in colonized countries gave way to language imperialism, a term coined by the famous scholar Robert Phillipson in 1992. The status of the English language however, has shifted from a colonial imposed language towards the role of being an internationally spoken language, which is now mainly considered as related to science, technology, modernity, and for poor people as a chance to escape poverty and oppression. For this reason, the question is posed of whether English still represents an example of language imperialism within non-native English speaking countries. English as a language has become so powerful and widespread that Matthew Parris described it, as “a seismic event in our species history” because no other language has ever predominated over others and approached universality (Watson 260). The dominance of one language is of special concern within the context of local languages and minority language groups as well as within the education systems of multilingual countries. India represents a suitable example when talking about this matter, in that the country has made significant use of English domestically and internationally promoting its importance at every social level. McKay sees the position of English in the world, as “a result of a series of interwoven factors and a complex process brought about by those who actively promote the language and those who consciously choose to learn it” (24). Thus, it can be stated that the most effective way to spread English is through education; however, also the most precarious one. Multilingual countries such as India see English language of paradoxical nature. On the one hand it is considered as a language of progress on the other hand it is a “language killer” of local languages. Hence, it is of great importance that language policies in the education system are implemented in order to safeguard the status of minority languages, preventing them from vanishing while also ensuring language rights to minority groups. The main goal of this paper is that of analysing the role of the English language as a global and imperial language in India, by assessing the impact of its influence in the lives of the students from minority groups, despite the conflicts that arose as a consequence of the implementation of the Three Language Formula by the Indian State. An analysis about language rights and language policies will be provided to gain a better understanding of the importance of exclusive linguistic rights, which are not yet implemented in the Indian constitution. Furthermore, the school system in India will be described by comparing statistical data about school enrolment, literacy rates as well as the diffusion of the English language among Indian schools as an increasing medium of instruction and the effect English language teaching has on students. Lastly, a case study of the Indian state Karnataka will be described in order to illustrate the problems related to the implementation of language policies leading towards debates over language choices in the education system. This will be done in order to draw the conclusion that even though India is known and proudly presents itself as a multilingual country embedded with highly diverse cultures, a homogenization of languages will be difficult to avoid within an increasingly globalizing and modernizing world. Arjun Appadurai brings about a significant truth, when he states that: “at the heart of globalization is the tension between cultural homogenization and cultural heterogenization” (Appadurai 295).Show less