English as a Foreign/Second Language

Question- Explain the role of English in India.

Or
"English is the major window of the world". Discuss this statemet in the light of moder and developig India.
Or
Write a paragraph within the word limit of 200 to 250 words on each of the following topics :
(a) English is a Link Language.
(b)Teaching of English as a second language.

Answer -

English has come alongwith British for more than 200 years and it will remain with us for time to come. English had a graceful place in India before independence. After independence, there were numerous efforts made to replace English but till today English played an important role in India. The role of English may be analysed in following words  :-

(i) English is a Lingua Franca of the world.

(ii) English is one of the most developed languages of the world. (iii) English has already united Indians. It can help them further in destroying the boundary of provincialism.

(iv) English serves as a common language of Indians.

(v) Almost all our great leaders, scientists, philosophers, authors etc. are the product of English Language. Indians.

(vi) Its very long association with life made it a language of many

(vii) English has influence on Indian Languages.

(viii) English has opened the gates of western science and technology for Indians. If these subjects are taught through regional language Indians will lag behind in scientific knowledge.

(ix) Today, Indians are able to translate medical, scientific and tech- nological terms of English into Hindi and regional languages. But if they give up the study of English, they cannot keep with the scientific progress of the western countries.

(x) English is a language of trade and industry in India. Indian businessman can correspond with foreign businessman only through the me- dium of English.

(xi) Study of English gives an opportunity to Indians to get employment not only in India but also in other countries.

(xii) Study of English also facilitates the establishment of international contacts between different nations of the world.

(xiii) English gives Indians opportunity to study English literature which is so vast and rich.

(xiv) English is the language through which Indians can exchange their views with the people of other countries.

On the basis of above, we analysed an important role played by English in India. It acts here as a link language, a window on the world and a library language.

(i) Role of English as a Link Language :- English has been a link language in India for the last two decades and will remain so in the time to come. After independence, in our constitution Hindi is declared as a national language, but it has failed to fulfil the basic aspirations of neither speak nor understand. In the absence of a national language, English is continuing and will continue to be a national language of the country.

English is the only language which is known to the educated people all over the world. In India, different languages are prevalent in different States. India is a multi-lingual country. The census of India (1971) revealed that 380 languages or dialects are spoken in India. Among these 14 major languages are recognised by the Constitution of India. In India, Hindi occu- pies the first place because it is spoken by most of the population in the country. Next to Hindi are Bengali, Telugu, Marathi and Tamil. In our country's conditions there must be a common language which can be understood by all the States. English serves this purpose well. The Constitution has envisaged the provision in Article 348 as, "of all orders, rules, regulations and bye-laws issued under this constitution or under any law made by parliament or the Legislature of a State, shall be in English language." Thus English is very much the language of the judiciary. After independence English has firmly established itself as a recognised subject in all the States. Without knowl- edge of English it would be very difficult to have inter State trade and com- merce. Speaking of the importance of English as link language, J.L. Nehru said, "If you push out English does Hindi fully take its place? I hope it will. I am sure it will. But I wish to avoid the danger of one unifying factor being pushed out without another unifying factor full taking its place. In that event there will be age to a hiatus. It leads to the conclusion that English has a great importance as a link language." English has a remarkable impact on edu- cated class, whereas other classes are also not unaffected. The correspondence from one State to another is conducted in English.

(ii) Role of English as a Window on the World  :- It was said by Pt." Nehru that English is our major window on the world. In fact, English is the only window through which we can see the progress taking place in the scien- tific, technological, agricultural, cultural, literary, political, social and ec nomical fields. Its knowledge keep Indians alongwith the world which is quit relevent today.

(iii) Role of English as a Library Language : English has an immense usefulness as library language. Even though several universities have switched over to regional languages as medium of instruction in humani- ties, it will take a lot of time to extend this step to courses in science, law, medicine, engineering and agriculture. In this way, English is also known as language of library. Such an advanced knowledge in these subjects cannot be transferred easily to regional languages. In fact we shall have to retain En- glish as a library language if we want to keep abrest with the latest knowledge in law, science, medicine, engineering and agriculture.

To bring and maintain the standard of education and to get higher knowledge, the students and scholars need to consult libraries. Good reference books are found in English. So a good knowledge of English is needed. The use of English as a library language implies that among the language skills of speaking, reading and writing, the reading skill is the most important and it should be developed in the students a high degree, so that they may be able to read all reference material general and technical books, which are in English, make notes and use it for their purpose. Due to it English occupies the position of a library language. English should be the most useful library language in the higher education. The Kothari Commission explained the concept of En- glish as a library language. The commission said that no student can be said to be qualified for a master's degree, unless he has acquired a reasonable proficiency in English.

...Prev | Next...