Renthunglo Shitiri
Under Class 12 CBSE English course, 'The Last Lesson' by Alphonse Daudet raises the question of linguistic and cultural hegemony of imperial powers. It also brings up contextual issues about one's identity, connection with our culture/community/bond amongst family.
Related with this lesson, we had a case-based group discussion. A survey was also conducted wherein students had to state their family background, languages/dialects spoken at home, and whether they were proficient in their own dialect. Out of the 68 students that participated, Only 12 students said they could read, write and speak their dialect, 10 students could speak though not fluently, 17 students could understand only. Nagamese, English and Hindi were the dominant lingua franca/language used in lieu of one's dialect or mother tongue.
The 'language shift' that is happening for various reasons is somewhat astounding considering the figures within the small group under study. Danny Hieber states, “To wipe out a language, one has to enter the home and prevent parents from teaching their native language to their children." We need to realise that languages are lost when the process of inter-generational transmission is not fulfilled. If it be of any lesson to learn, one student commented that he now feels 'cheated' for he was never taught how to speak his dialect by his parents."
The findings above are not the result of a formal research but it does shed light on the state and position of our local dialects. Therefore, I request you to publish my write-up inorder to engage the thought process of our people and bring about positive outcomes.
