Ideas about Our Language- a newspaper article

   Jeyaseelan Gnanaseelan

 Gnanaseelan, J. (2001, March 19). Ideas about Our Language. The DailyMirror

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Ideas about Language and the Great Srilankan Divide

Language provides such a fascinating object of study, so does to the Tamils, the Tamil Language and to the Sinhalese, the Sinhala Language. It is not only a fascinating object of study, but also an object of reverence, and worship. Whereas, to each linguistic community, the other one’s language is an object of hatred! of disgrace! Why is this heterogeneous attitude towards the other one’s language?- Perhaps because of it’s unique role in capturing the breadth of human thought and endaviour. But to us, this lofty character of language has caused a discriminating attitudinal approach towards each other’s. It has failed to go beyond subjectivity towards objectivity in approaching language as an abstract entity that has manifested in every context as different, concrete languages.

Let us look around beyond this small island. Aren’t we shocked by the number of languages and dialects? - Languages and dialects expressing a diversity of worldviews, literatures and ways of life! Then why do we behave in such a peculiar way in Sri Lanka? Here comes the influence of another idea about language- language influences the way we think-that is, each language is a distinct window through which only we can see and understand every thing. According to this, it is said, the way the Tamils think about the Sinhala language and its people and about every thing in the world is to a considerable extent different from the way the Sinhalese think about the Tamil language and its people and about every thing in the world! Both are not similar.

Why has this trauma been going on for a long time? Isn’t language a means of understanding ourselves and resolving some of the problems that arise from human interaction? If the Tamils understand, not the Sinhalese, but themselves and their language and, on the other hand the Sinhalese, themselves and their language, it is ample enough for each linguistic community to understand the other one. Of course language difference can be a barrier in understanding some of the distinct linguistic and cultural aspects of the other one but definitely not a barrier in understanding the fundamental human qualities! Therefore understanding even each other’s language by identifying the complex forces acting upon each language and upon the people using it is a must; so if we objectively look at each other’s language, mutual respect and tolerance will be at our door steps. “ Tamils don’t speak like us”, “their language came from South India but ours from North India”, “their culture is different”, “their thinking is strange”, “so we are different”, so says a Sinhala layman and vice versa.

When are we going to eliminate linguistic intolerance and tension? No one would deny if I say, though our ethnic problem has spreaded its tentacles to the other areas of politico-socio-religious dimensions, the core cause was the language riots which erupted, off and on, gradually from the post-independence era onwards. It has not only manifested in many physical clashes between the communities but in more subtle ways too. Both the Tamils and the Sinhalese want to preserve the traditional purist linguistic practices along with their cultural practices. The massmedia has been misused and exploited by each community to speak ill about each other’s usage teasingly.

If we really do feel that there should be an end for every thing related to this ethnic idiocy based on linguistic intolerance and tension, let us work for a change in the influencing factors in the nature of the popular opinions about each other's language. For many Sinhalese, the sounds of the Tamil speech are ‘harsh’ and ‘impolite’! For many of the Tamils, the sound of the Sinhala speech is ‘fast’ and ‘comical’. Every body thinks that his/her native language is ‘civilized’ and the other one’s, ‘uncivilized’; so his/her society as well.

It is time for correctness. Like correcting the structural misuse of the language by our children, we should correct the prescriptive attitudes to language historically developed in the minds of the adults as well. What are we going to do with the linguistic extremists desiring to keep their language ‘pure’? How are we going to eliminate their ignorance? How are we going to establish a balance between linguistic thoughts and linguistic feelings? Can we stop linguistic change? Are we going to continue to retain the illusion that the Sinhala language is more equal than the Tamil language and vice versa?

Why are there languages? To express the needs of their users. Philosophy of language says that all languages are equal. The moral philosophy of human life says that all the people are equal. However, are these philosophical statements true and applicable in Sri Lanka? But these tenets of philosophy have been denied by modern day Srilankans. The modern Srilankan pragmatic philosophy implicates these notions. So still we are in a position to give a repeated emphasis to them. Quantitatively speaking, which language has the largest collection of vocabulary, grammatical and semantic features? These are maters to be objectively discussed and analyzed by linguists. A Sinhala or Tamil layman can’t blindly make any decision on it and act on it. On the other hand, qualitatively speaking, which is the better one? The answer is ‘ both’. Do Sinhala and Tamil have ‘intrinsically limiting, demeaning character? Again the answer is a big ‘No’. We, as Tamils and Sinhalese, fulfill our social and psychological needs of ours. But now, fortunately or unfortunately, the English language is trying to dominate our life, both quantitatively and qualitatively, replacing our mother tongues in certain functions. Why don’t you show your anger and hatred toward the English language as you show them to each other’s language?

The multi-ethnic community in Sri Lanka is undergoing major changes in community structure and group relations. There is significant population growth, contact with the outside world and exposure to new religions is on the increase. Traditional forms of identity, community, and social practice do not seem able to deal with these changes. This has led to the deterioration of the traditional forms of community identity. When will there be an increase in inter-ethnolinguistic relations and the emergence of new types of identity based on ethnic integration in Sri Lanka? The most significant change, the development of contact with the members of other language community, has given rise to new forms of conflict and accommodation in Sri Lanka too. The present bitter ethnolinguistic experience is the result, a negative one not optimistically established from the very beginning of our Srilankan history!

Research should be carried out at the Governmental and Non-governmental levels, which is to set up our Srilankan environments conducive for maintaining inter ethnic harmonious living using each other’s language. Though the people will be resenting these arrangements at first, gradually they will have accepted it. Interviews should be conducted with both Sinhala and Tamil villagers and officials on their attitudes about using each other’s language and about other ethnic groups. We must look at new contexts of conflict, conflict prevention, mutual help, and the accommodation to new hierarchies as a necessary step in the process of adaptation to changing socio-economic circumstances so that this vast ethnolinguistic gap can be reduced to some extent. Comparative material must be collected on the structure of other communities and other foreign government projects in gauging the representatives of opposite linguistic communities on issues of inter-ethnic accommodation within the larger process of nation-state expansion.

In the past, the Cabinet endorsed the proposal by Education and Higher Education Minister Richard Pathirana on the advice of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga to teach Tamil to Sinhala students and Sinhala to Tamil students from the beginning of the last year. This proposal was part of the Government's Education Reforms that had been launched with the aim of equipping students to face the challenges of the new millennium. Many proponents of the government policies upheld this event at that time as a giant step for ethnic harmony. Now after one year, what are we going to say about the output of that government’s giant step? Do we see any signs for ethnic harmony as a result of this? Is it practiced nowadays at the school level? Who supervises this implementation? Is it again one of the many political stunts? The clear answer is that we are not working honestly to resolve this crisis that’s all. The issues related to the number of teachers and other facilities needed for this language teaching exercise and the logistics that could be planned in advance were ignored considerably. Merely praising this proposal and pointing out that it would go a long way towards achieving amity among all communities are not going to help at all. We need deeds not words. The Education Ministry says that the Education Reforms are proceeding smoothly and the government allocates funds properly to implement education reforms. Whatever the government is trying to say and do, we need real positive output!  

I humbly invite all the language workers in Sri lanka to destroy the popular beliefs about the magical and mystical power of one’s native language, comparatively over the other one’s. Please convince them that language is for human progress, not for regress!