Tuesday, November 11, 2008

LANGUAGE CONFUSION!!

URDU OR ENGLISH?? a dilemma most Pakistanis are facing today especially the youth. Each country has its own mother language and they are not just a way of communication but also a part of their culture. Most of the people are not proud to speak our own language now and this is mostly seen in the middle and upper class. Most pakistanis are moving away from their mother language and adopting english. By adopting english we are not just adopting their language but also their culture, values, customs and traditions and in the process are forgetting our own culture. This confusion started when the British came to rule our land and since then people have been trying to copy their language and have associated it with prestige and class. This problem has been furthur aggravated by the excessive exposure and the media influence. Even our education is now focusing too much on English at all levels. It is true that English is an international language and is used worldwide, everybody should know it in order to excel abroad. Hence we need to find a balance between our choice of language between one that represnts our culture and the other that will take us to international markets.
Yes to find this balance is hard and confusing but we have to come up with one fast before its loo late. So please join this blog and give ur ideas on this problem and also suggest how to find that right balance?

13 comments:

annahiya javed said...

I think it all comes down to the kind of schoolng that you recive in your early years because the younger you are, the more quick you are to learn and that's when habits are permanently formed.
It is sad, but true,that in our society english medium schools provide you with a sound education and they have educational systems that help the student learn in better ways, has more facilities( well equipped labs and libraries that most of our urdu medium government schools don't), and moreover the school is able to raise greater funds to hire more qualified faculty.
the whole package helps your child gain a sound knowlegde about everything he studies but at the same time exposes your child to english enforced syllabi.In order to study books that are only written in english the teachers make it compulsory for the student to be fluent in english.
that same child cannot grow up and be expected to value urdu more than english.nor can he speak or write any better urdu but his english would be much better.That leads to a chain reaction and it influences everything that the child watches and reads.it's in my opinion nobody's fault but the people who are in our education ministries that need to upgrade our educational systems to match that of the english societies.
every parent wants the best for its child and the best is only available in english medium schools as far as education is concerned.Unless our educational systems are upgraded the chances for the youth to value urdu are pretty slim.

zara ahmed said...

it is true that education ministers are responsible for promoting english. the reason that english books are so widely used in our syllabus is because they are very well written, their content is very high quality and very up to date. therefore it is imporatnt to have up to the standards urdu books which can be taught in schools and colleges. this will also promote our language and increse the students profeciency in their own language.

saad said...

ppl think they look cool if they speak english dats y ppl put up fake accents which i think is very stupid.

Amarah said...

its a very good topic and a one that is very important...

one way of solving this matter is to include some subjects in urdu and some in english in our schools and colleges... like islamic studies, urdu, urdu grammer, may b history... can be kept in urdu language...

i also realized that young children are being taught history of other nations more than our own pakistani or islamic history...

two important subjects that can make this country better is the knowledge of islam, history and geography (which will make us aware of the resources of the country)

mahin amjad said...

i think theres nothing wrong in speaking in english as far as you know where and when to speak it. english is another language, having a command over it isnt bad,infact being bilingual is something very important

MT said...

people consider urdu speaking people paindoo...

these days people try to correct everyones accents and pronunciations... they jus like to boast n make fun if someone cannot speak proper english... i think its entirely wrong because these people when asked to speak urdu wont b able to pronounce or use the right words...

Sofia Khan said...

Nowadays everyone is conscious about how they talk and they think speaking english is something cool! True language in pakistan is totally screwed up!!!!

zara ahmed said...

this also shows peoples complexity which refelcts in the choice of languags they speak.

zara ahmed said...

it is also the duty and work of the governments and the regulatory authoritties to provide people with opportunities and make them proud of their own country, language and culture. so they dont feel the need to be like others...

Anonymous said...

It is right that English has become an Inter National language.We should also learn it just foe learing and progress not for to become an English.Our purpose should be to study any english book and to talk with any English, not to seem english person when we start to learn english.Our scholars should not publuish that it is most dominant language.The main thing is learing whatever the language is.

commonagent said...

The conclusion could be that we should adopt western cultures but never forget our own. If others represent their culture, than we should have some exclusive things involved in our culture as well so that people adopt it. That way we can maintain balance between our culture and western culture!

DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST PEOPLES PARTY OF PAKISTAN said...

ENGLISH IS OUR OFFICIAL LANGUAGE. PERIOD. ENGLISH IS A COMMON LANGUAGE AND IS NEEDED FOR EDUCATION AND PROGRESS.. URDU SHOULD BE SECONDARY

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