Erasing

Pluriligulism,
Promoting
Monolingualism
 A SECRET GUIDE TO
EXQUSITE MURDER OF
LINGUISTIC IMAGI-nation
 STATUTAROY WARNINGS
 We will always question any
imperatives or injunctions.
 We must put ‘wh-questions’
against any injunctions.
 We will always challenge/be critical
against any testimony.
 We are in the same boat, therefore
must encourage horizontal mutual
aid.
 “WHY”-QUESTIONS ARE
PROHIBITED IN SCIENCE
 Reasoning begins with facts.
 Facts are being observed and collected from the
objectified space. These “corpus” is recorded in scientific
notations.
 These facts are tested and scrutinized in a controlled
environment. This is the stage of experiment.
 Objectified subjects are now in an ideal laboratory state.
 The tested facts are compounded in a more general
statements, i.e. natural law is “discovered” by applying
rules for discovery.
 After completing this inductive as well as empirical
investigations, the results are discussed without
putting any why-questions.
Milinda: Reverend Sir, will you debate with me
again?
Nagasena: If your majesty will debate as a scholar,
yes, but if you will debate as a king, no.
Milinda: How is it then that scholar debate?
Nagasena: When the scholars debate one with the
other, your majesty, there is summing up and
unraveling, there is also defeat, and yet the
scholars do not get angry at it. Thus do the
scholars debate, your majesty.
Milinda: And how do the kings debate?
Nagasena: When the kings debate, your majesty,
they state a proposition, and if anyone differs from
them, they order his punishment saying, "Inflict
punishment upon him." Thus, your majesty, do the
kings debate. --Milind Panho
Keeping in mind all these warnings, let
us start our session on language.
LANGUAGE
WHAT IS LANGUAGE?
 Signifer-signified

 Substance-form
 Signifer-signified
 The relationship between object
(signified) and name (signifier) is

ARBITRARY
 Substance-form
 Take for instance, the game of chess. The pieces of
chess may be made from different raw materials.
Whatever may be the character of the raw materials-- it
may be made out of ivory, clay, wood or plastic, the rule
of the game is not disrupted and two players can
continue the game if they have shared knowledge about
the rule. We can play chess formally even if the
substantive raw materials have been changed.
 In case of L, the raw materials, arbitrary provisional
signifiers are epi-phenomenal substance and they vary
from one L to another, however the rule of the game,
which has a formal psycho-physiological presence within
the corporeal of the S/HS, is supposed to be “universal”,
by which we are playing the L game by using different
substances/raw materials.
Two male-speaker-hearer as represented in Saussure
(1915)
These two ideal speaker-hearer are
engaged here in creating and
comprehending infinite sets of
sentences out of finite sets of words.
Chomsky told us that there is a
“physical organ” responsible for this
creative activity, i.e. Language
Acquisition Device (LAD). But, the
crucial question is, where is the
locus of these two MEN?
A1: L is a substitute response (r) of the initial hearer to the
substitute stimulus (s) of the initial speaker. Initial speaker
uttered, “Put off the Light”. She herself can perform it (as
Response or R to her need), but for some reasons, she is
ordering or requesting it to another person and thus she is
substituting her R in a form of utterance, which goes to the
ears of the hear as s. To this “another person”, the hearer, this
utterance acts as a verbal stimulus (s) to perform something.
Another person or hearer then performs the act after saying or
putting r, “ Yes, madam, I am switching off the light.” –this is
the supplementary verbal r that precedes the act of switching
off the light (R). The situation can be written as follows:
S__s___r__R
The supplementary s—r within the block represents verbal
behaviour or L that can be learned by the way of conditioning
and can be controlled by the operant conditioning. Thus to the
empiricist cum behaviourist, L is a behaviour that is
controlled by external stimulus.
•A2: When anyone is talking about something called L,
one must keep in mind that what sort of Ls s/he is talking
about: is it Externalized Language (EL) or Internalized
Language (IL)?
•On the one hand, L is a bundle of arbitrary substantive
signifiers, by means of which external objects or feelings
are expressed;
•on the other hand, L is a part of cognitive domain or
genetic endowment by means of which any human being
can create infinite sets of sentences out of finite sets of
signifiers by using the innate “physical organ” Language
Acquisition Device or LAD.
The freedom of L spoken by the creative
S/HS is missing in the behaviourism.
Chomskian innateness hypothesis, by
negating behaviourist model of L
acquisition, asserts the creative
recursive characteristics of human
cognition following Cartesian
Rationalism. Thus Chomskian proposal
offers “scientific” definition of linguistic
creativity and it also creates the
foundation of “scientific” biolinguistics.
Skinner himself captivated in his Black Box
 This is not a “normal" position with
enough space to stretch or be in an in
an erect position. The spinal cord has
bent more than can be tolerated. This
abnormality of positioning in a space of
stimulus-response shows the defeat of
the physique. This delimiting of
physique bars the subject from
participating in an inter-subjective
discourse, free from manipulation.
"Of course one can design a restricted
environment in which such control and
such patterns…can be demonstrated,
but there is no reason to suppose that
any more is learned about the range of
human potentialities by such methods
than would be learned by observing
humans in prison or an army- or in
many a schoolroom."
schoolroom (Chomsky,
1972:114)
 What are Externalized
Language (EL) and
Internalized Language (IL)?
EL contains the substantive arbitrary conventional and
provisional sign of L—it is a “social fact” or
convention. EL acts as an input to the innate scheme of
human mind; on the other hand, IL is formal
algorithmic site of human brain and it is the biological
competence of human being, who can create and
comprehend infinite sets of sentences out of finite
sets of words.
 Externalized Language (EL) and
Internalized Language (IL)
EXTERNALIZED INTERNALIZED
LANGUAGE LANGUAGE
 Rule-governed formal system
 Substantive, arbitrary, of human cognitive domain
provisional, shifting,  Innate capacity (as it is found
heterogeneous signs in Cartesian Rationalism),
 Social fact based on Psycho-physiological or
neuro-biological fact,
conventional pact genetic endowment
 Particular signifiers,  Universal feature endowed
with definite inbuilt
 Performance, Parole algorithms, that constitutes
the notion of Universal
Grammar (UG)
 Competence, Langue
 What is Dialect?
 Some ELs are de-sign-ated as “dialects” or
“folk”/”tribal” languages on the basis of some
non-linguistic factors, though, variation-
phenomenon of L are merely arbitrary,
substantial, and epi-phenomenal social facts.
But these de-sign-ations are necessary
factors for constructing the linguistic nation
state under the purview of print capitalism
and linguistics as a disciplinary technology
legitimates the ascriptions of values on ELs.
 Let us find out the hidden fact behind the
value-loaded academio-politics of naming of
“other” externalized variations.
 DIALECT
 epi-phenomenal substantive arbitrary isoglosses
(bundles isoglosses) are attested on the basis of
distribution of homogenous phoneme-morpheme-
lexeme etc. in a given geographical area.
 The homogeneity of isoglosses determines the area of
a so-called “dialect”.
 Some arbitrary isoglosses are considered as more
valuable than “other”. The valuable isoglosses are
de-sign-ated as standard L vis a vis “other” varieties,
which are de-sign-ated as “dialects”, the defeated L
of the captive SH/Ss, to whom the supposed
“standard” arbitrary signs are transmitted through the
tool “prescriptive grammar”, a packaged commodity
in the context of Print Capitalism.
 GRIERSON’S DILEMMA
 In the course of survey, it has sometimes
been difficult to decide where a given form
of speech is to be looked upon as an
independent language, or as a dialect of
some other definite form of speech. In
practice, it has been found that it is
sometimes impossible to decide the
question in a manner, which will gain
universal acceptance. The two words,
‘language’ and ‘dialect’, are in this respect,
like ‘mountain’ and ‘hill’. (1903:22)
 GRIERSON’S DILEMMA
“ANOTHER DIFFICULTY WAS THE FINDING OF LOCAL
NAME OF A DIALECT. JUST AS M. JOURDIAN DID
NOT KNOW THAT HE HAD BEEN SPEAKING PROSE
ALL HIS LIFE , SO THE AVERAGE INDIAN VILLAGER
DOES NOT KNOW THAT HE (SIC) HAS BEEN
SPEAKING ANYTHING WITH A NAME ATTACHED TO
IT . HE (SIC) CAN ALWAYS PUT A NAME TO THE
DIALECT SPOKEN BY SOMEBODY FIFTY MILES
OFF , BUT , - AS FOR HISOWN DIALECT – ‘O , THAT
HAS N NAME . IT IS SIMPLY CORRECT LANGUAGE .’
IT THUS HAPPENS THAT MOST DIALECT NAMES
ARE NOT THOSE GIVEN BY SPEAKERS , BUT
THOSE GIVEN BY NEIGHBOURS, AND ARE NOT
ALWAYS COMPLIMENTARY.”(1903:19 )
 “I” am asserting/defining myself by the
assertion of others.
 “I” am asserting/defining myself by the
negation of others.
 Others are naming me, when I was a child.

“ They are not like us. They are doing so

and so. We are doing it doing it in our own
way.”
 STANDARD LANGUAGE
 Standard L-dialect
 Centre-periphery relation in the
context of nation state.
 Centre-periphery relation entails
internal colonization.
 IMAGI-NATION
 An imagined nation-state: Nation is
imagination
 Imagined linguistic community

Nations are imagined into being in the Asia,

Africa, Latin America depending on certain
modular forms like race, language, religion etc.
within the ambit of print capitalist de-sign
supplied by the West Europe, Russia and the
Americas.
 Partha Chatterji- Amartya Sen
polemic
“If nationalism in the rest of the world
have to choose their imagined
community from certain ‘modular’
forms already made available to
them by Europe and the Americas,
what do they have left to imagine?
….” (Chatterji, 1993:5, emphasis
added)
 Amartya Sen’s Response:
 “The conceptual forms of ‘the nation
as an imagined community’, which
Anderson peruses, may not have much
to commend it (I personally think that
it does—but this is a different issue),
but the fear that its western origin
would leave us without a model that is
our ‘own’ is a somewhat peculiar
concern.” (1996: 17-18, fn. 13)
“Our” Response(s)/Imagination(s)

Three evidences of pre-colonial

imagined boundaries
 Fragmented Body of the Holy Mother: Bharat
is a body—a female body—Sati’s (The holy
mother goddess, Siva’s wife) body-parts are
scattered all over India—these female organs
are worshipped in different (almost 51, though
numbers differ in different puranas as well as
in some marginal printed documents as found
in side of different sati-pithas ) Indian tirthas.
Thus, we have found Bharat as an imagined
integration of corporeal-state. If the different
distributions of different scattered body-parts
are to be put into the map, that cartographical
as well as symbolical account of iso-corporeal
( cf. isopleth, isoline, isogram or isorithm)
gives us an integrated picture of imagined
boundary.
 The celebration of Mela
 Certain Southeast Asian aquatic regions are
selected in connection with certain configurations
in the celestial sphere (though, one must
remember, the placement of constellation does
not follow contemporary astronomical account) to
celebrate ritualistic fairs. Pilgrims from different
part of South-East Asia gather (in which
“language” do they communicate?) in the
particular region and they are forming certain
type of symbolic solidarity. What is noticeable
here is the association among geographical
region, aquatic region and celestial sphere. The
gathering of different margis (< marga or road) or
panthis (<pantha or road, both means followers of
certain marga or pantha), again makes us
remember the connected pathways in the South-
east Asia.
 Four Mathas of Shankarcharya
It was told that the adi Shankarcharya (8th C.)
established four mathas in four different parts
of India: (1)the Uttarāmnāya matha, or
northern matha at Joshimath ; (2)the
Pūrvamnaya matha or eastern matha, the
Govardhana matha, at Puri; (3)the
Dakshināmnāya matha, or the Sringeri Sharada
Peetham, the southern matha, at Shringeri; (4)
the Paśchimāmnāya matha, or the Dwaraka
Pitha, the western matha, at Dwarka . The
cartographical account of such planned
distribution of mathas also provides us a
concept of imagined boundary, though that is
not a mimicry of European nation statist model.
SCHEMATIC DEMONSTRATION
OF IMAGINED LANGUAGE-
DIALECT BOUNDARIES
 Some ELs, on the basis of certain homogenous
modular form, are within "our" nation, and some ELs
are the "outsider" and are considered as “inferior” to
that selected EL. This triggers the inclusion-
exclusion of EL factor of the nation.
 Are these “insiders” homogenous complex? If not, try
to homogenize them by standardizing, appropriating,
codifying, grammaticalizing one variety (religious or
linguistic) for the sake of monolingual nation state.
Here comes the question of standardization and
grammaticalization of chosen module. Inside
"others" should be considered under such standard
grammatical/ shastric module.
 Such standard grammatical/ shastric module is
considered as classic. Searching classical heritage
entails enumerated and imagined fantastic genealogy,
history and a tribute to the predecessors, by whom the
private property of the module is transmitted to the
inheritors, the present inhabitants of the nation.
 We are here talking about EL (endowed
with social values), and not about IL.
 For pragmatic reason, we are assigning
“essence” to some categories presented in
notational forms. In fact, the essential
construction of any EL (such as Bangla or
English) cannot escape the trap of
metaphysical totality that subscribes
politico-administrative construction of L.
 Alphabetic notations are used here
deliberately to avoid the value-loaded
terms like “dialect”, “tribal” L etc. However,
the notions are important rather than
notations.
 Suppose, there is an ideal land called X. There are
five linguist variations (v) existed in this X-land, viz.
Nv, Sv, Wv, Ev and Mv. All of them have use value.
 All the five vs are supposed to be derived from
“single” prestigious ancient L P. (This presupposition
depends on the metaphysical conjecture of “origin”/
“source”).
 In one historical juncture, X was occupied by a
Foreign Y (say its L is FV), who has a definite
civilizing mission.
 Foreign Y, a mercantile Capitalist enterprise, finds
similarities of ELs with P with their ancient Foreign P
or FP. This is the beginning of genealogical fantasy
instigated by nation-statist programme. Here the
discipline, Comparative Philology emerged as a
discipline—external colonizers are negotiating with
the colonized through the similarities of L.
 Y switches over to Industrial capitalism. Print
Capitalist notion of “Nation State” is gifted to
X-land.
 Then Y tries to define the boundary of the
land. X can be extended or can be squeezed.
Y adopts a policy of inclusion-exclusion to
“positively” define and enumerate X -land as a
nation state. Who is X, and who is non-X? Who
is host and who is the guest? What are the
conditions for these relations?
 Y has chosen Mv as an "authentic", “pure"
representation of P. (if Mv is not “pure” in the
gaze of Y, it is to be authenticated and
approximated by appropriation and
codification.)
 In fact, the area where MV is spoken, it is
the main industrial centre. Nv, Sv, Wv, Ev
are peripheralized. (Note the notational
change from Mv to MV). That is, values
related to extra/non-linguistic socio-
economic condition are superimposed on
the selection of MV, which is now valued
as "Standard" L, the signs of which
"other" vs are supposed to follow.
Cf. The term "standard" was taken from the
vocabulary of industrial society, where
the concept of prototypical "standard
tool" is used.
 Instigated by the print capitalist
imagination of communities and L-jealousy
(born out of inferiority complex, as there is
superior-inferior L hierarchy), Wv revolts
against this metaphysical totality of MV.
Some of the Wv-speakers, mainly newly
educated mediators, are not happy with the
status "dialect" or "defeated L". They want
to withdraw themselves from the MV-
affiliation. This is withdrawal syndrome that
is based on the notion of copyright of
imagined EL. It leads to an L movement—
speakers of Wv are desirous for a new
linguistic nation state.
 Some grammatical rules are taken from P-
corpus; some were from Y or FP. Thus,
grammar book has become a constitution of
epistemologically amalgamated rules, by
which violent internal linguistic colonization/
genocide is possible.
 However, MV is too “local” as per Y’s FV.
Inhabitants of X-land are eager to know
something 'International' which is obviously Y-
L or FV.
 In this case, there should also be a tutor to
teach FV along with L-managers/judges and L
police. External linguistic colonization/
genocide begun at this moment.
 Dissenters are granted the status of "L" by
the administration and are excluded from the
X-land. And if not granted as "L", revolution
or willing subjection continues....
 Then MV was grammaticalized. Sv, Nv, Ev
were supposed to learn MV from the tutor
who fragmented the MV-standard with
prescriptive rules. It is internal linguistic
colonization, where MV is centre-L and Sv,
Nv, Ev are marginalized periphery-L endowed
with value-loaded signs like "dialect", "folk L",
"patois" etc. The result of such internal
linguistic colonization/ terrorialization is
internal linguistic genocide.
 Some grammatical rules are taken from P-
corpus; some were from Y or FP. Thus,
grammar book has become a constitution of
epistemologically amalgamated rules, by
which violent internal linguistic colonization/
genocide is possible.
 However, MV is too “local” as per Y’s FV.
Inhabitants of X-land are eager to know
something 'International' which is obviously Y-
L or FV.
 In this case, there should also be a tutor to
teach FV along with L-managers/judges and L
police. External linguistic colonization/
genocide begun at this moment.
 The peripheralized vs are given some
exonyms according to the "free will" of Y
and satellite native Y-ized (civilized)
elite (mimic MAN), such as, apart from
'dialect', there are 'folk L', 'tribal L',
'patois', 'cockney' etc. The L-object is
evaluated according to dominant gaze.
 Sv, Nv, Ev, Wv do not have their choice of
Mother Tongue (MT). They have to learn two
"other" tongues, viz. MV (that is perceived as
a “ MT”) and Y-tongue.
A. Though MV is in their immediate environment
and though they could acquire MV following
the pluriligual ethos, MV is alienated by the
introduction of Grammar book by the tutor.
B. In case of Y, which is introduced as second L
in the school (Ideological State Apparatus)
order by the official literacy campaigners,
"other" peripheralized vs also learned this
Foreign Y via packaged tools. Other vs are
either committing linguistic suicide or victims
of linguistic genocide.
 Though we know the fact that Walsh or
Kapil Dev do not need to know rules of
aerodynamics to swing the ball, so also
no one needs to know fragmented rules
and norms of grammar via prescriptive
grammar book, a feeding bottle or a
packaged commodity.
GRAMMATICALIZATION
= META-SPEAKING ON
SPEAKING
 Key-words: Dialect, “tribal” L,
“folk” language, marginalization,
defeated language, captive S/HS,
othering, genealogical fantasy,
withdrawal syndrome, hegemony
and dominance (Gramsci),
Dialectology, bundles of isogloss,
*drain of language, Sub-altern,
linguistic genocide, linguistic
suicide, linguistic ecology,
linguistic cannibalism.
 What is Standard Language?
 EL, in terms of economics, has a use value and in the
context of technocratic industrialized capital-incentive
society, it has got exchange value. That exchange
value-loaded commodity is called Standard L. Thus,
when an EL-variety has got ascribed exchange value
in addition to its use value, the supposed EL-variety
has become standardized as well as commoditized.
 “Standardization” has a distinct connection with the
industrialized or technocratic society, where one
externalized linguistic variety is selected,
appropriated, codified and approximated at the “cost”
of “other” “defeated” and “captive” varieties (so-
called “dialect” ) within the stipulated boundary of an
imagined linguistic nation state. The term “standard
(tool)” is a term used in the technocratic market
economy and it is borrowed in the realm of linguistic
epistemology along with other terms like, “L
management”, “L development”, “L planning” etc.
 Standardization also invokes
grammaticalization as grammar, as a
school textbook, a packaged commodity or
a tool for linguistic colonization, extends
and transmits a particular selected
standard variety by captivating “other”
varieties.
 The process of standardization, in the
context of print capitalistic nation building
process, helps to create internal colonies
with the imagined boundary as captive
speakers of peripheral EL-varieties or
“dialects” are colonized by the “standard”
variety.
Prokrustean Bed
 Host who adjusted his guests to their bed.
Procrustes, whose name means "he who stretches",
was arguably the most interesting of Theseus's
challenges on the way to becoming a hero. He kept a
house by the side of the road where he offered
hospitality to passing strangers, who were invited in
for a pleasant meal and a night's rest in his very
special bed. Procrustes described it as having the
unique property that its length exactly matched
whomsoever lay down upon it. What Procrustes didn't
volunteer was the method by which this " one-size-
fits-all" was achieved, namely as soon as the guest
lay down Procrustes went to work upon him,
stretching him on the rack if he was too short for the
bed and chopping off his legs if he was too long.
Theseus turned the tables on Procrustes, fatally
adjusting him to fit his own bed.
 Courtesy: Wikipaedia
One-size-fits-all=
Normalization
Process=
Standardization
Process.
 Keywords: Centre- periphery
relation, colonialism, internal
colony, external colony,
Linguistic Imperialism,
Standardization and Capitalism,
Print Capitalism, Imagined
Communities, Nation State, use
value and exchange value (of an
EL), EL as a packaged
commodity, linguistic fetishism,
Linguistic terrorism.
 What is sociolect?
 Apart from the geographical distribution of homogenous
bundles of isoglosses, there are other factors that
influence EL. The EL-variations according to age, sex,
social group, class and professions constitutes the
notion of sociolect. Another concept—the concept of
“register” is also important to note in connection with
sociolect.
If so called “dialect” is defined as an EL-variety
according to users of definite geographical area,
register is EL-variations according to users’
performances. In case of register or style of speaking,
there are purposes as well as subject matter/content of
speaking ( Field) and definite relationship among S/HSs
(Tenor).
 What is Mother Tongue?
 The term was used by Catholic monks to
designate a particular L they used, instead of
Latin, when they are "speaking from the pulpit"
That is, the “holy mother of the Church”
introduced this term and it was inherited from
the Christianity, thanks to the effort made by
foreign missionaries in the colonial period in
India. The word MT was introduced into Sanskrit
in the eighteenth century as a translation from
English. It is not only a derivative technical term,
born out of translation, but it was also altered as
the Indian mother-cult had also an impact on this
translation.
MT was introduced into Indian languages
in the eighteenth century as a translation
from English". Thus matrbhasa
(/mattribhaSa/ or /mattrubhaSa/) is a
derivative technical term, born out of
translation translatio
Breast to Bottle switch over:
From (M)other-tongue to
Mummy/Auntie- Tongue
Gendering language
 ami cay SawMtal tar bhaSay kOtha bolbe
rasTropunje
ami cay moHul phuTbe SowkhinOtar
golappunje.
"I demand Santals shall speak their
language in the United Nations/ I demand
madhuca indica will blossom in the
luxurious garden of roses."
-song sung and composed by Suman
Chattopadhyay
 *mOhommOder jOnmo jodi Hoto edeSe
beHester kon bhaSa Hoto bolto eSe
matribhaSa teje Sobay
*arbi bhaSa Sikhlere bhaY
tate bhay phOyda to nay OboSeSe
--Duddu Shah
"If Mohommod had been born here, what
language of hell would he speak? There is
no benefit, if one learns Arabic by
shunning off one's mothertongue."
 The composition highlights the
arbitrariness of externalized language in
an eloquent matter. Secondly it
emphasizes the linguistic human right as
mentioned in article 27 of the
International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights(1966) and in the draft
universal declaration on indigenous
rights(document E/CN.4/Sub./1988/25),
The difference between Suman's song and this
baul's song
 lies in the fact that Suman's song is

electronically transmitted by magnetic tape and

the later one transmitted orally.
 Even more, Suman's song is sponsored by the

multinational cassette company and a cigarette

company.
 Furthermore, the demand for speaking in Santali

in the UNO, legitimizes the state-controlled

language-use that entails the proliferation of
capital-incentive linguistic industry.
 In describing 'West to Orient' project
of Columbus, Illich mentioned an
overlooked name, Elio Antoniode
Nebrija (15th c., contemporary to
Columbus) who offered Queen
Isabella a "tool" to colonize the
language spoken by her own subjects.
In fact, Nebrija wanted to replace the
people’s speech by implementing the
grammar of Queen's lingua.
 internal & external colonization of
language began with this attempt
to grammaticalze Queen's tongue
in a Grammar book, "Grammatica
de la Castellana" (1492), the first
in any European tongue.
 And thus begun the conquest by means of
this engineered tool, "Grammar book",
chemically synthesized weapon to suppress
"untutored barbaric" speech in home and
abroad. In this way the external
colonization began. Nebrija himself speaks
about the marriage of Empire and language
(i.e. sword and MT and grammar book). So
MT (Standard language) now needs tutors.
 Nebrija argued for standardizing a living
language for the benefit of the newly
invented Printing Press. Consequently the
Official Ideology of "literacy" came into
light.
 Here is a switch over from people's vernacular
to Grammarians' language (Queen's
language), or from vernacular learning to MT
education.
 By this monopoly of the Grammarians'
language compulsory education could be
implemented in the public schools through a
homogenous language of power. And in this
way the "Captive Speakers" of "other"
"dialects" (they are, in fact, defeated
languages) have been born internally.
 Grammar rules the language and as well as
rules the captive speakers of “other” defeated
languages by prescribing dos and don’ts of
standardized language.
"...switch from breast to bottle, from
subsistence to welfare, from production
for use to production for the market, from
expectations divided between State and
Church to a world where the Church is
marginal, religion is privatized, and the
State assumes the material functions
hitherto claimed only by the Church. "
(Illich in Pattanayak,1981:15).
 simultaneous occurrence of Columbus’
colonization project and Nebriha’s
Grammar project entails the same
process of violent terror of termination,
dismissal, annihilation of

others’ body as well as

language.
It is estimated currently that there may
have been about 80 million native
Americans in Latin American when
Columbus ‘discovered’ the continent—
as we say—and about 12 to 15 million
more north of the Reo Grande. By 1650,
about 95 percent of the population of
Latin America had been wiped out ,
and by the time the continental borders
of the United States had been
established, some 200, 000 were left of
the indigenous population.
 The Case of Sanskrit Vyakarana
 Patanjali begun his mahabhasya with the
expression “atha sabdanusasanam”.
 Hemachandra’s vyakarana is also known
as “hemasabdanusasana”
 Sabdanusasanam: the post-rules of words
sabda=word; anu=post;
sasanam=ruling/governing .
 sabdanusasanam =vyakarana.

THUS IT LEADS TO GOVERNMENTALITY

Why were they writing vyakarana?

 To protect Sanskrit from others (non-

brahmins,mleccha, sudra, pisaca,
raksasa)
 To preserve the special content of
vidya, so that it cannot be
contaminated by others.
 Once upon a time, in ancient India, brahmanistic
culture prescribed to cut out a Sudras tongue or a
Sudra could get an iron nail ten fingers long... .thrust
red hot into his mouth, or have hot oil ....poured into
his mouth and ear for penalty for speaking ill.
 This ancient recipe,…for dealing with verbal
delinquency by destroying the organs of speech offer
some idea of linguistic control in an authoritarian
society.
 This is an attack on the EL; one can also postulate the
attack, the subjugation of IL in an authoritarian
society, fully industrialized to control by means of
imperialistic medicine, media and other such devices.
The blue print of Benthamian pan-opticonism is ready
to be implemented or has already been implemented
through the all pervading capitalist market by which
free flow of private capital and mass media.
(a)The mother to other or breast-to-
bottle switch-over.
(b) The proliferation of Mother-tongue
Industry aided by professionals.
(c) Mother-children dyad in relation to
language acquisition.
 MONEY-SIGN:
MAKING UNEQUALS EQUALS
3 goats= 1 cow
1 apartment= Rs. 12 lacs

THIS IS A DANGEROUS
SUPPLEMENT
 Why do we have to understand the exchange of
EL in the terms of Economics, Sociology and
Political Science?
Aristotle (Politics, 1253a, 4)
 (Wo)man is one of the living animals with an
additional capacity for political existence—s/he is
politikon zoon. To sustain its political existence (by
terminating its living existence through bio-
politics a la Foucault), state power tries to
capture everything under the sky through the
means of different academic disciplines of their
ideological state apparatuses. Therefore, when
anyone is composing meta-discourse on the
discourse of academic-community , preached by
the ideological state apparatus, the deployment of
politics, economics or sociology are inevitable.
 What is plurilingualism?
 Plurilingualism is a unique feature of
South-East Asia, where a speaker-
hearer use different varieties of EL to
communicate without being de-sign-
ated/bothered by the nation-statist
paradigm of enumerated L.
 “If one draws a straight line between
Kashmir and Kanyakumari (from North to
South India) and marks, say, every five or
ten miles, then one will find that there is
no break in communication in any two
consecutive points of the scale.” The
communication disrupts only when the
gaps are larger.
Courtsey: D.P. Pattanayak
 However, the problem of larger gaps is
excellently managed, as apart from the
uninterrupted in-group communication, people
innovates unique L for Wider communication
(LWC) for out-group interaction. Some of these
Ls are so-called “pidgins” like Nagamese,
Nephamese, Sadari, and Halabi etc. And some
are regionally marked out group L like
Assamese, Tamil, Oriya, Kannada, Marathi etc.,
and some other are L of diffusion belt (Gujarati,
Malayalam, Bangla, Punjabi, Telugu etc.)
Courtesy: R.N. Srivastava.
 A Gujarathi Businessman (spice-merchant)
who spoke Kacchi apart from his MT and
used a variation of Marathi to converse with
vegetable-sellers, who had migrated from
Kolaba region; he seldom read newspapers
in English; he went to see Hindi films with
his family; to converse with the Anglo-
Indian Suburban Railway employees, he
switched over to Bazaar Hindustani or a
typical mixed Hindi; last of all, he uses
Konkani, Gujarathi and Marathi for his own
business purpose.
Courtesy: Probodh Pandit
 Speech habit of a Rajput in
Medieval India
 This Rajput spoke Harauti in his
domestic environment; educated
himself in Sanskrit for religious
purpose; he switched over to
Brajabhakha for writing poetry and
went through philosophy in Prakrit.
Courtesy: U. N. Singh
 In the so-called “Sanskrit drama”, it is
found that Dusmanta and Sakuntala
continued their loving communication
in spite of their L-difference. It is also
to be noted that, in spite of at least
five or six varieties, which were used
in the drama, the audience still
enjoyed the message of the dramatic
performance.
 In the remote village in Andhra Pradesh,
adjacent to Tamilnadu, India the farmer
speaks in Tamil, the landowner speaks in
Telugu, and no one bothers about their
language-identity. My own experience
confirms the same fact in Kuppam, a
hamlet of Andhra Pradesh, where the
newly established Dravidian University is
situated. People are carrying this
plurilingual ethos without spending a
single rupee. This may be referred to
as the shadow economics of
plurilingualism.
 The consequences of
Plurilingualism
 One L can borrow linguistic items from
another. There may be extensive code mixing.
 One can maintain her/his L and in a definite
context and in another situation may shift to
second L.
 S/HSs may submit to the second L by adopting
it as MT. In that case, it is a linguistic suicide.
The power relationship between L1 and L2
determines the non-dominant L-speakers’
suicide.
 L1 may converge with L2 to renovate a
different L etc.
Colonial Raj & Plurilingualism
 PHASE-I
 At first, when the Europeans came here
in India they did not adopt the policy of
intervening in the realm of native culture
in spite of the instigation by the
Evangelist religious philosophers. This
was the phase of Mercantile Capitalism.
One could carry on their business without
bothering about the construction and
appropriation of the colonized as
according to the colonizers’ norm.
 PHASE-II
 A crucial change occurred in 1793,
when the indigenous land was
commercialized by the
implementation of the Permanent
Settlement of land; i.e. land was to
be measured from the standpoint of
demography. At this time, state and
statistics were equated as a part of
Bio-politics.
 PHASE-III
 In 1813, it was decided in the English Parliament,
that the project of legitimate control over the native
culture should be taken up by introducing Industrial
Capitalism along with Christianity.

 In 1837, it was decided by the British Government to

introduce different vernacular tongues in
administration instead of Persian or Sanskrit.

 At this time and for the first time in India, the

language-consciousness arose with the equation of
land and language, both of which were to be well
defined, well determined by erasing the
indeterminacy, fuzziness of boundaries, as it was
existed before the introduction of Nation State.
 The concept of Nation State, as Benedict
Anderson (1983) pointed out, is a result
of print capitalistic imagination made
available by Europe and the Americas.
One has to choose and imagine their
community from certain modular forms
like language, ‘race’ or religion.
 By this derivative imagination, the
linguistic-nation-state boundaries are
solidified and scheduled in the
independent Indian constitution.
 The newly evolved language-
communities/ethnic groups that could
afford to invest in the outputs of
Gutenberg revolution had the privilege
to achieve the prestige of standard
language.
Cf. The term “standard” was taken from
the vocabulary of industrialized,
society, where the concept of
prototypical “standard tool” is used.
 INDEPENDENT INDIA
Apart from these enlisted/scheduled 22
languages, there are also “other” privileged
languages, which are included in the list of
Sahitya Academy (22 languages). There are
34 languages in which newspapers are
published; almost 67 languages are used in
primary education; NLM decided to use 80
languages for promoting literacy; AIR uses
104 languages for transmitting
programmes.
INDIAN CENSUS
MAKING OF BOUNDARIES:
BIRTH OF NATIONS
 1881 CENSUS
 LANGUAGES  POPULATION
___________________ ___________________
 Assamese→  1361759
 Oriya→  38965428

 Oriya & Mixed Hindi→  2617

 Oriya & Mixed Bangla→  12
 Oriya & Mixed Telugu→  3
 Bangla→  6816495

_____________________ _____________________
 TOTAL  47146314
 1891 CENSUS
 LANGUAGES  POPULATION
__________________ _______________
 Assamese→  1350846

 9687429
 Oriya→
 44624048
 Bangla→
___________
________________
 55662323
 TOTAL
 GRIERSON’S LINGUISTIC
SURVEY OF INDIA(1903)
 LANGUAGES  POPULATION
__________________ ___________________
 Assamese→  1435950
 Oriya→  8952413
 Bangla→  41696343

________________ ___________
 TOTAL  52084706
 Rollback phenomenon/Withdrawal
syndrome
Bundelkhandi

180000
160000
140000
120000
100000
Bundelkhandi
80000
60000
40000
20000
0
1961 1991
 The immediate result is “Drain of
Languages". This notion of “Drain of
language”, which is analogous to
“Drain of wealth” supplements the
notion of “Sunflower Syndrome”. The
case of language-drain, where one
selected variety is “developed” as
National or standard Language.
 Mediators as language-managers/-
polices/judges try to encash such
discontent by instigating insurgency.
 What is Sunflower Syndrome?
 When Centre EL is imposed by the investment
of capital on the “other” ELs by marginalizing
them and marginalized vs do not look at
each other, instead they look vertically to the
supposed sun, the centre, the V. This situation
(concentrating on the supposed sun V as a
centre) is called “Sunflower Syndrome” by
some Indian linguists. This situation may be
called Linguistic Imperialism. Empire V
deprives colony vs either internally (e.g.
Standard L vs. dialects) or externally (e.g.
International L vs. native Ls)
 However, as Gandhi and Tagore
pointed out, there is an impenetrable
“inner domain” that preserves its
“essential” character of grassroots
plurilingual ethos in spite of such
monolingual appropriation from
above.
 GANDHI’S POSITION IN HIND
SWARAJ
 I do not wish to suggest that because we were one
nation we had no differences, but it is submitted
that our leading men traveled throughout India
either on foot or in bullock-carts. They learned one
another's languages and there was no aloofness
between them. What do you think could have been
the intention of those farseeing ancestors of ours
who established Setubandha (Rameshwar) in the
South, Jagannath in the East and Hardwar in the
North as places of pilgrimage? You Will admit they
were no fools.
 PHASE-IV
 What we have seen under the Print
Capitalism is the hegemonic
coercive selving of “other” varieties
under the one umbrella, viz. Under
the umbrella of Hindi, almost 52
languages are incorporated (1991
census) ignoring the question of
Linguistic Human Right as proposed
by UNO.
What is Linguistic Human Right?
 Linguistic Human Right as mentioned in
Article 27 of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (1966) is as follows:
“In those States in which ethnic, religious or
linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging
to such minorities shall not be denied the
right, in community with the other members
of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to
profess and practice their own religion, or to
use their own language.”
“OTHER”-SIDE OF THE RIGHT
 The old sovereign of 17th century might
mercilessly punish those, who were
demanding some sorts of right or forming a
movement for legal right. However ,in the
present context of post-industrialized-
society, each and every demand of
subalterns are legalized. Thus the apparent
antithetical 'otherness' is at a time as well
as paradoxically selved and hegemonically
preserved. That is, there is hegemonic
control as well as satisfaction of desire of
subalterns in the form legitimized 'rights',
once unimagined by the old sovereign.
 In fact, no buffer zone that is beyond the gaze of
Panopticon remains. In the everyday space, in the
everyday domain the presence of omnipotence
market-sponsored minimal state is felt. Even the
counter-zone of public action is within the grasp
of state as state now offers the agitators each
and every “right” that was once totally
unimaginable for the past sovereign! Foucault
(1988:145) remarked, “…and beyond all the
oppressions and “alienations”, the “right” to
rediscover what one is and all that one can be,
this “right”…. was the political response to all
these new procedures of power which did not
derive, either from traditional right of
sovereignty.”
 Panopticon
 The Panopticon is a type of prison building
designed by English philosopher and social
theorist Jeremy Bentham in 1785. The concept of
the design is to allow an observer to observe (-
opticon) all (pan-) prisoners without the
incarcerated being able to tell whether they are
being watched, thereby conveying what one
architect has called the "sentiment of an invisible
omniscience."
 Bentham himself described the Panopticon as "a

new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind,

in a quantity hitherto without example.“
Courtesy: Wikipaedia
Prison Presidio Modelo, inside one
of the buildings, December 2005
The prison "Presidio Modelo" on the island
Isla de la Juventud (Cuba)
THE DESIRES FOR
HIGH/LOW CODE
THE MEDIATORS’ DOMAIN
 Jansangh/Sangh parivar : Anti-Urdu.
Sanskritized Hindusthani
 Gandhi, Socialist like Rammonahar Lohia,
Rahul Sankrityayan: Indigenous
Hindustani and contradicted English and
Sanskritized Hindi.
 Nehru: was obviously H/ Foreign,
Sanskritized Hindusthani
A peculiar dialectic of collaboration
and non-collaboration
(with the dominant ideology)
 1989: Mulayum Singh Yadav began
"aNreji HOTaw" (banish English)
movement.
 1991: Lallo Prasad Yadav propagated
"aNreji le aW"(introduce English)
Movement.
 The desire of Lallo Yadav triggers
Formal Elaboration of Social Hierarchy
(FESH).
 Lallo Yadav's logic was expressed in a

rhetoric,
"Hindi is our mother, but English is
a beautiful prostitute."

(Cited in Sonntag, 1997)

 Though officially, Hindi is Lallo’s
Mother Tongue, it is not his Mother
Tongue in true sense of the term as
under the Hindi-umbrella, there are
almost 52 (including "Hindi", 2001
census) full-fledged languages who
have lost their identities as separate
languages (Lallo Yadav is a speaker of
one such “lost” language).
THE MYTH OF NATIONAL
LANGUAGE
 “If God had so wished, he could have made
all Indians speak one language… the unity of
India has been and shall always be a unity in
diversity.” — Rabindranath Tagore

 “One can hardly speak of a national unity in

the Indian past; nationhood, as in some other
land, is a recent phenomenon with us. It may
be claimed that it is still in the making; it
may even be argued that India is a congeries
of nationalities with separate histories of
their own....”-- Susobhan Sarkar (1979:149)
 NATIONAL AND OFFICIAL
LANGUAGES : RUMOURS
 Quite contrary to the pluralistic as well as
multilingual language planning policy
prescribed by the Indian linguists monistic
myths are created to impose one language
for the Indian nation. This section highlights
these myths. These myths are like rumours
and are spread by manipulating our age-old
oral tradition as well as modern
advertisement techniques. It also reveals the
paradoxical and simultaneous existence of
de jure code and de facto imagination of the
mass.
1. “Hindi is the only National Language of India.”

 Sed contra: As per the eighth schedule, there

are 21 more national Languages in the eighth
schedule.

2. “Official Language”, and even “National

Language” are popularly translated and called
as “RajbhaSa”. These two terms are often
used synonymously.
 Sed contra: Tough there is no de facto raja or
king in our country, the concept of Raj or
dynesty is still in vogue. Thus Official language
is translated as “rajbhasa” and it is equated
with National Language. Popular notion is that
there is only one National Language, i.e. Hindi.
3. Hindi-speakers are highest in number’.
 Sed contra: No one except a linguist

questions how the number is

exaggerated. At least 52 E-languages,
which are often referred to as dialects of
Hindi (e.g. Pahari, Chattisgari,
Bundelkhandi, Maithili, Bhojpuri , Magahi
etc.
4. “Hindi bears the authentic legacy of Sanskrit
and therefore mother of all Indian languages.”
This notion is often expressed in “Hindi
Haphta’(Hindi Week) of which there is no
parallel in other Indian languages.
 Sed contra: Genealogically speaking, Hindi or

Bangla is derived from spoken languages of Old

Indo Aryan, which comprises of many inter-
languages. Sanskrit is selected, fixed,
appropriated and codified (i.e.standardized)
form of one of such variety. Who knows, other
than linguists, there are three more families of
languages as well as some unclassified
languages in India.
5. Hindi is a non-regional language vis-a-vis
non-Hindi regional languages. This notion
is often expressed in the discursive
formation like Non-Hindi films are regional
films and Hindi films are non-regional
(National) films. And also Hindi
programmes in Doordarshan are shown in
the national programmes vis-a-vis “other”
languages in regional programmes in the
non-Hindi area.
 Sed contra: Instigated by these types of

arrangements, one may think that non-

regional Hindi is above the space-time and
thus an incarnation of supreme being.
 PHASE-V
POST-INDUSTRIALIZED SOCIETY
 PLURALITY IS “SALE”-BRATED
 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE FOLLOW THE
CHOICES OF LOCALS & PRODUCING
HETEROGENEOUS PACKAGED PRODUCTS
ACCORDING TO LOCAL CHOICES.
 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE FOLLOW THE
LOCAL DIVISION OF LABOR INSTEAD OF
ASSEMBLY LINE OF PRODUCTION/TAYLORIAN
DIVISION OF LABOUR.
 GLOBAL+LOCAL=GLOCAL
SITUATION
 Thus, this is a simulation of plurality.
 As apparent plurality is also
controlled/approximated/appropriated/codi
fied by the Masters’ of the Universe.
DIFFERENT SPACES OF COMMUNICATION
IN THE POST-INDUSTRIALIZED SOCIETY
(With a special reference to Indian
geopolitics)
SPACE-I: "ESSENCE" OF INDIAN
PLURILINGUALISM
The so-called "inner domain" of India:
this is a decentralized space that is
hierarchically below, with the
characteristics of horizontal mutual
aid and grass-root plurilingualism
and relay-network. Here the concept
of solidified state boundary is fuzzy
and indeterminable.
SPACE-II : INDIAN ADMINISTRATION
AND POLITICAL POLICIES

 This space (Sovereign and Autonomous

State Administration) shows the nation
statist homogenization-process by
either following Nehuruvian India-
Project or Hindu Project of constructing
Bharat. Here linguistic boundary is
enumerated and constructed carefully
deploying different anatomo-bio-
political disciplinary technologies.
 SPACE-III: CYBERSPACE AT THE
AGE OF ELECTRONIC CAPITALISM
 SPACE-III: DOMAIN-I: National Capitalistic space, that
homogenizes India for the sake of common market
and in this way it is subscribing the SPACE-II.

 SPACE-III: DOMAIN-II: This space is occupied by the

Post-industrial multinational society (a la Daniel
Bell), that negates Fordian standardized Production
and Taylorian Division of Labour and liquidating
capital. It at a time preserves plurality in a cyber-
spatial hyper-reality overtly and extreme covert
centralization. This phenomenon may be
summarized as "localization in globalization" or
"glocalization".
 SPACE-II encourages extreme centralization by
sponsoring one language formula and
linguistic cannibalism. SPACE-III- DOMAIN-II, on
the other hand, encouraging “local” flavour
along with encroaching into the “local”
language and thus, creating a mixed code.

 These three hetrotropic spaces create many

problems and one of the problem is
encouraging Euro-centric monolingualism by
SPACE-II and SPACE-III, DOMAIN-I by
completely defeating the rationality of SPACE-
I. And the SPACE-III, DOMAIN-II is subscribing
such situation by deploying hyper-real
simulated decentralization. In the post-
industrial society, all these three spaces are
under the control of cyberspace (SPACE-III,
DOMAIN-II). Under the cyberspace, all these
three spaces are exchanging their codes.
SPACE-III, DOMAIN-II LANGUAGE
CONTACTS:
Glocal phenomena depicted in
the ads
 Local children are playing street-cricket.
 camel-riders from Rajasthan or coconut-tree-
climbers from Kerala, who are propagating in
their own language, are eating chocolates.
 South-Indian man is catching fish with the help
of unexpected synthetic product and with an
indigenous tune in his voice.
 Indigenous foods like sambar or idli are also
part of the multinational propagation.
 Women of remote hamlet are carrying water.
 Barber's shop under the bare tree and the
postman, speaking in indigenous language, is
drinking cold-drinks.
 Cricket players are rowing indigenous boat
along with the local people skilled in this sports.
However, cricket players win the boating-race
defeating skilled local boat-men.
 A new-comer in the village with his foreign
car rescue a sheep that come in his way and
then he gave a lift to the shepherd.
 A farmer could not move his tractor. Jammed
by this tractor two young couple were
irritated as they could not proceed with their
car. They rebuked the old farmer. However,
the farmer was rescued by a young two-
wheeler rider. This young rescuer ultimately
said that in spite of his knowledge of English,
he did not forget his culture of respecting
elderly people.
 In one cold-drinks ad, one eve-teaser is
singing a popular song in Bangla.
 One famous Indian cricket-player was
coming. He was hailed by song sung in the
indigenous language. The song is also
dubbed in local Indian languages.
 The ad-code is also a mixed code,
reflecting the centre's language
 yeH Hey right choice baby, “this is right choice baby”
 dil mange more “([my] heart wants more),
 " Don’t be a bandOr (monkey),
 "kuch jada hi solid (something more sold)
 “Sprite bujhaye only pyas, baki all bakwas”
 "Sprite means only thirst, all the rest are nonsense."
 jite woHi who tastes the thunder
 "S/he, who tastes the thunder, wins."
 jo caHo Ho jay,
 Cocacola enjoy.
 That happens, whatever you like....."
 taja Sas longer (fresh breath.....)
 Its for everyone: maHaraja or proja
 " Its for everyone: King or subject."

The future language of Electronic Capitalism

will be a globally mixed language
 THE FUTURE OF LANGUAGES
 There is mutual and spontaneous exchange of
plurilinguistic units among different spaces: donor-
receptor role-playing is often reversed and inter-
changeable. H L
 The SPACE-II and SPACE-III, domain-I are trying to
be archaic, but cannot ignore the pressure from
the SPACE-I and SPACE-III, DOMAIN-II. From SPACE-
I, remnants of indigenous administrative terms are
borrowed without being translated and from the
foreign space, terms are borrowed as calques.
H L
 SPACE-III, DOMAIN-II, on the other hand, creates
overt cyber-decentralization that at a time
encourages code-mixing as well as code-
maintenance of the local group. (H L)
 DIRECTIONS FEATURES
OF
STAT BORROWIN
US G
SPACE - I HL PLURALITY
L

SPACE - II HL ARCHAISM

H

SPACE - III HL COLLOQUIAL,

DOMAIN -I H MONOLINGUAL,
TRACES OF
CODE-
MIXING
SPACE – III (HL) SIMULATED
DOMAIN -II CYBER-
H PLURALITY
 LEGENDS
 H=High, L=Low
  / = Directions of Discourse
Reception
 ( )= Hyper real zone
 There are subversions.
 Here is an example of subverting the
words….
 NEW WORDS ORDER
IBRD- IMF-GATT
International Broker for Recolonization and Destruction-International
Menace to Food -Great Absurdity on Tariffs and Trade.
PRIVATIZATION
Devaluation of Self-respect and Sovereignty by making
currency valueless.
MARKET FRIENDLY
Making friends by selling McDonald Burgers.
AUSTERITY
Market-friendly Poverty
REDEPLOYMENT
Transfer of worker from activity to inactivity.
FREE-TRADE
Trade freedom from duty free exploitation by Trans-National
Corporations (T N Cs).
GLOBALISATION
Trans-nationalization of Capital, Colonization of Labour.
CAUTION
Beware of the New words that orders the New World of
Exploitation, Poverty & Inequality.
******************************************************************
(Based on poster by Public Research Interest Group, Delhi.)