Daily Times

Language in Pakistan is no different than a ping pong match between English and Urdu. Constitution, Judiciary, Administration and Higher Education are in English. Television media, Parliament sessions, Press Conferences and First Information Report (FIR) are in Urdu. Unfortunately, we have created two incomplete derivatives of language that exhibit fallacies within dimensions of communication.

For Reading and Writing, we prefer English, and for Speaking and Listening, our natural inclination is biased towards Urdu. The psychological state, confusions, and challenges on the choice of superiority and/or inferiority of one language by individuals, organizations, corporations, and politicians for selective paradigms is evident and self-explanatory.

The statement that Pakistan thinks in English and feels in Urdu has merit. From the founder of the nation, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Muhammad Iqbal, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s phenomenal code mixing, former President Pervez Musharraf’s efforts of enlightened moderation to now the sitting Prime Minister Imran Khan, the confusion continues to persist.

The problem is the State’s irrational obsession to prove and apply superiority of this duality of language in selective contexts. To advocate Urdu, the only language for all mediums is not practical, and to justify English as the only language is a threat to our culture and emotional intelligence. The answer to this confusion and problem is bilingualism, the art of fluency in two languages.

The one Leader from the 20th and 21st Century that championed the concepts and implementation of Bilingualism is Lee Kuan Yew (LKY), the founding father of Singapore. The man who transformed Singapore from 3rd World to 1st, in a single generation.

The statement that Pakistan thinks in English and feels in Urdu has merit. From the founder of the nation, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Muhammad Iqbal, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s phenomenal code mixing, former President Pervez Musharraf’s efforts of enlightened moderation to now the sitting Prime Minister Imran Khan, the confusion continues to persist

The three simple lessons from LKY on Bilingualism. First, why English is important and relevant.

“Having made English the working language of government and administration, what do we do about the mother tongues? If we had no set policy and allowed free market practices, free choice, all mother tongues would have eventually vanished. Because the first business of any parent is to make sure that his or her child can make a living.”

Second, the necessity of Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Saraiki and Sindhi for identity and culture.

“Will we ever become completely homogeneous, a melange of languages and cultures? No. Why did we take this route? Because we have no other choice. If we have only English and we allowed the other languages to atrophy and vanish, we face a very serious problem of identity and culture.”

Lastly, the lesson and significance for the Government and PM Imran Khan towards Education and Linguistic abilities of the citizens of Pakistan.

“I think if we arrange our Education system, especially in Kindergarten and Preschool, in such a way that our children are exposed to two languages straight away, we will make Bilingualism a reality and easily achievable by all.”

The Writer is a Lecturer and Trainer, and has accumulated experience from US, Turkey, and Germany

Published in Daily Times, February 16^th 2019.