ISLAMABAD: Speakers at an interactive dialogue on ‘Safeguarding mother tongues in an era of imperialist globalisation’, called for safeguarding and defending indigenous language as people’s fundamental right.

They said that languages, with their complex implications for identity, communication, social integration, education and development, are of strategic importance for people. Yet, due to imperialist globalisation, they are increasingly becoming endangered or disappearing altogether. When languages fade, so does the world’s rich tapestry of cultural diversity as being alarmed by UNESCO. According to UNESCO, half of the 6,000 or so languages spoken in the world are endangered, and with them an irreplaceable dimension of knowledge and understanding of human thought. The process whereby languages are disappearing is an unbridled one and not a new phenomenon. However, the past 30 years or so have seen a dramatic increase in the disappearance rate of languages, the experts said.

They added that the causes of this phenomenon are multiple and complex. People tend to abandon their native languages either because they belong to small groups immersed in different or unfriendly cultural and linguistic environments, or because they come into contact with an invasive or economically stronger culture.

Safeguarding and defending their indigenous language is people’s fundamental right. In this context, International Mother Language Day is celebrated on February 21 every year in order to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. The event was jointly organised by Rural Development Policy Institute (RDPI) and Lok Virsa (National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage), Ministry of National Heritage and Integration.

The objective behind organising the dialogue was to encourage healthy cohesion among different languages and dialects, and to suggest initiatives for the preservation and development of all languages and dialects of Pakistan, especially in the context of new constitutional arrangements.

Lok Virsa’s Executive Director Khalid Javaid, Ahmed Saleem, Dr Khadim Hussain, Saeed Bhutta, Iqbal Hyder, Karim Johar, Dr Nadeem Omar, Dr Humera Ishfaq and Mazhar Arif spoke on the occasion. In his address, Khalid Javaid stressed the need for preservation of all indigenous languages spoken in the country. He especially mentioned the languages of northern part of Pakistan, in particular Kalasha language spoken by a certain group of people. “Lok Virsa encourages research in regional languages, folk literature, cultural history, arts, crafts and other aspects of folklore. The verbal legends and songs, the folk romances and tales, children games and rhymes, beliefs and rituals, traditional festivals and celebrations, the sayings of sages and the time-old customs which express the true genius of the people of Pakistan are the subject of Lok Virsa’s mandate,” he said. app

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