Abstract Summary
This presentation provides an overview of indigenous minority languages in Bangladesh. Based on past and present experiences, there is probably room for optimism about the future of these languages. We will discuss factors at national and international levels that may have led to these positive developments about indigenous languages
Abstract :
Globally, predictions about the future of indigenous minority languages are anything but optimistic. This is so despite the recent trends that show positive as well as negative developments. Positively, there has been greater awareness of language loss, linguistic diversity, multilingualism and multilingual education throughout the world. Negatively, language shift and language loss occur not-stop, thanks to voluntary and involuntary displacement of people and the hegemony of national and global languages and their dominant discourses. Against this background, this presentation will provide an overview of indigenous minority languages in Bangladesh. Although Bangladesh is often represented as a Bangla-speaking monolingual country, there are at least three dozen minority languages spoken by ethnic minority groups. Based on the experience of the past and the present, we will argue that there is probably room for some optimism about the future of these languages in this South Asian nation.
The independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971 is largely attributed to linguistic nationalism. Therefore, language policies in the early years of independence were characterized by an exclusive promotion of Bangla and the denial of ethnic minority communities and their languages and identities. However, this policy had a significant shift in the National Education Policy 2010, which recognized indigenous languages. This opened up ways for multilingual education in the major indigenous languages in the early years of schooling. Moreover, education provided by NGOs has a significant coverage of ethnic minority languages. Finally, the establishment of International Mother Language Institute as a UNESCO 2 Category institution in 2010 by the Bangladesh Government is a significant towards the promotion and maintenance of indigenous languages in Bangladesh and other countries in the region.
The presentation will discuss factors at national and international levels that may have led to these positive developments about indigenous languages and their future.
