Dethroning 'Kaduwa' and the question of linguistic ownership

This week, we wish to focus on the evolution of a distinct variety or dialect of a language outside its conventional place of origin or the language pool. As we discussed in the previous column, the growth and the evolution of the English language is synonymous with the spread of British colonialism throughout the world.

As an outcome of British colonialism, the English language has become a potent purveyor of English culture. In fact, the cultural component of a language is an essential characteristic of any language as it is born out of a specific culture and location. For instance, the English language spoken even in diverse parts of the United Kingdom and among diverse social strata is quite different to English spoken in the Elizabethan era. The selection of words used today, and phraseology differs from one social status to another, by and large dependent on their level of education and socio-cultural status in society. In other words, one's language and very selections of words not only reflect an individual's socio-cultural status and the class but also one's world view and 'enlightenment'.

Role of language in identity formation

Since the world may be defined in terms of language usage, the medium of communication, in this case, the language plays a vital role in the formation of identity. As much as a language has its own identity, it also, contributes largely in the formation of class identities, aspirations, beliefs and by and large, attitudes on the part of its users irrespective of the fact whether they are native speakers or not. Puritans' attitudes towards English language, particularly in the colonial era and its immediate aftermath were the purest version of English which has been termed out as Queen's English. That belief or assumptions maintain that Queen's English is capable of expressing native sensibilities and reflect on the aspirations and sentiments of the population at large. In this regard, the former Colonial Civil Servant, Leonard Sidney Woolf's (25 November 1880 - 14 August 1969) autobiographical writings and his novel 'Village in The Jungle' based on his experience in the former colony Ceylon provide useful insights.

While the members of the intelligentsia in Sri Lanka who had the privilege of receiving elitist English Education identify the English language as 'Queen's English', non-users of language, particularly, those from underprivileged backgrounds and who are, by and large, mono-linguals, revere it as a proverbial sword or 'Kaduwa'. One of the negative outcomes of this attitude on the part of non-users of English or learners of the English language is the reluctance on their part to experiment with the language. This mystified and much malignant attitude towards English language in post colonial Sri Lanka on the part of predominantly native speakers, has led to define a segment of population as 'English speaking class' and dissuade a generation's of vernacular educated youth from effectively learning English.

It is a home truth that a certain political outfits exploited this situation to create a power base among the student population of the country. What this generation failed to understand was that the English language was a unifying factor in the independent struggles of the ex-British colonies and it has contributed immensely to economic growth in a globalised milieu.

Another important fact in the language education is the pivotal role that language plays in the formation of identities and world views on the part of its users. Sri Lankan Sociologist, Senior Professor S.T Hettige of the University of Colombo has emphasised that the mono-lingual education tend to develop regional identities and parochial world views in opposed to national identities with much broader world view.

Dethroning 'Kaduwa'

One of the prerequisites for the transfer of the ownership of English language to the masses is to dethrone 'Kaduwa' or to encourage the liberal use of English throughout the island. However, it does not mean that the users of language have a right to violate the fundamental tenants of the language and its structure which preserves English language's current status as an international language. In order to create a dynamic language pool, it is imperative to teach and promote International Standard English which would create an international market for Sri Lankan literary products in English.

As Prof. Manique Gunesekera has pointed out in her well-researched book 'The Post Colonial Identity of Sri Lankan English', it is International Standard English which is appreciated and understood by the world of English language users. For instance, International Standard English is capable of expressing native sensibilities as in the literary production of authors like Salman Rushdie, Arundathi Roy, Chinua Achebe and Sri Lankan diasporic authors including Yasmin Goonaratne, Michael Ondaatje and Romesh Gunasekara.

Ajith Samaranayake envisioned this situation and states: "This it would appear to be is the heart of the matter. It will be an illusion to think that the English Departments will be any longer able to produce scholars of the old type steeped in an exclusively English milieu, coming from the correct schools and talking with the proper accents. But if English is to take root in Sri Lanka, it has to assume a native complexion and voice, take root in the soil and be nourished by it.

This task will necessarily devolve on the products of the Central Colleges who are free of ultra-nationalist blinkers and able to enter into a healthy dialogue with English.

For that, however, English will first have to be demystified. It will have to be revealed as just another cultural tool among others and not the intimidating 'kaduwa' of student mythology. It will have to be stripped of its colonial trappings and its class status erased.

How does one set about this? GK [Gamini Haththotuwegama] talks encouragingly of AL students at a revision seminar singing Michael Jackson's 'Heal the World' or Bob Dylan's 'Blowing in the Wind.' More to the point is the trilingual version of Dylan's song, which his own theatre group had done. All this can help to bring English down from its old Anglo-Saxon pedestal and relate it to the more immediate realities of life as lived by the average non-elitist student.

For this is where the future of English in Sri Lanka will lie. It will be futile to expect the progeny of the old English-educated elite to keep the flag flying. Most of them are not interested anyway or have succumbed to a culture of 'Thannane naa-thane naa' as GK caustically comments."

The future of the English Language Education in the country will lie not in the production of imaginary regionalised veriety of English replacing English words such as 'Mortar' with 'Mirisgala' or the promotion of erroneous use of question tags but in promoting bilingualism. Such a policy of broadbasing the ownership of English or truly taking the English language to the masses would produce homespun literati in English in the calibre of Salman Rushdie, Arundathi Roy, and Chinua Achebe.

In the context of forming a one nation and to break existing cultural barriers across ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, should we seriously consider adapting English as a national language or as a medium of instruction along with Sinhala and Tamil?