HVK Archives: Eng language gives a one-dimensional view
Eng language gives a one-dimensional view - The Times of India
Hans-Georg Wieck
()
17 July 1997
Title: English language gives a one-dimensional view of the world
Author: Hans-Georg Wieck
Publication: The Times of India
Date: July 17, 1997
The use of English, the language of the former colonial power, Great
Britain, has gained a special role and meaning in India. In the presence
of more than a dozen regional languages in India, English not only
continues to be useful for intra-India communication, but also is an
effective means of communicating with the rest of the world,
Whatever is being published in English in the rest of the world enters the
Indian scene through Indian publishers or printing houses associated with
publishers in the US and UK, and also through the electronic media such as
BBC World Service, CNN International and the digital systems like the
Internet. On the other hand, entry of everything in English published in
India in the world market is only accidental.
Rabindranath Tagore won a Nobel prize for his book of verses Gitanjali
which he translated from Bangla into English while sailing from Calcutta to
England in 1912. Gitanjali impressed his English friends so much that they
proposed his name to the Nobel prize jury for literature. This was possible
because his masterpiece was available in English and not just in his native
tongue. How many such hidden treasures of literature exist in so many
languages throughout the world?
The advantages of the world's easy access to India through a foreign
language namely English, however carries a risk, the risk of misconceiving
the non-English speaking world. In perceiving the rest of the world through
the English language, the consumer of these products could be tempted to
perceive the world through the value systems and perceptions of English
speaking authors, analysts and managers of the news agencies.
In assessing the development in China for instance, BBC World Service or
CNN International are inclined quite naturally to broadcast interviews with
people who speak English. There is nothing wrong in this; but such
reporting however is limited by their prejudices against the competing
countries and cultures of the non-English speaking world. There are other
views which are never taken into account because they are expressed in
languages other than English, in French, Russian, Japanese, Chinese,
Spanish or German for instance.
These views and analyses hardly reach the Indian subcontinent. To reach out
to them or to introduce them into the opinion building process in the
Indian subcontinent requires a special effort, for example, research in
another language and translating other languages into English or other
languages spoken in Asia.
There are specialists who ensure that academic and scientific analysis is
based on access to all sources, that is, publication in all languages that
have something to offer in a particular field of research or culture. But
the flow of information from there to the mainstream is time consuming. It
presupposes not only the availability of correspondents located in these
countries but also that they are well versed in the local languages in
order to see and sense what is happening at the grassroots level as well as
in the decision-making centres.
But if such a research, for instance, is done in English the originality of
the reporting and analysis will again be subject to doubt. Take for
instance the period of Conservative governments in London. The views
prevailing in London about the European Commission, the European
integration and about Germany had negative overtones. Through the British
media and reports of the Indian correspondents from London and Brussels,
such views received more weightage and publicity in India than the views
prevailing in France and Germany or Russia.
It is difficult to convey to the Indian readers the underlying strategy of
the European Union and cooperation between France and Germany as a decisive
and permanent feature of peace and stability in Europe. As also the
rationale behind Russia's cooperation with the West. Though Russia's
relationship with the West is perceived as a sign of weakness, an in-depth
analysis would reveal that Russia is making great strides towards a kind of
civil society not very different from those of Western countries.
The fact that the English language is used to communicate between India and
the rest of the world, valuable as it is, should not lead to a situation in
which the rest of the world is known to India only or predominantly on the
basis of information networks in English language.
For subtle analysis of the world events immediate access to the cultures,
civilizations and political structures expressing themselves in language
other than English is essential for India's involvement in the
international arena.
Dr Hans-Georg Wieck was ambassador of reunited Germany in New Delhi from
1990 to 1993.
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