힌디어의 범위와 딜레마: 언어학적 측면과 언어 정책을 중심으로

Abstract

According to the 2001 census, there are total of 122 languages and 234 mother tongues. Of these languages, 22 are scheduled. or listed in the Constitution, and 100 are non-scheduled languages(these figure cannot be accepted as final as the Census does not report languages spoken by fewer than 10,000 speakers). However, according to the 1991 census, there are 18 scheduled, 94 non-scheduled languages and 216 tongues. Thus 26 languages and tongues have been increased within 10 years. How could it be possible? Language policy of India is elucidated in the Constitution, implemented various executive orders that have been issued from time to time and the political considerations rather than linguistic aspect. In the multilingual context, the relation between language and its dialects is very ambiguous in terms of its definition and classification. Especially, Hindi exhibits more ambiguities in the classification. Standard Hindi, one of the official languages of India, is based on the Khariboli dialect of the Delhi region and differs from Urdu in that it is usually written in the indigenous Devanagari script of India. But The Indian constitution, adopted in 1950, declares Hindi shall be written in the Devanagari script and will be the official language of the Federal Government of India. It is not a national language. It is designed to make the nation united on the basis of common linguistic backgrounds under the necessity of pluralism. The Language Policy of India relating to the use of languages in administration, education, judiciary, legislature, mass communication, etc., is pluralistic in its scope. It is both language-development oriented and language-survival oriented. The policy is intended to encourage the citizens to use their mother tongue in certain delineated levels and domains through some gradual processes, but the stated goal of the policy is to help all languages to develop into fit vehicles of communication at their designated areas of use, irrespective of their nature or status like major, minor, or tribal languages. The policy is accommodative and ever-evolving, through mutual adjustment, consensus, and judicial processes. The accommodative spirit may be dim at times, and the decisions vacillating and fidgety, but this spirit was continuously prevalent from the early days of the struggle for independence from the British rule. This was seen as a necessity in nation-building. Political awareness or consciousness relating to the maintenance of native languages has been very high, both among the political leadership and among the ordinary people who speak these languages. The language policy of the country is elucidated in its Constitution, implemented through various executive orders that have been issued from time to time and the judicial pronouncements. These have directed the way the languages are used in various domains. The language issue in recent years has attracted much less attention than it previously did. The language issue simply cannot be blamed on the politicians alone. A language reflects its identity for the society and functions as the unity. There is no doubt that we are under a constitutional obligation to promote the cause of Hindi and try to make it the lingua franca of India. The first resolution demanded Hindi to be made one of the official languages of the United Nations Organization. I have to address the notion that a national language is a necessary symbol of national unity. Therefore it is the right time to aggressively discuss about the national language in the open area. It may be about Hindustani in contrast with the standard Hindi or Urdu.