LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 15:3 March 2015
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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The ‘Cultural Legacy’ of English in Bangladesh

Most. Tasnim Begum, M.A.

Abstract

This paper assesses the status and efficacy of English in Bangladesh in the 21st century. The question it attempts to answer is: Why and how is English retaining its dominion and dissemination in Bangladesh in the 21st century? Crystal (1997: 69) propounds that the question, ‘Why World English?’ can be best explicated by a socio-cultural analysis of the growth and manifestations of English in particular contexts. Drawing upon this postulate of a very prominent linguist of this age, I would, in this paper, argue that the existence of English in Bangladesh in the 21st century gives evidence of its indomitable persistence due to its functional legacy in the social-cultural milieu in Bangladesh.

Key words: English in Bangladesh, cultural legacy of English, language policy and English.

Introduction

The continued presence and vitality of English in Bangladesh are all the more surprising. (Banu & Sussex, 2001a, 125)

The surprising state of English in Bangladesh was like the gushing of a spring, but this has gradually mellowed into a regular and natural flow of a wide river. Scholars have argued that English, though officially the foreign language of Bangladesh, is in fact the second language of this country. Despite the national language policy shoring up Bangla, the national language of the country, English frequents its dominant presence in all spheres of the national life such as commerce, industry, offices, courts, educational institutions, press, and in law and even in parliament (Banu 2000; Moniruzzaman, 2009; Rahman, 2012). This raises one inevitable question about the status of English in Bangladesh: Why and how is English retaining its dominion and dissemination in Bangladesh in the 21st century? This paper endeavours to give an explanation to this question to illuminate the present socio-cultural state of English in Bangldesh.

Major Sections of the Paper

This paper is organized with three major sections of discussion. The first section will give a socio-historical account on the introduction of English in Bangladesh. The second section will illustrate the presence and role of English in the socio-cultural context in the 21st century. The third section will provide some discussions on the motivations behind the presence of English in these contexts. Finally, the paper will conclude with some suggestions for planning a stable language policy in Bangladesh.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Most. Tasnim Begum, M.A.
Lecturer in English
Faculty of Languages and Translation
King Khalid University
Abha 61321
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
emailtotasnim@gmail.com
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