Impact of Linguistic Imperialism on Marginalised People in Nashik District

Abstract

In the present scenario of India, every state has its own official language, although the presence of some indigenous languages. Therefore, in India, Linguistic Diversity is one of the important traits associated with the term Unity in Diversity. However, due to the language hierarchies and linguistic imperialism, the trait is disappearing quickly. This paper focuses on the Indigenous languages of the Nashik district, which are losing their native roots. Although the tribal people understand the variety of the Marathi language, they are not comfortable using it effectively and appropriately in communication and education. Simultaneously, they are being fascinated by the Hindi and English languages, which leads to a shift in their language as well as their cultural identity. Here, the language hierarchy instils in tribal people a sense of superiority and inferiority complexes, which reinforces their beliefs in the concept of language as a form of power. So the central problem of the present study is that the tribal people are getting in trouble in terms of their language and cultural identity due to linguistic imperialism, especially of Hindi and English, directly or indirectly. This results in a decaying process of rich culture, which can be handed down from generation to generation. Therefore, modifying linguistic policies in education (for example, offering courses in local tribal languages) can enhance their participation in the learning process, which may lead to the academic, social, cultural, and economic growth of tribal students.