Why Pakistan Needs Language Laws

[uhuru]

We have so many people wanting to learn this language as it opens up immediately 8 countries.

Learn Swahili | MS-TCDC

Regionally reputed Swahili language training and culture programs

mstcdc.or.tz

Swahili as you said officially changed the script/alphabet. There's an official dictionary and a proper way to write words.

If Urdu wants to go down that road, then by all means.

But neither Roman Urdu has an official dictionary or an official alphabet.

People literally make up the spelling of words.

English
How are you feeling today?

Urdu
آج آپ کیسا محسوس کر رہے ہیں؟

Roman Chutiya Urdu
Aj ap kaise mehsoos kar re hain?
Aaj aap kaisay mehsoos kar rahe hain?
Ajj app kaisae meh soos karae hain?


It's infuriating!

In swahili you will say:

Option 1:
Classic: Habari yako. (you see arabic language coming in) --> you can transliterate to Ordu - > Apki Khabar?

Option 2:
Literary: Taifa habari yako or even classic arabic in Zanzibar -> kai fa'alak. In zanzibar, swahili/arabic play with each other.

 

[uhuru]

You are correct there is a strict lexical and gramatic following:

Here is the kiswahili ajami script:

In Oman, they teach both scripts as official language in schools as well.

 

[PakAlp]

I agree - languages - literature/culture is part of it.

when you have morons from leadership etc just speaking in English it tells you they have a huge shame. Why?

Ordu is a beautiful langauge. Why such a sense of inferiority.

Look at Indians... my goodness. it is Hinglish - 70% english may be 25% Ordu + 5 % Hindi..

During 1837 British India made Urdu the official language of the empire by getting rid of the old language Persian. I wonder why?

 

[uhuru]

During 1837 British India made Urdu the official language of the empire by getting rid of the old language Persian. I wonder why?

Correct, 4 years back i was on a trip to Mazandaran university on a sabatical; it was a good experience. Farsi language is standardised and continuously evolved. The worse thing Pakistan did was to abandon the mandatory teaching of farsi; this would not have caused the chaos or made it as an official language.

If you wanted to stand away from India, the best was to abandon the language itself to associate with them. Even Iqbal says clearly Ordu cannot contain his thoughts.

 

[Neelo]

During 1837 British India made Urdu the official language of the empire by getting rid of the old language Persian. I wonder why?

Deliberately done to destroy the Muslim community in British India.

 

[PakAlp]

Deliberately done to destroy the Muslim community in British India.

You see they're very intelligent and cunning people, they will destroy you in a way you will not even notice. Turkic language was also used but completely forgotten now. The culture, language etc we are been taught via TV comes from India/bollywood.

 

[Edevelop]

Correct, 4 years back i was on a trip to Mazandaran university on a sabatical; it was a good experience. Farsi language is standardised and continuously evolved. The worse thing Pakistan did was to abandon the mandatory teaching of farsi; this would not have caused the chaos or made it as an official language.

If you wanted to stand away from India, the best was to abandon the language itself to associate with them. Even Iqbal says clearly Ordu cannot contain his thoughts.

Agree. I still say there is a chance to go back because our education system and identity is so raw and flawed. I suppose Dari is the best option. That was the Farsi dialect spoken in the Af-Pak region and it certainly influenced our local languages like Punjabi, Pashto, Sindi, Balochi, and Kashmiri.

 

[Neelo]

While rebuilding Bahawalpur station, PR also time traveled back to 1881.

Forget Seraiki, they didn't even bother writing it in Urdu.

I should approach the Supr....never mind.

 

[Sinnerman108]

Its because those in power see west as a role model, plus the public also loves these signs, makes them feel superior and from the educated class. When I visit Pakistan I use the world InshaAllah and I get laughed at, but if I say thank you then you get a respectful stare.

Nopes,
Not Role Models, absolutely not.

One can argue that the west chooses and imposes these idiots in power.
but for the sake of argument, for now we will only state that those in power
are mentally enslaved to the west, and a major reason for that is language.

No one is enslaved more than our wanna be foojis.

 

[Strigon]

Ahh yea….the inherited obsession of Pakistanis with mother tongue…last time a moron high up on his ego with mother tongue and other items costed us East Pakistan.

I am always amazed that people that barely have their country in order can complain so much sitting on their imaginary high horses..

 

[Neelo]

Ahh yea….the inherited obsession of Pakistanis with mother tongue…last time a moron high up on his ego with mother tongue and other items costed us East Pakistan.

You just don’t get it do you…..

People like you are the reason why the world equates Punjabi language and Punjabi culture with Sikhs, despite them being the minority. The majority of Punjabis are Muslims and live in Pakistan, yet Shahmukhi is next to dead and Punjabi culture is dictated by Sikhs. Imagine if Pakistani Punjabis were the ones creating the pan-Punjabi narrative. Especially considering what’s been happening in Indian Punjab and to Sikhs of late in India.

People like you are the reason why the world equates Pashtuns and Pashto with Afghans, despite the majority of Pashtuns and Pashto speakers living in Pakistan. Again, you could be dictating the narrative since you’re the majority, but you handed that over to Afghanistan too on a silver platter.

Moronic but it gets worse.

Our education system is in shambles and one of the main reasons behind this other than a lack of funding and oversight is the rejection of mother tongues.

UNESCO and countless studies explain why the benefits associated with an education that takes into account children’s mother tongues:

• Child learns better and faster in a language they can understand - this prevents delays in learning and preventing RATA/memorizing
• They enjoy school more, they feel more at home
• Pupils tend to show increased self-esteem
• Parents participation is increased. Parents can help with homework and can participate in school activities.
• When children take advantage of their multilingualism they may enjoy higher socioeconomic status, including higher earnings
• On average, the schools perform better, reporting less repetition and less drop-out.

Why mother language-based education is essential

www.unesco.org

What is Mother Tongue Education? - Rutu Foundation

Mother tongue education uses the language or languages that children are most familiar with to help them learn.

www.rutufoundation.org

Role of mother tongue in sustainable development | The Express Tribune

Mother tongue is advocated by experts as indispensable instrument in achieving UN SDGs

tribune.com.pk

Educate children in their mother tongue, urges UN rights expert

Children from linguistic minorities should be taught in their own mother tongue, said the UN independent expert on minority issues, presenting his latest report on Wednesday to the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

news.un.org

Part of the reason why Japan, Germany and Korea…and now China….have excelled is because they learn everything from Nursery to post-Secondary in their own languages. Simply learning things in English doesn’t make your nation a developed state.

Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya all have English medium education. Wow.


PS: East Pakistan was lost the day your military decided to play politics. Forget the violence of 1971, I’m talking about everything from 1947 until 1970. I’m still amazed the Bengalis stayed loyal to Pakistan for as long as they did.

I am always amazed that people that barely have their country in order can complain so much sitting on their imaginary high horses..

Imagine thinking wanting basic communication so the average Pakistani is able to get a better education and is better informed is wanting to “sit on a high horse”.

Have you ever really wondered why the Pakistan Government and military still uses English? It’s because they don’t want the average person to know what’s going on.

English is a weapon of the establishment. Nothing more, nothing less. Having an illiterate population unable to understand what the elite are doing exactly what they want.


Go sit back down in the corner and come back when you have something valuable to add to this discussion.

 

[Eskander]

We should force Pashtuns, Balochs and Sindhis to speak Punjabi

Punjabi supremacy ftw

Make Punjabi national language

( I don't speak Punjabi btw )

Ahh yea….the inherited obsession of Pakistanis with mother tongue…last time a moron high up on his ego with mother tongue and other items costed us East Pakistan.

I am always amazed that people that barely have their country in order can complain so much sitting on their imaginary high horses..

Who cares about East Pakistan... we are not living in the 1960s

I'm glad we don't have Bengalis with us

 

[fitpOsitive]

This is how transliteration and "Roman Urdu" have destroyed this language.

https://www.reddit.com/r/pakistan/comments/rv88zi

It's such a shame that many in Pakistan can't speak or write proper English, proper Urdu or their mother tongues. What results is a mix of all three into what I call "کھچڑی زبان".

When languages are not properly protected and taught, the result is this.

Behold the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority's "translation" of Islamabad International Airport!

View attachment 927932

The terms for international and airport ready exist in Urdu.

• International = بین اقوامی (Bainul Aqwami)
• Airport =ہوائی اڈے (Hawai Adda)

What’s the point of transliterating it? At this point why not abandon all these languages and just make English the official language? Why make a mockery? In comparison, here’s how our neighbouring languages behave.

Persian = فرودگاه بین‌المللی
Arabic = مطار الدولي
Turkish = Uluslararası Havalimanı
Chinese = 国际机场
Hindi = does the same stupidity as Urdu

Yes, this is actually a real photo. The CAA actually approved this translation. It makes me wonder what the average IQ is of the people running this government department.

Oh wait…nevermind.
View attachment 927933

And this nonsense is not an isolated incident. In 2018, the Citizens Archive of Pakistan inaugurated the "National History Museum" as the "نیشنل ہستورے میوزیم".

These words already exist in Urdu!

• Museum =عجائب گھر (Ajaib Ghar)
• National = قومی (Quami)
• History = تاریخ (Tareekh)

Here’s the “Election Commission”…

View attachment 927934




And this is not just about Urdu...all our languages in Pakistan are under threat due to ignorance like this. The lack of ownership of our languages and lack of language laws results in this type of circus, where bastardisation is allowed to run rampant.

Even our urban neighbourhoods haven't been spared. Traditionally they have always been named to reflect our culture or history - places like Gulberg, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Nazimabad, Anarkali, Lyari, Faizabad etc. All these places have culture, history and soul about them.

Nowadays however, places like "Paragon City", "Eden Avenue", "Ideal Garden Housing Scheme", "DHA City", "Bahria Town", "Arian City", "Top City" seem to be the norm. Does this not seem problematic? "Bahria Town" is not actually a town, it's a private company named "Bahria Town Private Limited". Why are company names replacing the names of villages and localities which have stood for over 500 years? These names have no soul to them whatsoever. Despite the fact Urdu words already exist, the Anglo terms were adopted. For example, the word for TOWN in Urdu would be:

• Abad (آباد)
• Abadi (آبادی)
• Pur (پور)
• Pura (پورہ)
• Mahalla (محله)

What are we telling the world when we disrespect our own languages? It tells the world we are a dead nation. When university is pronounced as "you nee vastee", you are essentially defining yourselves as an ignorant nation.

University = جامعہ not یونیورسٹی

View attachment 927935

ہمیں شرم آتی ہے اردو بولنے سے۔ اور اردو سے ہمارا سلوک سوتیلی ماں جیسا ہے۔

 

[SaadH]

Ghulam qom hain hum, na apni zaban hai na azadi.

We should force Pashtuns, Balochs and Sindhis to speak Punjabi

Punjabi supremacy ftw

Make Punjabi national language

( I don't speak Punjabi btw )


Who cares about East Pakistan... we are not living in the 1960s

I'm glad we don't have Bengalis with us

Punjabi is the most pajeet of all languages spoken in Pakistan , at least Urdu can rely on its persisn flair. Need to have a clean break from the eastern border and its entrenched culture. Persian and/or Arabic all the way.

 

[Neelo]

We should force Pashtuns, Balochs and Sindhis to speak Punjabi

Punjabi supremacy ftw

Make Punjabi national language

( I don't speak Punjabi btw )

Congratulations on not understanding the point I’m making.

Also, congratulations on not understanding what the 18th Amendment of the Constitution is.

Read before you type.

Who cares about East Pakistan... we are not living in the 1960s

I'm glad we don't have Bengalis with us

Cool story.