Beware of language predators!
Language, an important element of culture, is God's best blessing. God loves unity in diversity so He has bestowed ankind with diverse languages. But the Pakistani regime tried to devour our language. As a self-respecting nation, we were able to save our language through a bloody movement which is a unique example in the world and hence UNESCO's recognition of 21st February as the International Mother Language Day.
The spontaneity with which we celebrate the Language Martyrs' Day shows our love for the country and our gratefulness to the language martyrs. However, we are again exposed to internal and external language predators. In every household, people are watching Indian serials, as our TV programmes fail to satisfy us. Our youths are using some sort of remix language: a hotchpotch of English, Bengali and Hindi. After decades of independence from British, we carry the heavy burden of British administrative setup with higher courts here and continue to use English. Common people find it difficult to understand. No doubt, there is no alternative to learning foreign languages, especially English, in this era of globalisation. However, it must not be at the cost of our mother tongue.
It is heartening to know that the government has initiated digitalisation of Bengali language. What is most important now is to stop distortion of our beloved language. We must use refined and standard Bengali in general communication outside home in the same way as we wear our best dress when going outside to work or social functions.
Dialogues in dramas and cinemas can be in local dialects but that should not be so widespread. We must regain the past glory of our drama and cinema so that we can wean our people from the Indian serials and the culture they propagate. We must thus keep the predatory elements at bay to save our hard-earned language from extinction before it is too late.
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