Sindhi Language Vitality Assessment

Sindhi Language Vitality Assessment

Factor 1: Intergenerational Language Transmission

The most prevalent criterion for determining a language's vitality is whether it is passed down from generation to generation. On a scale of stability to extinction, the endangerment of any language can be ranked. In terms of Intergenerational Language Transmission, there are six levels of endangerment (UNESCO, 2003):

1.      Safe
2.      Unsafe
3.      Definitively endangered
4.      Severely endangered
5.      Critically endangered
6.      Extinct

Pakistan is a multilingual country with a wide range of socioeconomic and linguistic issues. Many languages have suffered significantly as a result of the lack of a suitable "language policy," and many languages are on the verge of extinction. Sindhi is one of the world's oldest indigenous languages, with a rich history, culture, civilization, heritage, grammar, morphology, geography, and nation (Dootio, 2018). A notable American scholar wrote in his book on Sindhi Culture (Flam, 1981):

“To appreciate the uniqueness and beauty of Sindh and Sindhi culture, one simply needs to visit the province to witness the diversity and beauty of its people, language, literature, arts and crafts, music, and social norms. Sindhi culture's ruddiness can be traced back to the civilization represented by the ancient site of Mohen-jo-Daro, which dates from the third millennium BC.”

The Sindhi language has faced many attacks and conspiracies for the past several years. The language, however, has persisted thanks to its extensive literature, morphology, and difficult grammar. The British placed a high value on this language and designated it as an official language. While working in Sindh, all officers were required to learn Sindhi (Dootio, 2018).

Sindhi, like other regional languages, was ignored after the partition. Urdu has been named the country's official language for all purposes, including education. The Sindhis, on the other hand, did not accept this decision and fought to have their mother tongue's status revoked. Some of their efforts were rewarded, but an order issued by the National Commission for Education has prevented Sindhis from reclaiming the position they had under the British. Despite these issues, Sindhi remains a living and evolving language. It is compatible with all established languages, such as English, Arabic, and Urdu (Dootio, 2018). Therefore, the Sindhi language can be called “Safe” according to the UNESCO language validity framework.

Factor 2: Absolute Number of Speakers

According to the 2017 census of Pakistan, Sindhi is the native language of 30.26 million people in Pakistan (Government of Pakistan, 2017). Similarly, according to the official website of Census India, Sindhi is the native language of 1.68 million people in India.

Factor 3: Proportion of Speakers within the Total Population

According to the 2017 census of Pakistan, almost 14.57 percent population speaks the Sindhi language as their native language (Government of Pakistan, 2017).

Factor 4: Trends in Existing Language Domains

Sindh is a multilingual province with the majority of the people speak Sindhi and Urdu language. The Sindhi language is spoken by a large segment of society in Sindh in their social and political domains. But English and Urdu languages are used in governmental proceedings, public offices, and educational institutions.

Factor 5: Response to New Domains and Media

Although the Sindhi language is not used as an official communication language by the Government of Sindh, but still the language as adopted new domains due to modernization. For example, the following TV channels are famous Sindhi language channels:

·         Time News (HD)

·         Awami Awaz TV

·         KTN News

·         Mehran TV

·         Sindh TV News

Sindhi Language Newspapers:

·         Daily Awami Awaz

·         Daily Hilal Pakistan

·         Daily Kawish

·         Daily Mehran

·         Sandesh

Factor 6: Materials for Language Education and Literacy

Education in the language is essential for language vitality (UNESCO, 2003). It is compulsory for all public and private educational institutions in Sindh to teach Sindhi language course as compulsory up to ninth grade (UNPO, 2018).

Factor 7: Governmental and Institutional Language Attitudes and Policies, Including Official Status and Use

It is the official language of Pakistan's Sindh province and is recognized as one of India's scheduled languages. Member Provincial Assembly of Sindh mostly use the Sindhi language for their speeches but, the Sindhi language is not used as a language of Public Policies in Sindh (Pakistan) or India (The Express Tribune, 2017).

Factor 8: Community Members’ Attitudes toward Their Own Language

Sindhi is one of the world's oldest indigenous languages, with a rich history, culture, civilization, heritage, grammar, morphology, geography, and nation (Dootio, 2018). Article published in The Express Tribune with the title “A Sindhi who lives in Sindh but is embarrassed by their own "tacky" language” where the author described how this generation feels ashamed of their own language and prefers Urdu or English instead of speaking their own language (Thebo, 2018). People living in interior Sindh still prefer the Sindhi language over Urdu. But those Sindhi people who migrate to cities in Panjab or any other province prefer to speak Urdu or English over the Sindhi language.

Factor 9: Amount and Quality of Documentation

The Sindhi language is a well-documented language in Pakistan. There are many books available in the market which cover grammar, and literature of the Sindhi language in detail.

Book on Sindhi Grammar: Grammar of the Sindhi language by Ernest Trumpp

Dictionary of Sindhi Language: Sindhi to English dictionaries by George Stack

Online Sindhi Dictionaries: https://dic.sindhila.edu.pk/dictionaries.php by Sindhi Language Authority

Famous Sindhi Writer: Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Sachal Sarmast, Khalifo Nabi Bux Laghari, etc.

 

 

References

1. Dootio, M. A. (2018). Is Sindhi an ‘endangered’ language? Retrieved from Daily Times: https://dailytimes.com.pk/270587/is-sindhi-an-endangered-language/
2. Flam, D. L. (1981). The Paleogeography and Prehistoric Settlement Patterns in Sind, Pakistan (CA. 4000-2000 BC).
3. Government of Pakistan. (2017). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. National Census Report.
4. The Express Tribune. (2017). Sindhi turns out to be second language of Pakistan. Retrieved from The Express Tribune: https://tribune.com.pk/story/1324502/sindhi-turns-second-language-pakistan
5. Thebo, V. (2018). A Sindhi living in Sindh, yet ashamed of their own “tacky” language. Retrieved from The Express Tribune: https://tribune.com.pk/article/66483/a-sindhi-living-in-sindh-yet-ashamed-of-their-own-tacky-language
6. UNESCO. (2003). Language Vitality and Endangerment. UNESCO Ad Hoc Expert Group on Endangered Languages.
7. UNPO. (2018). Sindh: National Language Declared as a Compulsory Subject in Private Schools. Retrieved from Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO): https://unpo.org/article/21112