Languages as Vehicle of Cultural Integration And Human Relationship
Culture is defined as the sum total of the higher achievements of group life, or the human products made by a particular group of people, living in a specific area at a particular period of time. Of all these human products language, of course has paramount importance. It is through language that people express their feelings, emotions and aspirations and preserve their cultural heritage for their future generations.
All knowledge is acquired and imparted through the medium of language, and the language spoken in a society bears very strong imprint of the body of knowledge it comes in contact with. Words, syntax, idioms, phrasal verbs and other instruments of speech used by the speakers of a language reflect the society of its origin; 'Muhawarah' is the Urdu alternative of the English 'Idiom'. 'Muhawarah' literally means a set of two or more words that has revolved around for a long period of time and attained a special meaning which does not necessarily conform to the words it is comprised of. Language of a society reflects the entire body of experiences the society has gained through the ages and recorded in the form of social sciences and ethical norms of the society. The best part of these experiences is transferred to coming generations and it is done, of course, through the medium of language. Language, therefore, is the living history of a culture'. Allama Muhammad Iqbal, has called history the memory of a nation, obviously the memory cannot be recorded without the use of language.
Physical and social sciences affect the character of a language and the language in turn affects the academic life of the society. Languages of the vibrant and civilized societies are rich in academic tradition and vice versa in the uncivilized societies.
Urdu is the product of the centuries of cultural interaction between the Hindu and the Muslim communities of India, and was identified to be the symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity, but on a particular juncture of history the Hindus totally alienated themselves from it. With this, cracks started appearing in the body of the magnificent Indian culture built on the basis of Hindu-Muslim unity. In this way the process that started with meagre linguistic differences ended up in total separation of the two nations.
National Language of Pakistan
Since Urdu had become a major issue in the Indian Muslims' struggle for national identity, it was natural that independence proved a blessing for the future of Urdu. The Quaid-e- Azam (RA) had made it clear in very early days after independence:
- "But let me make it very clear to you that the State language of Pakistan is going to be Urdu and no other language".
Notwithstanding all history and all professions of the father of the nation, the western educated elite in the government tried on flout all efforts made for making Urdu the official language as well as the medium of instruction in the educational institutions. It was due to these obstacles that Urdu could never achieve the status it deserved.
