I am the founder of ‘Language Adage’, an initiative to make English learning possible for all, or at least as many of us as possible, across borders and boundaries. ‘Language Adage’ aims to neither gaze at English with an inferiority complex ingrained by post-colonialism nor to uphold parochial notions of communication and dismiss this language. But instead, to build an organic relationship with it and explore it as a tool of complementing communication and not linguistic oppression.
Often, when administrative or development sector projects or even good-willed foundations commence ‘teaching English’ to the masses, it is ironically limited to ‘A, B, C, D’ or, at the most, ‘I can read English and I can speak English.’ While on paper, such surface-level efforts increase the literacy rates and boost the resume points for SOPs to apply to foreign universities, the gap between the privileged and the marginalised remains intact even if it reduces by a nominal margin.
Therefore, through ‘Language Adage’, we aim to make it possible for everyone to explore the world through this universal language. We need not prove our love for our respective native languages by ignoring English. In fact, we can focus on sharing the stories of our native lands with the globe through our international articulation.
May we all have access to a language through which we can speak to the world, may we all own a tongue through which we can narrate our intergenerational trauma and engage in bliss, and may we all always remember that English is a language—and its command is neither a proof of our self-elevated status nor is its absence the negation of our self-worth or confidence.
Ankita Apurva 