What is the main motto of language? To communicate with the larger world. And what happens when people from this larger world leave their lands behind and go across borders to settle down? Language is born. The relationship is mutual, and Peggy Mohan’s latest book, Father Tongue, Motherland: The Birth of Languages in South Asia (Penguin), captures the essence of this relationship. Words and script symbols for her are “ephemeral”, with the possibility for constant change. Challenging the popular notion that Indian languages are born through pidgins, she provides her case study that the birth of modern Indian languages happened through stages by displacing old vernaculars. Citing the example of modern north Indian languages, she notes that no major social disruption impacted the language scenario as no linguistic group was uprooted or thrown out. “We were told that languages were born through creoles and creoles came from pidgins. If that is the case, then why can’t we find any pidgin here in India?” she notes.
The birth of Dakkhini
As the author challenges the traditional notion of languages being formed through sudden chaos, it leads to a different question. How did many Indian languages come into existence? In the second chapter, Mohan tries to answer this question by showcasing the birth of Dakkhini–a language that is spoken in the Deccan region–and is often considered similar to Urdu. It is undeniable that the spread of Dakkhini started taking place after Alauddin Khilji sent his armies to conquer the southern region, and Urdu stepped into the Vindhyas, however, that does not make Dakkhini similar to Urdu. Rather, it is a language that is formed through mixtures. It has Urdu and a lot of calques from Telugu. “The difference between Hyderabadi Dakkhini and northern Urdu is not just about a few words or accent. Instead, it is about the entire underpinning of the system. The difference lies in the operating structure and grammar. If one pays heed to the longer sentences, then they will find that Dakkhini is properly lined up with Telugu and Marathi,” She notes.
The birth of Dakkhini, hence did not result from sudden chaos. Instead, it followed stages of development. When Muhammad Bin Tughluq transferred his capital to Daulatabad, which earlier fell in the Deccan region, many notable scholars and administrators joined him, and a large pool of migrants went and started staying in the Deccan region. They married local women with a different language. So, instead of violent struggles, a language was born structurally.
The death of many languages
In politics, a term is well discussed. King’s Party, a political group that is patronised by the ruler or the ruling class. Similar to politics, languages in India also need patronisation to stay alive for the forthcoming generations. The lack of patronisation can lead to the invisibility of many languages, which is common in the present-day world. Mohan believes that to remain alive for generations, a language has to be capital-intensive. “A language is considered important if it is based in the capital. The reason behind Hindi taking over some other languages is simple–it is the language of the capital city. Also, languages evolve with growing times and people’s ambitions. Farmers in multiple regions across the nation speak in different languages and dialects. However, if they decide to quit farming and aspire for something else, this language/dialect might not remain significant as they might think of switching to something else considering their profession,” she says in conclusion.