Articles Analysis Essay on 'Operation Mind Your Language' and 'The New Language Landscape'

Introduction

Language is one of the avenues through which human beings make a connection with each other as it helps them comprehend what the other person says. One of the most popular languages in the contemporary world is English in which there are numerous communities from different countries around the world that have embraced the use of English as their language of choice for communication purposes. As far as the language is concerned, there are two articles that focus on English as a language although the two respective authors for the articles tackle the issue of the English language from different perspectives that are also similar in some ways. This essay will compare and contrast the articles 'Operation Mind Your Language' by Pallavi Polanki and 'The New Language Landscape' by Reshma K. Sharma that tackle the English language in a different context but with some similarities.

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The two articles are different in their assertions regarding the use of English language. In Polanki's 'Operation Mind Your Language,' the author explores a situation where Afghan young adults have been enrolled at an Indian institution for the sole purpose of learning English. The bigger picture regarding their situation focuses on the Afghan learners' intention of going back to their country to spread the English language by disseminating this knowledge to the young learners in Afghan. The other purpose of learning the language is to ease the burden of skilled employees for their government and other employing organizations led by aid and humanitarian organizations. This is in stark contrast to the situation described in 'The New Language Landscape' by Sharma who describes the Indian linguistic landscape as one where the young generation of children is not familiar with any other language apart from English in which they have become accustomed in communicating.

In the first article, the author argues that the Afghani young adult students undertaking English classes in India have been pushed to learn the language due to the presence of Americans in their land. It is worth noting that Americans have been brought to Afghan by the invasion of their military forces to fight the Taliban and other rebel groups. It is due to the conflict and frequent interaction with Americans that has necessitated the learning and teaching of English within their country (Polanki). This is in stark contrast to the situation described in the second article where the author points towards intermarriages from different Indian sub-cultural groups and the need to tap into global economic opportunities as the main drivers of the rampant use of English among the young children (Sharma). The Indian children are frequent in the English dialect while the Afghani children are still waiting for their teachers to complete their English course back in India.

Despite these glaring differences between the two articles, they offer similarities in equal measure in addressing the issue of English language. In the first article, Polanki claims that it is thanks to the collaborative partnership between the Indian and Afghan governments that the Afghani English students have been able to move from their war-torn regions and set camp in India to learn the foreign language that has few speakers back in their country, if any. The key thing to note is that they have come to India to learn the language before they head back to their homeland to teach the young generation the same. In the second article, again India is at the center of focus of the author's assertions where they claim that the English language has become so prevalent to the extent of being the only language that young Indian children speak and not any other of their parents' languages. The Indian geographical landscape is a similar commonality between the two articles.

The other common thread in the two articles as penned by the authors is that they dwell on the English language. There are different languages within the Indian culture that Indian children can speak but the focus has been maintained on their prowess on speaking English. Sharma indulges the readers on how eloquent the Indian children have become in proficiently speaking English yet they know no other language. Although this is slightly different in Polanki's article, the spotlight also remains on the English language which the Afghans are yearning to learn to become a part of the global community. They feel that the lack of proficient English speakers in their country deprives them of the global economic opportunities that are available to other demographics. There is a dire need for English teachers to impart their linguistic knowledge to the upcoming generation.

Conclusion

In countering these arguments, it is worth noting that the language discussed in the two articles is a foreign one albeit it touches on the two Asian societies of Afghanistan and India. This goes on to show how local dialects are losing out on the global stage where the dominant foreign languages are taking root and penetrating communities that have nothing to do with the origin of the language itself back in Britain. There is a real threat to the local communities where they stand to lose their identities and cultural ways as a result of absorbing the foreign dialect which is English.

Works Cited

Polanki, Pallavi. "Operation Mind your Language." Globalization, edited by Maria Jerskey, OUP, 2014, pp. 167.

Sharma, Reshma Krishnamurthy. "The New Language Landscape." Globalization, edited by Maria Jerskey, OUP, 2014, pp. 164-167.