Language Shifts Declining Geo-Cultural Heritage—Linguistic Case Study of West Bengal and Preservation Strategies to Conserve India’s Ethno-Linguistic Tapestry
摘要
Language is the primary and central legacy that people of any geography tend to transfer to future generations in order to keep the culture of that particular area alive. We have various linguistic theories giving us evidence of how language and culture are co-dependents; language (made up of certain signifiers and signifieds) is exclusive to a particular culture and determines the idea of life and its elements within that culture. Moreover, myths specific to a culture/geographical location travel accurately through the particular language of that geographical location, even the process of translation leads to the generation of global literature but without natural essence. Certain words special to a particular language change the whole outlook of any individual belonging to that particular area or that culture. For example, Ikigai is a word specific to the Japanese language which means purpose/meaning of life that immensely affects the lifestyle of people inhabiting Japanese culture. Similarly, when we look for such lexical uniqueness and diversity within a culture, we get to know the centre of its belief system. However, colonisation has real adverse effects on oriental cultures ultimately wiping out the geo-cultural authenticity of colonies. Despite decolonisation, the remnants of colonial influence persist, leading us to favour global integration over preserving our unique cultural and historical roots. This inclination towards global participation often results in a renewed submission to Eurocentric culture, albeit more willingly. The chapter investigates how English as a global language impacts the indigenous languages and cultures of Indian regions, using West Bengal as a case study. Through qualitative analysis, the research evaluates Second Language Acquisition methods, advocating for English to be a secondary language that complements rather than overshadows native languages. The goal is to conserve the lexical identity and geo-cultural diversity of Indian regions and their linguistic tapestry.