Multiliteracies

My thoughts on the subject of multiliteracies after reading Cope, Kalantzis and the New London Group:

The story of the English language pertaining to the group of New Londoners sounded familiar to one who has witnessed the story of the English language in India. As a print journalist for 15 years now, with a Master's Degree in English, one has seen the changes that English has undergone in both the media and academic worlds in India.
After two hundred years of colonization, English was was, but obviously, the official language of a country that had scores of native languages and dialects. Even while the British were still ruling the Indian subcontinent, their language started evolving, incorporating native Indian words that made their way into the Oxford English Dictionary (for example 'bandobast', meaning preparation by the authorities before a political rally, or a public event). Thus, the English language (that is, Queen's English) evolved as it met the diverse regional cultures and languages of India.
The huge number of Indian words in the Oxford English Dictionary is a salute to the phenomenon of evolution of the language. Then came globalization, with the opening of the Indian economy to the world,, and the Indian version of British English came under the influence of American English. As the US started outsourcing labor to India, a new class of workers at multi-national companies were groomed in "American English", leading to a second phase of hybridity of the language. This second phase is ongoing.
In the given context, the concept of democratic pluralism is particularly relevant to India. And it is imperative to ensure that differences in culture, language and gender do not hinder the purpose of education itself. While there are concerns that the canon of great literature needs to be preserved, even in England, the English language is undergoing an evolution, thanks to global connectedness.

Reaching out

Hello Robin, Julie,

Here goes my blog ID: moushumibiswas@blogspot.com. Happy blogging this semester. Cheers!

Moushumi