ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb on Monday while emphasizing the importance of languages said the government will provide all possible support to Allama Iqbal Open University for a linguistic management system.
During her address at the inaugural session of the International Training Workshop on “Language Documentation” at Allama Iqbal Open University, she said that our language is our identity.
The government is working to diversify the languages spoken in the country, she said, while adding global action needs to be taken to protect languages. In the modern world, many languages are on the verge of extinction. Documentation is needed for the protection of languages. The younger generation needs to be made aware of their cultural heritage, the minister said.
Multilingual culture is essential for development as language brings together different cultures, she reiterated. She also paid tribute to the Allama Iqbal Open University for organizing the event regarding language documentation. “Our history shows the importance of language, in the present age the young generation is far from their culture and history”.
She said “about 80 languages are spoken in Pakistan, of which, 26 are facing threat of dying”. The four-day workshop is the beginning of a chapter that will help in understanding the importance of language. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif himself speaks six world languages, he is well aware of the importance of language, she said.
She said the government is following a curriculum, documentation of languages is a matter of time. PTV and Radio Pakistan’s platforms can be used to promote the initiative, she further added. The importance of language will be included in the sound of PTV screens and radio; it will be a continuity based program that can be delivered to the people of Pakistan.
She said ‘mother language’ was the identity of every individual and it was imperative to protect and preserve all languages. The four-day workshop has been organized by Allama Iqbal Open University’s Center for Languages and Translation Studies and ORIC in collaboration with the University of North Texas, USA, and Englishers LLL International Turkey.
The workshop is being attended by Eric Englert and Dr Sadaf Munshi, Director of Workshops from the University of North Texas USA and Jonathan Paramore from the University of California.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022