The Downplaying of Our National Languages: the Advantages of English

I recognized the advantages that we had inherited from the British through our knowledge of the English language. But I also began to realize that we had so exalted our knowledge of English that it had been at the expense of the neglect of our national languages.

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For example in India, although the members of its upper/middle classes spoke impeccable English, they conversed at home in Hindi or in their regional languages, whereas in Ceylon the middle class usually spoke English at home, with the local languages being reserved only for the servants.

I wondered why this was so. I reasoned that since India was a big country, English could hardly be expected to percolate deeply within it. Besides, India’s upper classes had access to independent wealth, whereas in Ceylon, much of the middle-class wealth was milked from the British through the cinnamon and rubber trades, arrack-renting, etc. Whatever the reason, the fact is that we ‘learned’ to look down on our national languages, more than the other countries of Asia.

This bias against the local languages was also reflected in the education in our Colombo schools. The Sinhalese and Tamil classes were treated as a joke by us schoolboys, with much fun being had at the expense of our unfortunate Sinhala and Tamil teachers. The point is that we were ‘conditioned’ to look down on our national languages, while becoming more erudite in English literature and history, which was the legacy that we inherited from colonial times.

Some knowledge of English brought advantages to those who had access to it. The seamless absorption of the Ceylonese Burgher community into Australia in the 1950s-1960s was possible (apart from their colour) mainly due to their command of English. Similarly, it enabled the later migrations of middle-class professionals into high income countries such as the UK, USA and Canada.