I grew up in a house where we were forbidden from speaking English because my mum felt we were already speaking it outside the house and it only made sense to speak Bengali at home – the only place she felt we could preserve and engage with our Bengali identity.
My mum was, and still is, a firm believer in maintaining one’s own heritage along with its continuous changes and appreciating it. We were never told English isn’t important but that it would be with us anyway and that Bengali is something we have to activate as well as actively practicing the language skills. Language, in the case of Bengalis, is a sensitive topic as it revives the memories of the Language Movement, which, some argue, was the foundation for the independence movement in East Pakistan to break way from the central government in West Pakistan, modern day Pakistan.
Though language is important my mum’s emphasis stemmed more from a place of requiring her children to know their roots rather than for nationalist reasons. My dad felt the same way, however, it was my mother who instilled and ensured we grew up with a stable, Bengali identity, which I am grateful for, as it has allowed me to tap into a whole new world. Knowing another language is like having another soul; what is more beautiful than the ability to switch languages, dream in them, and also understand the mannerisms that come with acquiring a language.
So when I read the comments made by David Cameron about English language tests and linking it to Muslim women and counter-terrorism, it left me feeling a lot of anger because in addition to speaking English I have 5 other languages under my belt. I am hoping to pursue my 7th language as soon as I am done with my Phd. It was just incredible how Cameron instantly undermined Muslim women and linking their language deficiency to counter-terrorism. There is simply NO empirical evidence to suggest this but yet these women are being threatened with deportation. I wonder how many English families who have settled in Spain over the years have learnt to speak Spanish. I have travelled a lot to Spain and have met English-Spaniards who do not speak the language. Should we lobby the Spanish government to introduce a budget for immigrants who refuse to learn the language of their host country?
Much of this discussion and my own personal upbringing in a monolingual household was perfectly and succinctly summarised by Afzalur Rahman who wrote this piece in The Independent: ‘The Bengali language really comes into its own when dishing out discipline and that is something my mother excelled in. This proves that fluent English is no prerequisite for keeping children away from extreme influences’