By Our Reporter
Shillong, Sep 30: Martin Luther Christian University (MLCU) hosted an interactive session to mark the International Translation Day centred on this year’s theme ‘Translation unveils the many faces of humanity’ here on Saturday.
Renowned linguist and faculty member of the Department of Linguistics affiliated to NEHU, Prof Shailendra Kumar Singh was the resource person of the event organised by the Department of Linguistics of the School of Language and Literary Studies, MLCU.
The programme also marks the commencement of a 75 day celebration of Bhartiya Bhasha Diwas, dedicated to promoting awareness about Indian languages and encouraging learning of several Indian languages.
Singh delved into the significance of translation and its pressing relevance, particularly for the younger generation pursuing Linguistics, English Language Education and Literature aligning it with the National Education Policy’s core principles to transform India into a global knowledge hub, establish India as a technological superpower by nurturing indigenous knowledge in native languages and recognising translation as the primary medium for disseminating knowledge in one’s own language.
In India, the concentration of literary and intellectual wealth in a few languages has led to imbalanced translation efforts, hindering the creation of indigenous knowledge, he said.
The 2011 census exposed this disparity, with 19,569 linguistic varieties in India but only 1,300 considered rationalised mother tongues or recognised varieties.
Singh urged the youth to initiate the generation of indigenous knowledge in their mother tongues, echoing Mahatma Gandhi’s wisdom.
He stressed the dual responsibility of Indians: to honour their nation and their mother tongues, necessitating fluency and active usage.
‘Sadly, there persists a crisis where mother tongues are underutilised’.
International Translation Day goes beyond linguistic conversion; it is a call to action to create knowledge that draws others towards us, compelling them to translate our voices into their languages.
