Chapter One
Language, Society, Man and Culture
There is no need to give definition of ‘Sindhi Society’ in this book, as many books and articles exist on the subject, from where information can be gathered about the character of the Sindhi society. This chapter is intended to show and explain the importance of ‘language’ in any society and their relationship with one another.
The experts of Anthropology think that language is an insignia of its country, culture, traditions and society. According to them a language can only survive and grow in a human society, which means that in the absence of a society, a language can never survive. The experts also opine that even if one person, who speaks a certain language, is alive, that language is accepted as a living language.
Language plays an important role in expression of one’s ideas and goals; therefore every language always has a meaning. Infact this semantic value of a language determines its utility in a society. And it is because of this reason that a language can only survive in a human society and community.
A renowned scholar Dr. H.T. Sorley has said:
“The Sindhi society, its economic and financial circumstances have greatly influenced the vocabulary of Sindhi Language. And the language in turn has influenced the Sindhi society and its social actions.” (1)
Just as the knowledge of the Greek language is helpful to understand the Greek society, similarly it is essential to study Pakistani languages, to enable the readers and researchers to understand the Pakistani society. Therefore it would be absolutely true to state that every language assists in studying the social, cultural and intellectual progress of the people, its country and its surroundings. And it is the reason why a language is stated to be an insignia of the society of a nation.
A famous scholar and educationist of Pakistan and an expert on the Sindhi society Mr. Muhammad Ibrahim Joyo, has rightly said:
“The most important asset of man is his ability to produce sound - a cry and its response, the words and the language itself. They are the bases of his being and help him to live gracefully.” (2)
Referring to the statement of the Russian writer Turgenev (1818-1883 AD), who spent nearly half of his life in exile, Mr. Joyo quotes:
“Whenever I am engulfed with doubts, and when my heart resonates thinking about my country, exactly then O my great, powerful, true and free Russian language, you give me strength and save me. Had you not been there, surely, on seeing what my country is going through, I would have succumbed, fallen downright on the ground; and how could one not believe that such a great language could belong to a great nation, as mine.” (3)
In the 2nd chapter it has been stated that language has come into being naturally, with the birth of human race and the human society. No man or group has consciously created it. In other words, one can say that a language is the creation of a society. In this regard, Dr. Allah Dad Bohio has referred to Mr. Porter, and he writes:
“Human language is a creation of common folks. It has neither been created by scholars nor by any teacher. The scholars and teachers definitely contribute to give it its grandeur; they beautify it and polish it making it a flower in the orchard of literature, but the buds of this language are borne on a plant that has risen and flourished on its own; it has grown and has its roots in the land. This means that the origin and growth of a language is not the result of a person’s effort but it is the land wherefrom a language derives its life and vigour.” (4)
The inference of this discussion is that the study of a language is a study of mankind and Anthropology; which means that the traditions and values of a society are the actual bases of a language. Therefore study of language opens the avenues to different areas and regions of this wide world.
My opinion about society, man and language given in my book “A Study of Sindhi Language” is quoted below:
“Language has been the greatest record and treasure of the daily chores of human life in all periods. As nations grow and social values change progressively, this change and progress is also reflected in the language of that nation. This is how nations have evolved and progressed and this is how the business of the world has been going on and will continue in the years to come.” (5)
Dr. Allahdad Bohio describes language as an example of human phenomenon and writes:
“Every language on its own is a very mysterious phenomenon. It is an example of wisdom and knowledge. Language is a part of cultural performance of a people.” (6)
Linguistic knowledge is certainly closely related to Anthropology. In this respect, study of any language is considered as the study of a nation, its society, traditions and culture as well. Therefore we can say that the history of a nation and its culture is hidden in the history of its language.
It may therefore be concluded that, languages are the life-line of nations; they are a fountain that serves to cater to the progress and longevity of nations and people can see the reflections of their experiences, hopes and thoughts in them.
2- Language and Culture.
It has to be observed as to what role does a language play in the culture of a nation; but let us first see what is culture and how is it related to language. Culture has been defined by the Advanced Learners’ Dictionary as follows:
“Culture is the progress of the human civilization and it includes physical, intellectual and spiritual progress. This progress depends on training and experience.” (7)
An expert of Anthropology Carter V. Good writes:
“Culture is the collection of the social, intellectual, artistic and industrial qualities of a group or nation that differentiates it from another such group. It enables one to know about the activities, ideals and the social system of a group or a nation.” (8)
The Encyclopedia of Social Sciences defines culture as follows:
“Culture is a reality that has come into being to fulfill the needs and wishes of mankind. It converts men into groups and groups into nations; it creates traditions and customs and ensures that every person abides by those rules.” (9)
Dr. Nabi Buksh Baloch has divided culture into 4-5 parts that are:
- Geographical conditions
- History
- Ethnology
- Language
- (10)
He is of the opinion that:
“Under the influence of the elements of nature, people have taken up means to live their lives, like food, attire, life style, traditions and customs, spiritual and religious tendencies, thoughts and superstitions; all these have a special place for them and they are all grouped under culture.” (11)
This means that people’s way of life, food, clothing, professions, language, customs, traditions, agriculture and its tools and the local dialects constitute culture. The study of culture helps in understanding the thoughts, perceptions and intellectual evolution of people. Now we can see that on the one hand culture is related with the essential things for the materialistic life and on the other, it envisages non-materialistic and spiritual things like language, literature, religion, mannerism and laws.
Culture contains all the external components of the collective life of people that nurtures language. It is a name given to the fulfillment of the hopes and expectations of mankind. Culture creates a world of its own that subconsciously extends to the people’s minds and that can be touched upon only through language.
In an organized system of culture, among all its components, language is the single most important element of a society. Language, social organization and religion are the most important components of culture, where all the other elements depend on the survival, integrity and organization of the language. This gives rise to an independent and free system, of which great many examples can be given.
The next chapter explains in detail how the early man used language to form his society. Man and society depend on each other’s existence, and to perform the daily chores of life they jointly help each other and create rules giving rise to cultural development. As the man evolved and progressed, language became his strength.
Anthropologists consider the theory of human evolution as the theory of beginning of society and culture. In other words, an account of the progress of any civilization is in fact the historical study of the progress of its language.
Language has been accepted as the only means of preservation of human society and culture. Without a language, human life cannot be imagined. It is like a mirror that shows the true reflection of its customs and traditions. In this regard, Mr. Jamil Jalibi writes:
“Since language is a social activity, the culture of any society weaves its structure with the threads of its language. It is the language that brings conformity among its speakers and it creates a social confidence and unanimity of its functions. It is because of this, that the people who speak the same language are always culturally closer to each other, as compared to people who speak some other language. It is the common language in a culture that brings about the knowledge of collective and natural existence.” (12)
He further writes:
“As I have just submitted that language promotes culture therefore it is the most important exponent of culture. Whatever the culture is like, the language will match it and vice versa. It gives rise to a system of thoughts and hopes through which all sections of the society are linked together, young or old, literate or illiterate and they all merge into the society according to their own requirements and preferences.” (13)
The important task of amalgamating different groups of people making them links of the same chain, who lead their lives in society, is performed by language. If one has to call culture as a reflection of a society, it is the language that makes it possible, thereby becoming the actual representation of culture.
Culture is the creation of human society; its study is an analysis of anthropological experiences and a summary of all social sciences. But in contrast to this, language is connected with the existence of mankind. On these grounds, one can say that language is an inseparable element of human existence and this will continue in future as well.
Language has always promoted culture and society, and a study of these two in fact is a study of the language of a country. One must study the origin and progress of Sindhi language on these parameters as it is a great collection of social themes, a treasure of folk wisdom, literature, lexicon and thoughtful expressions. This language has not been invented by some scholars but has taken origin with the people of this sacred land and it has very deep roots in the Sindhi society.
Sindhi language has been, since ancient times, a peoples’ language. It is used by all sections of the society in all respects and has had an accepted acclaimed position in all periods of history. In other words, one can say that the raison d’etre of Sindhi language has always been the Sindhi society and its people. (14)
The great Sindhi scholar Dr. Nabi Buksh Khan Baloch has rightly said:
“In fact the ‘history of language’ is quite distinctly different from the political and social history of the country or from the history of education and literature; at the same time, without understanding the literary expanse of language and the sociopolitical background of a country, it is difficult to write about the growth and evolutionary history of language.” (15)
References
- Sorley, H.T., 1940, Shah Abdul Latif of Bhit. London P:32
- Joyo, M. Ibrahim, 1983, Preface Sandi Zaat hanjan Hyderabad, P:8
- Ibid
- Bohio, Allah Dad, Dr., 1978, The Social Purpose of Sindhi Language, Jamshoro; Institute of Sindhology, P:43
- Allana Ghulam Ali, Dr., 1987, A Study of Sindhi Language, Jamshoro; Institute of Sindhology, P:244
- See ref no. 4, P:133
- Hornby, S. & others, 1963, The Advanced Learners Dictionary of English, London; Oxford University Press P:238
- Carter V Good, 1960, Dictionary of Education, Mc Graw Hill INC, New York: P:350
- Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences, Vol. III, 1963, The MacMillan Company, New York: P:621 & 645
- Baloch, N.A., 1963, article: Traditional Cultures in West Pakistan, Hyderabad: Sindh University Journal of Education Vol. III, P:3
- Ibid
- Jalibi, Jamil, Dr. 1985, Pakistani Culture, 3rd edition Islamabad: National Book Foundation, P:185
- Ibid
- Allana Ghulam Ali, Dr., 1987, A Study of Sindhi Language, P:244
Baloch N. A., Dr., 1990, History of Sindhi Language & literature, 3rd edition, Jamshoro, Pakistan Study Centre, Sindh University, preface of 1st edition, P:4
