THIS is in response to the article, ‘Language of instruction’ (June 10). English is not merely a colonial language as is considered by some people; it is an international language and is playing a vital role in this globised modern world. It should remain medium of instruction for Pakistan.

It does not mean that our national language Urdu and other regional languages should be discarded. The use of our national language, mother tongues and also regional languages should be encouraged during the academic instructions.

Seeing the diversity of cultures and traditions in our country, an environment should be made possible to adopt Pakistani English as medium of institution as advocated by the sociolinguistic scholars like Dr Sabiha Mansoor and Tariq Rahman in their research surveys about the language of instruction.

When Braj B. Kachru, an Indian linguistic, emphasises the use of Indian English in his The Indianization of English published by Oxford in 1983, then why cannot Pakistani English be adopted as a language of instruction?

TAHIR NIAZI Lahore

Opinion

Editorial

Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...
By-election trends
Updated 23 Apr, 2024

By-election trends

Unless the culture of violence and rigging is rooted out, the credibility of the electoral process in Pakistan will continue to remain under a cloud.
Privatising PIA
23 Apr, 2024

Privatising PIA

FINANCE Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s reaffirmation that the process of disinvestment of the loss-making national...
Suffering in captivity
23 Apr, 2024

Suffering in captivity

YET another animal — a lioness — is critically ill at the Karachi Zoo. The feline, emaciated and barely able to...