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