Agnihotri, Rama Kan
(2009)
Language and dialect.
Learning Curve (13).
pp. 21-23.
Abstract
People 'know' quite a lot about the language(s)
they speak. They 'know' how to put sounds
together to make words and to put words
together to make sentences that are always
grammatical and acceptable; often they use language
in nuanced and metaphorical ways. This knowledge,
though extremely abstract, rich and complex is not
conscious. This is true irrespective of whether you call
what is acquired 'language' or 'dialect.' It is effortlessly
acquired by every child before the age of four without
any explicit tutoring; though the normal processes of
socialization are central to language acquisition. At
some level people are also aware that without language,
no systems of language or culture may exist. Yet the
same people treat the issue of language with
indifference and immaturity. For them, there is a
fundamental difference between a 'pure and standardized'
language and a 'locally spoken rustic' dialect
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