বর্তমান শিক্ষার্থীদের বাংলা ভাষা ব্যবহারে সমস্যা : গত পঁচিশ বছরের মূল্যায়ন/ Problems in the Use of the Bengali Language Among Contemporary Students: An Assessment of the Last Twenty-Five Years

Abstract

Over the past twenty-five years, through my experience of teaching the Bengali language at the school, college, and university levels, I have observed certain fundamental areas of difficulty regarding the use of Bengali among the current generation of students. Despite Bengali being their mother tongue, many students are unable to demonstrate effortless proficiency in its usage due to several underlying issues.

§  A lack of sufficient emphasis placed on using the language, precisely because it is their mother tongue.

§  At every level—school, college, and university—an excessive emphasis is placed on subject matter over spelling, presentation, and grammar in the teaching of language and literature.

§  The educated middle class is losing interest in educating their children through the medium of their mother tongue. The most prominent issues observed in the speaking and writing of the Bengali language at the school, college, and university levels are :

1. Students often become confused regarding pronunciation and spelling due to the presence of three variations of ‘sh’, three of ‘r’, and two of ‘j’ in the Bengali alphabet.

2. Although the rules governing the use of the retroflex ‘ṇ’ (ṇatva-vidhān) and the retroflex ‘ṣ’ (ṣatva-vidhān) are taught at the upper-primary level, their practical application remains limited.

3. Despite instruction on sentence construction issues being provided at the secondary level, students often fail to retain this knowledge in practical application.

4. The double application of case endings— (e.g., ‘amāderke’, ‘tomāderke’) — is now widely prevalent.

5. The simultaneous use of cardinal numerals and numerical case endings occurs frequently.

 6. Under the influence of globalization, the excessive influx of loanwords is gradually rendering the language unfamiliar.

7. The current generation is responding in the language of SMS.

8. In the course of civilization, linguistic characters evolved from signs and symbols; today, language is reverting to signs.

9. There is a misuse of letters—specifically, the substitution of 'y' for 'i' and 'i' for 'y'—such that one now encounters ungrammatical forms like ‘ami khay’ and "she khai" in written texts.

10. Reliance on visual and auditory input is increasing relative to reading.

11. The widespread prevalence of substandard or vulgar language is on the rise.

12. Colloquialisms and slang are finding their way into literary language.

13. The importance of the traditional alphabet is diminishing due to the practice of writing on mobile phones and laptops.