Language and globalisation
At home we speak one language, at school another and with friends a third. India is similarly a country of many languages.
A standard language is used for writing and reading everywhere, while a dialect is a local form of speech in a particular region.
Key idea 1 : Languages of India — Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Urdu, Sanskrit, Assamese and many more are official languages. The number of dialects of these languages is now declining and if they are not nurtured we will lose our heritage. Because of Hindi films Hindi reached everywhere and helped to unite the country through language.
Key idea 2 : Growing importance of English — Because of globalisation which began after 1990 English gained importance. It became a language of livelihood because it opens many job opportunities. However, care must be taken that this process does not endanger the existence of regional languages.
Key idea 3 : Why preserve dialects? — Every dialect holds the sayings, songs, words and way of life of its area. When a dialect disappears, that knowledge is also lost. So it is useful to write down the words, songs and stories of the dialect of our region.
- Easy : Which medium spread Hindi everywhere? — Hindi films.
- Medium : Why did English become a language of livelihood? — Because it opens job opportunities.
- Exam-type : What is happening to the number of dialects? — It is declining.
In the figure: Languages of India and their issues.
As per the textbook many languages were in use in Nagaland in 1961 and the Kohima radio station had to broadcast in 25 languages, including English, Hindi, Naga dialects and 16 Naga languages. (check with the book)
Hindi = joined by films; English = jobs; dialects = heritage.
English growing with globalisation does not mean regional languages are useless; they need to be preserved.
Memory clue: Hindi-English-Dialect. Memory clue: “Hindi joined, English earned, dialect preserved”.
Spot the difference
| Language | Role | Concern |
|---|---|---|
| Hindi | Reached everywhere through films | Respect for other languages |
| English | Language of jobs | Keeping regional languages alive |
| Dialects | Local heritage | Numbers declining |
Practice questions
- 1What is a dialect?
- 2Write the names of any five Indian languages.
- 3How did Hindi unite the country through language?
- 4Why did English gain importance after globalisation?
- 5What measures should be taken to preserve dialects?
- 6What is lost when a dialect disappears?
- 7Write your opinion on the growing importance of English and the threat to regional languages.
- 8Write five dialect words of your area and their meanings.
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1The local form of speech in a particular region.
- 2Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Bengali, Gujarati.
- 3Hindi films reached everywhere and people began to understand and speak Hindi.
- 4Because English opens many job opportunities.
- 5Writing down dialect words, songs and stories and collecting them.
- 6The area’s knowledge, sayings, songs and heritage.
- 7English is useful for jobs but regional languages must be preserved (student’s view).
- 8The student should write dialect words of his or her area.
Sports
When a match is seen on TV, that game is discussed even in the lane. In the same way the success of some sportspersons brought games fame across the country.
Change in sports means popularity of a game gained through sportspersons’ success, its spread through media and opportunities for new games.
Key idea 1 : Geet Sethi and billiards — As per the textbook Geet Sethi won the national billiards championship for teenagers at the age of 15. Later at the global level he won the amateur billiards competition three times and the professional one five times. His success made the game popular, newspapers began to report its news and rising sportspersons got a new field.
Key idea 2 : Cricket — In 1983 India won the cricket World Cup under the captaincy of Kapil Dev and cricket became popular all over the country. In the same year Sunil Gavaskar broke the earlier record of the maximum centuries in Test cricket. In 1985 India won the ‘Benson and Hedges’ World Championship of cricket. As a result cricket came to be played in every State, but the importance of traditional Indian games declined.
Key idea 3 : Olympics and Asiad — India has been taking part in the Asiad and Olympic games. At the 2000 Olympics Karnam Malleshwari won a medal in weightlifting and became the first Indian woman to win a medal at the Olympics. India’s participation grew in hockey, badminton, tennis, swimming, weightlifting and archery.
- Easy : Under whose captaincy was the 1983 cricket World Cup won? — Kapil Dev.
- Medium : Who was the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal? — Karnam Malleshwari (2000).
- Exam-type : In which game was Geet Sethi famous? — Billiards.
In the figure: Three important years in sports.
What happened before the 1983 World Cup win? On 18 June 1983 India were playing Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells and the score read 17 for 5. Because of a BBC strike that day the match was not televised; Kapil Dev’s unbeaten 175 was not recorded by any TV camera. At that time India were given very little chance to win the World Cup.
What happened after the 1983 World Cup win? On 25 June 1983 India were all out for 183 at Lord’s but bowled West Indies out for 140 and won by 43 runs. After the match West Indies captain Clive Lloyd said Indian cricket had arrived. Later cricket became popular across the country.
What happened before Malleshwari’s Olympic medal? At the 2000 Sydney Olympics women’s weightlifting was included in the Olympics for the first time. India sent two women lifters; one of them, Karnam Malleshwari, competed in the 69 kg category.
What happened after Malleshwari’s Olympic medal? On 19 September 2000 she lifted 240 kg in total in snatch and clean and jerk and won the bronze medal; it was India’s only medal at that Olympics. After that it took 12 more years for the next Indian woman to win an Olympic medal.
83 World Cup; 85 championship; 2000 Malleshwari.
Karnam Malleshwari’s medal was bronze, not gold, and in weightlifting.
Memory clue: 83-85-2000 = Kapil, championship, Malleshwari. Memory clue: “eighty-three the Cup, eighty-five the champion, 2000 the lifter”.
Spot the difference
| Player/Team | Year | Achievement |
|---|---|---|
| Kapil Dev (captain) | 1983 | Cricket World Cup |
| Indian team | 1985 | Benson & Hedges championship |
| Karnam Malleshwari | 2000 | Olympic medal |
Practice questions
- 1Who won the 1983 World Cup?
- 2What change came about because of Geet Sethi’s success?
- 3Why did cricket become popular all over the country?
- 4What effect did cricket’s popularity have on Indian games?
- 5What happened before and after the 1983 World Cup win?
- 6What happened before and after Malleshwari’s medal?
- 7Write how sportspersons’ success affects the spread of a game.
- 8Put three sporting successes of India chronologically in a table.
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1India, under Kapil Dev.
- 2Billiards became popular, newspapers carried its news and new players got a field.
- 3The World Cup win, live telecasts of full matches and films.
- 4The importance of traditional Indian games declined.
- 5Before: 17/5 against Zimbabwe and Kapil’s 175; after: win at Lord’s and cricket’s popularity.
- 6Before: women’s weightlifting for the first time at Sydney; after: bronze medal and a 12-year wait for the next women’s medal.
- 7Success makes a game famous, media report it and youngsters choose that game.
- 81983 cricket World Cup; 1985 Benson & Hedges; 2000 Malleshwari’s medal.
Theatre and films
Earlier a whole village watched a play together all night; now we watch a two-hour film on mobile. The forms of entertainment have changed.
A play is an art performed on a stage while a film is a story shot with a camera and shown on a screen.
Key idea 1 : Changes in theatre — Earlier plays were very long, sometimes running through an entire night. Now the form, technique and duration of plays have changed. People from different walks of life take part in dramas. Musicals have declined in importance and political and social subjects replaced mythological and historical themes.
Key idea 2 : Changes in films — The age of black and white films gave way to coloured films. Film shooting locales moved abroad so viewers can see places in foreign countries. Hindi subtitles began to appear on foreign films and Hindi films reached the whole world. Films which were 3-4 hours long are now about 1-1.5 hours.
Key idea 3 : The film industry — The concept of one screen and one cinema hall gave way to multiplexes. Now one film runs in thousands of cinema halls in India and abroad simultaneously and film production has become an industry; it employs crores of people. The film industry in regional languages is also thriving.
- Easy : How long did earlier plays run? — Sometimes through an entire night.
- Medium : How did the length of films change? — From 3-4 hours to about 1-1.5 hours.
- Exam-type : What replaced the single cinema hall? — Multiplexes.
In the figure: Chain of change in theatre and films.
What happened before ‘Raja Harishchandra’ was shown? In 1910 Dadasaheb Phalke saw the film ‘The Life of Christ’ in a Bombay cinema and decided to show Indian stories on the screen.
What happened after ‘Raja Harishchandra’ was shown? On 3 May 1913 ‘Raja Harishchandra’, India’s first full-length feature film, was shown to the public at the Coronation Cinematograph in Bombay. In 1969, his birth centenary year, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award was started.
Play long → film short; one screen → multiplex.
The importance of musical plays has not grown today; it has declined.
Memory clue: Play-Film-Multiplex. Memory clue: “an all-night play, a one-and-a-half-hour film”.
Spot the difference
| Point | Before | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Themes of plays | Mythological, historical | Political, social |
| Film length | 3-4 hours | 1-1.5 hours |
| Screening | One screen | Multiplexes, thousands of halls |
Practice questions
- 1State the difference between a play and a film.
- 2What changes took place in plays?
- 3What changes took place in films? State three.
- 4Why are Hindi subtitles given to foreign films?
- 5How did the economy of films change?
- 6What change came to film screening because of multiplexes?
- 7What effect did films becoming an industry have on society?
- 8Find information about Dadasaheb Phalke and write five lines.
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1A play is performed on a stage; a film is shot with a camera and shown on screen.
- 2Duration, technique and themes changed; musicals declined.
- 3They became coloured, shooting abroad, length reduced.
- 4So that Hindi-speaking viewers can understand them.
- 5One film runs in thousands of halls and production became an industry.
- 6Simultaneous release in thousands of halls became possible; films running 100 weeks ended.
- 7Crores of people got employment.
- 8The student should find and write on his or her own.
Newspapers and television
Reading a newspaper in the morning and watching news on TV in the evening tells us about the world. These two media changed people’s lives.
Mass media are the means that carry news, information and entertainment to people, such as newspapers, radio and television.
Key idea 1 : Changing form of newspapers — In the early post-independence period newspapers did not only give news but gave impetus to industry and commerce through advertisements, shaped public opinion and carried on public education. Earlier they were black and white; now colour printing is common. Earlier they were thought to be mouthpieces of the taluka or district; now they face competition from State-level newspaper chains.
Key idea 2 : Social role of newspapers — Now newspapers also raise funds for drought- and flood-affected people, help meritorious students from lower income groups to go for higher education and organise cultural programmes. This is how they have become an inseparable part of our lives.
Key idea 3 : Television — Television came after independence. Earlier it was black and white and limited to selected programmes and time-slots; later educational programmes, news bulletins and detailed reports of the tours of the President and the Prime Minister were included. In 1991 the CNN channel showed live visual reporting of the Iraq war to the whole world and in 1998 the private STAR (Star TV) entered India; the style of news changed and OB vans and modern studios came.
- Easy : In what colour were earlier newspapers printed? — Black and white.
- Medium : Which channel showed live reporting of the Iraq war? — CNN (1991).
- Exam-type : When did the private STAR enter India? — In 1998.
In the figure: Important years in television.
What happened before the Ramayan serial? In the 1980s Doordarshan was the only channel in India. From 25 January 1987 Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan serial began every Sunday morning; it had 78 episodes and ended in July 1988.
What happened after the Ramayan serial? A BBC correspondent recalled that on Sunday mornings streets were deserted and shops closed. Later from October 1988 the Mahabharat serial began and it too became very popular. So television became an influential medium in every home.
As per the textbook during the telecast of the Ramayana and Mahabharat serials the majority of people used to sit glued to the television; this proved the popularity of the medium. (check with the book)
87 Ramayan; 88 Mahabharat; 91 CNN; 98 STAR.
STAR came in 1998; the CNN Iraq war broadcast is of 1991.
Memory clue: Ramayan-Mahabharat-CNN-STAR. Memory clue: “87, 88, 91, 98”.
Spot the difference
| Medium | Before | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Newspaper | Black and white, local mouthpiece | Colour, State-level chains |
| Television | Black and white, fixed time-slots | Colour, many channels |
| News | Monotonous, propagandist | Variety after STAR |
Practice questions
- 1What are mass media?
- 2What were the aims of newspapers in the early post-independence period?
- 3How did the form of newspapers change?
- 4What work do newspapers do for society today?
- 5What happened before and after the Ramayan serial?
- 6What change came in news after STAR arrived?
- 7How did television affect politics?
- 8Make a table comparing newspapers and television.
Show answers (try them yourself first)
- 1The means that carry news, information and entertainment to people.
- 2Giving news, helping industry through advertisements, shaping public opinion, public education and watching the government.
- 3From black and white to colour and from local to State-level chains.
- 4Funds for drought and flood victims, help to meritorious poor students and cultural programmes.
- 5Before: Doordarshan the only channel; after: the Mahabharat serial and TV’s popularity.
- 6News became more transparent and varied.
- 7Every corner of the country got connected and politics was greatly affected.
- 8Newspaper: printed, read; television: visual, watched — both give information.