TheMultilingual Reality

Analyses the sociolinguistic processes of linguistic dominance and hierarchical relationships among languages

This book is a multidisciplinary analysis of the meaning and dynamics of multilingualism from the perspectives of multilingual communities in the margins. Its comparative analysis of language-in-education policies and applications of multilingual education in diverse contexts shows some promises and challenges in the education of minority children.

Ajit K. Mohanty is Chief Adviser of the National Multilingual Education Resource Consortium (NMRC) and Retired Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. His research interests include multilingualism, multilingual education, multilingual socialisation and educational language policy.

Ajit K. Mohanty is Chief Adviser of the National Multilingual Education Resource Consortium (NMRC) and Retired Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. His research interests include multilingualism, multilingual education, multilingual socialisation and educational language policy.

Ajit Mohanty’s meticulous book demonstrates why all countries can learn from the Indian experience. It reveals how educational language policy can serve the interests of the marginalised, and not merely the privileged. It is the missing link to Amartiya Sen’s books on ensuring greater social justice, with English in appropriate perspective.

Highly respected and beloved professor Ajit Mohanty has worked tirelessly so that children and teachers in multilingual contexts can learn and teach in their strongest languages. This inspiring book represents a wealth of experience and provides both theoretical and practical guidance on developing appropriate policy and practice in multilingual education.

This remarkable and important volume stands in stark contrast to reductive, partial or tendentious accounts of language in society and education. Mohanty’s book is a tour de force. It will stand the test of time due to its ability to comprehend and critique injustice and inequality without losing sight of the cultural richness, intellectual depth and sheer marvel at the ingenuity that languages represent.