ABSTRACT
In 1972, NCTE’s Conference on College Composition and Communication passed a landmark resolution, “The Students’ Right to Their Own Language” (SRTOL), specific to language education in the United States. Revisiting this resolution in the twenty-first century inevitably brings its relevance into global focus. Interestingly, I find that many of the imperatives expressed in the document resonate with India’s official policy on language rights, with one major difference-the United States, being essentially a monolingual society, addresses dialect difference in SRTOL: “A nation proud of its diverse heritage and its cultural and racial variety will preserve its heritage of dialects. We affirm strongly that teachers must have the experiences and training that will enable them to respect diversity and uphold the right of students to their own language” (CCCC, 1974). If one were to substitute “languages” for “dialects” this statement could comfortably fit into the Indian Constitution, which was put into place in 1950, two-and-a-half years after India won independence from Britain. But comparisons can be dangerously facile, and one must look at India and her language situation more as a study in contrasts, which nevertheless can be insightful. Globalization in the twenty-first century makes such reflection essential.
