Below are two excerpts from Salman Rushdie's English Is an Indian Literary Language
"I’ll begin from an obvious starting place. English is by now the world language. It achieved this status partly as a result of the physical colonization of a quarter of the globe by the British, and it remains ambiguous but central to the affairs of just about all the countries to whom it was given, along with mission schools, trunk roads and the rules of cricket, as a gift of the British colonizers" (Norton 2749).
"As far as Eng. Lit. itself is concerned, I think that if all English literatures could be studied together, a shape would emerge which would truly reflect the new shape of the language in the world, and we could see that Eng. Lit. has never been in a better shape, because the world language now also possesses a world literature, which is proliferating in every conceivable direction. The English language ceased to be the sole possession of the English some time ago" (Norton 2751).
- ‘Indian-born British writer’ is a term that has been used to describe Salman Rushdie.
- Salman's belief is that the English language is no longer solely associated with The English or the Americans, it now has a new identity that is independent from its colonialist roots. Salman believes that the language, in many ways, has now taken on the identity of the people who have adopted it, domesticated it, and reshaped it, such as with the Indian people.
- Salman talks about how the English language is seen by younger generations that have been colonized by it, as an alternate form of self-expression. He believes that another language doesn't constrict one’s ability to express themselves, but rather that it provides a new, unique outlet to do so.
- The final paragraph suggests that the English language is no longer exclusive now that it is shared amongst many groups of people. According to Salman, the language has since, as a result of colonization, become more diverse due to diverse expressions from many different people through literature.
- Salman Rushdie's work can be related to modernism, which is marked by the idea of progress, often when traditional, older values, are rejected and modified in favor of new ones. Salman's idea of language relates to modernism because he believes that the English language is subject to progressive change over time. He believes that the English language is modified by various groups of people who make it their own through the process of natural, progressive changes which are necessary because those changes fit the needs of the people who utilize the language.
Works Cited:
Greenblatt, Stephen, and Jahan Ramazani. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed., F, W.W. Norton & Company, 2018.