Language Maintenance and Attitudes among Members of the Garo Community in Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh is a culturally diverse nation, with a visible presence of numerous communities. The Garo community is one of them. The Garo people possess a culturally and linguistically diverse heritage. Despite facing significant pressure from national and global influences on language and culture, they persist in preserving and practising their own language and culture. The Garo language is primarily spoken and lacks a written form. Since its inception, they have been practising orally and there have been no language preservation issues. Following independence, the Bengali language was designated as the national language, obligating all individuals in Bangladesh, regardless of their linguistic heritage, including the Garo population, to communicate in the national language. Consequently, all ethnic languages, including Garo, are currently in danger. While a few researchers have begun to work on the Garo language, no studies have focused on the ways in which the Garo people themselves are maintaining their native language. Maintaining different languages and cultures in a monolingual society is a challenging endeavour. This study demonstrates the present state of the Garo language in Bangladesh, as well as the attitudes towards language preservation among its speakers. It is a comprehensive analysis. Collected data has been obtained using semi-structured interviews. In order to demonstrate language preservation, many domains such as family, friends, literacy, and religion have been chosen. Additionally, participants were asked additional questions regarding their attitudes to ascertain their levels of support or opposition towards the usage and preservation of the Garo language. It is found that the domain of relatives and family members plays a vital role in the preservation of the Garo language, whereas the influence of other domains is relatively less significant.