The Hindu Business Line : Nothing conventional about globalisation

As society seeks to choose how it will engage with external trends, it cannot, for very long, hold back those changes that have become inevitable without raising the walls of inefficiency.

Tom, a linguist friend of mine, likes to watch movies to keep in touch with the various languages he has studied. He got back to watching Hindi movies recently and was disappointed at the limited use of Hindi in it! There were so many English words in the dialogue, he said, that it was not a Hindi movie anymore.

Globalisation is challenging conventions and widely-held beliefs. Although the battles on economic and business fronts attract most of the attention, globalisation battles are fought on other fronts as well, and language is one of them. With the spread of English as the business language, proponents of other languages are scrambling to find ways to safeguard the purity and use of their tongues.

In March, the French President, Mr Jacques Chirac, left a European Union summit meeting upset that the French head of a European business lobby spoke in English. Mr Chirac asked his compatriot why he spoke in English and not his mother tongue.

Mr Ernest-Antoine Seilliere replied, "I'm going to speak in English because it is the language of business."

A matter of speaking

Language purists get upset when other languages creep into their space. The inclusion of words from other languages is seen as a dilution of their language.

English and Sanskrit provide us with two competing visions of how languages develop.

While English has grown by incorporating words from languages from around the world , Sanskrit remained frozen as its grammar was rigid and it was considered the language of the high born. Today, many consider English an Indian language, after all, it has been with us for close to 400 years.

Various linguistic, cultural, and ethno-centric political groups see languages being challenged. Kannadigas are a case in point. Bangalore has seen an influx of people seeking economic opportunities from other States.

Its cosmopolitan environment was seen as charming at one time. Now, it is being considered a threat. All the signboards are in English, including that of a cobbler's in a tin-shack on the pavement — `Mahalakshmi Footware' (sic).

Parochial tendencies

The concern has resulted in knee-jerk reactions. Politicians have passed laws and administrative orders challenging the teaching of English in schools, hoping this will promote the use of Kannada. (The licence-permit raj mentality only seeks solutions in bans and restrictions.) But this will probably have the reverse effect. Similarly, requiring transfer students and Hindi teachers in Karnataka to learn Kannada will make them go through the motions of learning the language but not necessarily lead them to using it.

Multi-lingualism has a growing presence in the media. The publications group, Jagran Prakashan, is planning a paper in Hindi and English. It is aimed at the youth and will have a greater focus on entertainment and lifestyle subjects. Savvy publishers and filmmakers know how to reach that audience. As do radio and television programmers. After all, they help shape the values of that group.

The cultural opinion leaders of Karnataka will have to figure out ways of building confidence in their culture and way of life while allowing cultures of other lands to blow freely across.

The first lesson they need to learn is that promoting the use of Kannada need not come at the expense of other languages. It is not a zero-sum game.

Many European countries (France excepted) recognise the need to integrate with the rest of the world, and so children learn multiple languages early on in school. It allows them to communicate better without giving up their own language and culture.

If the objective of the government and loyalists of the language is to promote use of Kannada, more demand must be created for it, rather than restrict the use of other languages.

After all, the average sales person in India is multi-lingual without any government requiring him to be so.

Way forward

Moving to a bilingual environment (allowing official agencies to use English and Kannada, for instance) will perhaps make the State a welcoming place for other language speakers.

Giving awards for use of Kannada and encouraging corporates to move to bilingual communication can also help.

A similar situation to what is happening to languages is happening to the retail industry. A recent survey by FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) shows that India has the highest density of retail shops in the world with about 11 shops per thousand persons. And about 96 per cent of them occupy less than 500 sq ft. That is just about enough for the shopkeeper to stand in, leaving little room for his wares!

This sector is also undergoing change with large retailers, both domestic and foreign, entering the fray. These giants, with their volume purchases, offer the consumers lower prices and a greater variety of goods and services. We already see them not just selling groceries but expanding into serving snacks, juices, and so on in the same premises.

Conventional wisdom kicks in as people seek to prevent the entry of large operators in a sector that is so wound up in the idea of family-run operations that are a part of the community in which they operate.

The resistance to large retailers comes from those whose livelihood is threatened. So the small retailers justifiably protest.

The issue raises concerns about their livelihood and this has delayed or restricted the entry of the bigger operators (irrationally, locals are okay, foreigners are not). Government policy has chosen to support one side of the demand-supply equation. It also usually swings to the vocal and the influential. So rather than provide the consumers with lower prices, the government caters to the needs of the producer who is more organised.

Even staying with the supply side, the policy does not seem to recognise the benefit of larger retailers providing volume to manufacturers of products who would benefit, further leading to expansion in terms of employment and prosperity of product manufacturers.

Clearly, the small retailers need to make changes in their strategy and move out of their comfort zones. They would have to offer goods and services that the large retailer does not provide, such as specialty goods, offer special pack sizes, provide home delivery, and so on.

The retailer would, therefore, have to educate himself, and acquire help and skills to reorient his operations. Those who cannot do so will have to exit the trade and seek other sources of employment.

As society seeks to choose how it will engage with external trends, not for very long can changes that have become inevitable be held back, without raising the walls of inefficiency.

(The author is professor of international business and strategic management at Suffolk University, Boston, US. His Internet address is cgopinat@suffolk.edu)

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