A characteristic feature of
any language spoken by the sizable population over the large
territory is the variations of diverse kinds. Language, in addition to
its being a means to some practical ends, viz., communication of ideas
and information, is a vehicle to express a whole gamut of emotions and
overtones attitudes which cannot be done without a fair amount of
suppleness and variation. However, the layman is also keenly conscious
of the value and prestige which attaches to the linguistic expressions
in life and constantly endeavors to adjust his own speech to the
accepted norm, either from one dialect to another or from one style to
another and so on. The evolution of the norm, viz., the standard form,
is a historical process in the development of a language, which takes
place without the conscious effort or a decision by a few speakers.
And the criterion for the choice of one form out of many is
nonlinguistic. But once a variety attains the status of standard, it is
associated with the forms like ‘correct/good’ language and the
non language Bloomfield (in Hymes 1967 : 396) claims that "the nearest
approach to an explanation of ‘good/bad’ language seems to be that by
a culmination of obvious superiorities both of character and standing,
as well as language, some persons are felt to be better modals of
contact of speech than others". In other words, the term standard form
connotes a sociological value of appropriateness on to the linguistic
choice and usage and implies the existence of non-standard forms.
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The relation between the
standard and the nonstandard (sub-regional dialects) may be likened to
that between the great and little culture of Redfield (1956:71). The
former serves both as a model for prestige imitation and as a channel
of communication through which the concepts are formulated into the
other levels. The standard acts as unifying force linguistically as
well as culturally, a common mould which counteracts diversity at the
local level and separates the regional variety from the neighboring
dialects.
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While the standardization of
a natural language is usually a historical process, in the case of the
pidgins a conscious effort has to be made because the attitude to
pidgin is one of toleration and little attention is paid to the
linguistic markers of social appropriateness, rather the function of
such a language is to facilitate contact by cohesiveness. Hall
(1970:145) claims that the problems connected with the establishment
of a standard form are of three kinds.
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These are:
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(1) the choice of a variety
to be preferred above others,
(2) the areas of human activity in which it is to be used, and
(3) the achievement of recognition for a new standard.
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Of the three problems
mentioned above, in the case of pidgins, the second one is the easiest
to be decided and the first could ordinarily be settled down by
choosing the variety used by the largest number of people or the one
used in the administrative headquarters, though of people or the one
used in the administrative headquarters, though in the case of Naga
Pidgin an entirely different strategy will have to be worked out. The
main problem in the standardization of the pidgin is the ability to
put into operation the means of making the choice acceptable to all
concerned and helping it spread at the cost of other varieties.
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As there is nothing inherent
in the features themselves which can help us to choose one at the cost
of the others, the problem in insoluble at the theoretical level.
Hence come in considerations such a expediency.
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One of the objectives of
standardizing the Naga Pidgin is to exploit it for obtaining the
optimal benefit of the language to the Nagas, particularly in the area
of education. Officially, primary education in Nagaland is to be
imparted through the medium of the respective mother tongues, and
English as a langauge is taught from class I onwards. But owning to
the multitude of languages spoken in the State, the Government is
unable to provide textbooks in all the languages and the children are
obliged to learn through the medium of a neighboring language in
which textbooks are available, or sometimes through the teachers
themselves do not have any proficiency in English, and quite often
unofficially they teach through the medium of Naga Pidgin. Since every
child in Nagaland knows Naga Pidgin long before he comes to the school
at the age of 6 or over, this knowledge of the Pidgin could be
exploited for obtaining initial literacy. Since at some time or other,
every Naga child has to learn both English and Hindi, the standardized
Naga Pidgin must share at least the phonological features of English
and Hindi. Voicing was seen earlier that only the Southern variety has
this feature. Hence the phonology of the Southern variety may be
adopted for the Standardized Pidgin. This variety has an added
advantage, in that it is the one spoken in and around the State
capital.
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The grammar of the Naga
Pidgin shows a different picture. Though the Angami variety shows the
maximal differences in the use of the grammatical categories, very few
varieties share these features with the Angami variety. A significant
factor is that the Angami vareity, which is capable of showing
opposition in different
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