Interkulturalität und Linguistische Inklusivität

Abstract

The sociologists and ethnologists speak of integration or assimilation in the European con -text, while in the Indian context one speaks of inclusiveness. In Europe one is keen about the integration of immigrants in the culture of the host country and acquisition of its national language. On the contrary, the Indian constitution provides the basis for an inclusive linguistic policy and takes measures to ensure preservation and development of multilinguality. India knows cultural and linguistic diversity since times immemorial. Since thousands of years many folks came to India and settled there. Languages like Farsi, Arabic, English, and Portuguese have lasting effect on Indian languages. For practical reasons we will concentrate here on one Indian state, namely Maharashtra, and one Indian language, i.e. Marathi, which is also the mother tongue of the author of this article. The geography and history of Maharashtra play a decisive role in the development of Marathi. With a few ex amples we will elaborate, how Marathi is influenced by Indo-European as well as by Dra vidian languages. We will also briefly refer to the status of English in India. At the end we will see how the linguistic diversity and inclusiveness are reflected in the day today life and how multilingualism functions in media.