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Question
Is it possible to carry pride in one’s language too far? Do you know what ‘linguistic chauvinism’ means?
Solution
Yes, it is possible to carry pride in one's language too far if one is fond of one’s own language at the cost of others. Indifference towards other languages is not healthy for any democracy like India.
When the sense of belonging to one's own language crosses the thin line between ‘pride’ and ‘proud’, it becomes linguistic chauvinism. If people feel good about their languages and traditions, they must have tolerance for other languages too. Everybody has the right to follow the religion as well as speak the language as per his/her desire. In fact, it is disparaging to distort the names of communities, for example, Bongs for Bengalis, Gujju for Gujratis, etc.
Notes
This question is to be answered on the basis of students' own understanding and experience. However, a model answer has been provided for students' reference.
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