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Bilingual English teaching in colonial India : the case of John Murdoch’s work in Madras Presidency, 1855–1875
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Vennela, R. and Smith, Richard (2019) Bilingual English teaching in colonial India : the case of John Murdoch’s work in Madras Presidency, 1855–1875. Language & History, 62 (2). pp. 96-118. doi:10.1080/17597536.2019.1641942 ISSN 1759-7536.
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Official URL: http://doi.org/10.1080/17597536.2019.1641942
Abstract
There is a prevalent conception about colonial Indian education – in the absence of much empirical research into specific contexts – that it was carried out only in English with the aim of anglicising the masses. While it is true that there were colonial motives of acculturation embedded in English language teaching and English-medium instruction, the idea that English language learning was exclusively monolingual is historically inaccurate. Indeed, the survival of bilingual teaching materials prepared in the nineteenth century for use in colonial schools suggests that, outside elite English-medium instruction, the use of Indian languages was common in English teaching. To explore this possibility further, this article focuses on the work and ideas of a prominent colonial educationalist, John Murdoch (1818–1904), with a focus on the schoolbooks he was associated with and on his recommendations for bilingual English teaching in the colonial schools of Madras Presidency. Murdoch’s ideas on the use of local languages in teaching reveal complexities and intricacies which have been under-explored in previous histories of colonial Indian education.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||
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Subjects: | D History General and Old World > DS Asia L Education > LC Special aspects of education L Education > LG Individual institutions (Asia. Africa) P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics P Language and Literature > PE English |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Centre for Applied Linguistics | ||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Murdoch, John, 1818-1903, India -- Colonial influence, Education -- India -- History -- 19th century. , Education and state -- India -- History -- 19th century, Language and education -- India -- History -- 19th century, English language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers -- India, Second language acquisition, Language policy -- India -- 19th century, Education -- Great Britain -- Colonies, Native language and education -- India -- 19th century | ||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Language & History | ||||||
Publisher: | Maney Publishing | ||||||
ISSN: | 1759-7536 | ||||||
Official Date: | 26 July 2019 | ||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 62 | ||||||
Number: | 2 | ||||||
Page Range: | pp. 96-118 | ||||||
DOI: | 10.1080/17597536.2019.1641942 | ||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||
Reuse Statement (publisher, data, author rights): | “This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Language & History on 26/07/2019, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/17597536.2019.1641942 | ||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 26 July 2019 | ||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 26 January 2021 | ||||||
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