Translation, standard language ideology and the erosion of regional linguistic practices: The Rajbanshi example

Abstract

This study examines the decisive role of translation as a method of linguistic documentation and its implications for language standardisation, focusing on the case of Rajbanshi, a language spoken in northeastern India. It critically engages with Charu Chandra Sanyal’s (1965) documentation of Rajbanshi in relation to earlier colonial initiatives, particularly Grierson’s Linguistic Survey of India (1909), which employed translation as a primary tool for data collection. While translation has historically been seen as a neutral mechanism for representing linguistic diversity, this study argues that translation has instead functioned as an instrument of linguistic hierarchy and standardisation, reinforcing dominant language ideologies. By examining both colonial and post-colonial approaches to translation-based linguistic documentation, the study highlights how the standard language ideology (SLI), as conceptualised by Lippi-Green (1997) and Kroskrity (2004), has shaped Rajbanshi’s representation. It demonstrates how translation choices—ranging from lexical selection to value attribution—have influenced Rajbanshi’s classification as a dialect of Bengali, marginalising its linguistic distinctiveness. The analysis extends to contemporary linguistic policies, revealing how recent efforts to standardise Rajbanshi (2015-2016) echo colonial-era documentation biases. By tracing the historical trajectory of translation in linguistic data collection, this study calls for a re-evaluation of translation-based documentation methodologies to ensure more inclusive and representative linguistic records.