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English & Our Many Selves
Language, Power & the Margins of Identity
Speaker
What happens when the language we speak no longer fits who we are, or when it never quite did?
In this thought-provoking talk, writer and translator Rita Kothari invites us to reflect on the hidden languages of our lives: the ones we speak at home, inherit from our families, or carry quietly within us. While English may dominate our public conversations, Kothari reminds us that it rarely stands alone. Beneath its surface are other tongues, shaping how we think, feel, and belong.
Drawing from personal stories and cultural insight, she explores how linguistic expression is deeply tied to identity and power. From subtle shifts in pronunciation to bold acts of embracing or rejecting a language, Kothari highlights how marginalised communities use language to resist dominant norms.
Kothari challenges us to see language not just as a system of grammar and rules, but as lived experience; fluid, intimate, and political. In doing so, she calls for a more inclusive understanding of how we speak and listen to one another.
The talk will be followed by a Q&A session, offering space for conversation and reflection with your questions, your stories, and your own layers of language.
This lecture is a part of Azim Premji University’s Public Lecture Series.
Presented by:
Speaker
Rita Kothari
Rita Kothari is a distinguished multilingual scholar, translator, and Professor of English at Ashoka University, where she also co-directs the Ashoka Centre for Translation. Her interdisciplinary work is rooted in the cultural and linguistic landscapes of Gujarat, Kutch, and Sindh, with a strong ethnographic focus on marginal communities shaped by religion, caste, occupation, and gender. Through these lenses, she explores themes of identity, translation, and cultural negotiation.
Kothari has translated extensively between Gujarati, Sindhi, and English, and is recognised as the Vani Distinguished Translator. Her pathbreaking book Translating India: The Cultural Politics of English marked a significant contribution to translation studies, while her pioneering work on the partition narratives of the Sindhi community has expanded the field of Sindh scholarship.
Her other notable works include The Burden of Refuge, Uneasy Translations, and the edited volume A Multilingual Nation. She is the recipient of several prestigious fellowships, including Fulbright, Rockefeller, and Hughes. Currently, she is working on Kahe Latif, a Hindi translation of Shah Abdul Latif’s Sindhi Sufi poetry, to be published by Vani Prakashan. Kothari’s scholarship continues to illuminate the rich intersections of language, identity, and belonging.
