I read this quote in a news paper, actually it was for an advertisement. but this quote has strong relation to many things, from A to Z we can relate anything to this quote, reason is we are facing some constant changes. Hard but true...
So as i said before, we can relate N number of things to that quote, the entity that i took was "LANGUAGES". to be precise, "Mother Tongue".
From the invention of fire and wheel to the invention of iPad, Human beings are evolving and changing... thriving for the best and running for the future, it is very easy to take a film about our past(that is something that we have experienced) but to think about the future, it is as tough as to book an online ticket in irctc web site.
Coming to our subject, Our languages(local) are they strong enough to withstand and show some fighting spirit ??? can they ?? will they ??
A.R Rehman made us proud by snatching OSCARS and award winning speech?
"ELLA PUGALUM IRAVAINUKKE"
A Tamil saying- ALL CREDITS TO GOD.
"MERE PAAS MAA HAI"
I have my mother with me....
Frankly speaking, you and me can't expect any of our future Indians to speak like that ONE on a global stage, upcoming generation calls AMMA as MOM, APPA as DAD, THATHA as GRANDPA !
My dad(most of our dads) had his schooling in a TAMIL medium and it doesn't mean that he has no idea on English, he holds a great knowledge in Tamil,Hindi and English...
I did my schooling in English medium, but i remain as a mediocre in both English and Tamil...
99% kids of today are forced to speak and practice English, not for fancy things but to survive the competition, DON'T CALL APPA, CALL "DAD".
Blame none, it is for the betterment of that kid.
Just imagine India after 100 years, do you think there will be any Mother tongue schools running ?
Already parents are placing their kids at private schools and spending bucks in ENGLISH coaching classes.
I worry that, how my mother tongue gonna survive this war ?
English,German,French coaching centers are plenty in presence, it is not that i am against change or against new things, we must not forget our identity.
Already my mother tongue had seen enough changes, "KOLAVERI"....
"JAI HO" and more to come...
Words which were not there in past are taking avatar nowadays...
Most of the products come with English name, like switches.. iPad, Touch screen.
These words are easy to use than our mother tongue, so naturally my mother tongue and your mother tongue steps back a bit.
2000 years has been rolled and more to come, Humans have witnessed enough changes on both note and more to come and they are on the way.
Frankly answer this, do you think our mother tongue will be in the way as it was and as it is in near future ?
i don't think so.
Examples you ask ?
Take blogging, Make a ratio... Bloggers who blog in their mother tongue and bloggers who blog in English, which one has upper hand ???
Technology has become the basic need for youngsters and this is the field where English kills our mother tongue.
Conclusion:(Relief?)
Communication is the sole reason for the invention of languages.
If some one communicates better with an alien language, why stand against that ?
Someone fell in to a well, they shouts as "Help" "Help"...
If you hear that, you should not look in to that language or accent, you MUST look in to the meaning that conveys.
"Someone is in trouble, we must save him/her".
That's the purpose of Language. so if it needs a change ? why stand against ? Let them evolve and let them survive...
And also we must have some love to our mother tongue, there are some lame guys who feels that Speaking in MOTHER tongue is a shame and what loafers do ? if you see those kinda people, SLAP them or kick them and hear in what language they cries ??
Certainly they wont cry like "Mummmyyyyy...""" :)
Whatever heights we may scale, we should not forget our real identity !
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change” -Darwin.
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well... for ppl who have immigrated from their native place.. its actually tough to follow their mother tongue...speaking in their mother tongue can be managed but writing is actually tough!!!
ReplyDeleteMother tongue will survive in its own way for sure, but this is a challenge everyone is facing across the world. Learn English or perish!
ReplyDeleteYou will be surprised to know the amount of English learning schools that have popped up in China or Russia, that doesn't mean their mother tongue will perish but they are just trying to keep up with globalization.I strongly feel, we need good English medium schools with strong emphasis on the mother tongue as well.I read in a school which had English as the first language, my mother tongue Bengali as the second and Hindi as third language and honestly most of my batchmates who had an apt for languages are good in all 3 of them.
i can just say one word.. very well written :)
ReplyDelete@sahiGood point :) but i dint mean that her.. actually i was talking about the race between English and Indian languages..
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit and comment !
@sahiGood point :) but i dint mean that her.. actually i was talking about the race between English and Indian languages..
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit and comment !
@Arnab MaityIntersting info arnab and as always a perfect comment :) thanks a ton !
ReplyDelete@BharathiWow.. thanks a ton for that compliment :)
ReplyDelete@BharathiWow.. thanks a ton for that compliment :)
ReplyDeleteWell written.. I studied in English medium,My native is Andhra I speak good telugu but I cant write .. I live in Tamilnadu I can manage with tamil But I cant write, I speak hindi fluently this one i can write. I hardly speak my mother tongue with anyone except for my mother.. I love my mother tongue I want my kids to know and use it as well.. But I also want them to learn other languages too..It all about how to keep it alive even with all the changes . I completely agree with Darwin “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change”
ReplyDelete@Rambling Of A Single Girl In The CityWise words,, your wish will come true :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the visit and comment !
very well written deepak...I'm gonna make some my friends read this...they really need this... :)
ReplyDeletespeaking in alien language cos it's more comfortable is ok and allowed. but i cant stand it when people talk in english just cos it's the hip thing to do. cmon, there're things worth preserving like your mother tongue, your culture etc!
ReplyDelete@CYNOSUREThanks a ton paaji :)
ReplyDelete@RaphaelYou got me wrong i guess :) to speak and pursue a thing it is their own interest.. we are none to stop that :)
ReplyDeleteam not against change, am against forgetting our identity !
THANKS RAPHAEL for visiting !
Brilliant post again bro. Very well written. :)
ReplyDeleteIn school my mother tongue Kannada was my first language, English was the second and Hindi was the third. I can speak and write in all 3 languages fluently. :)
I agree with your point, we need to preserve our mother tongue but some of us are ashamed to use our mother tongue in so-called posh areas, they think it isn't "cool" to speak in their native language in certain places. I always make it a point to speak in Kannada wherever I can, I am not ashamed to speak in my mother tongue. :)
@Akshay Kumar GThanks akshay :) soo good for you to know 3 languages !
ReplyDeleteBrilliant one again deepak - this is one of the challenges I as parent am facing too ... so we speak a cocktail of languages but I want her to speak her mother tongue better than her mum :D
ReplyDeleteBut to add to it our mother tongue help us connect with fellow Indians abroad ... suddenly we become more in love with the language .. never leave an occasion to speak in hindi n malalayam ..
@Sangeeta Reghu Nair That's really sweet :)
ReplyDeletegood to see cocktail effect :) thanks a ton sangi ji :)
nice post deepz!! brilliantly managed as well :)
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I completely agree with u, I myself been here in mumbai all my life proud to say i m a tamilian and still i call my mother amma and not mummy.. i knw i cant write i can't speak as fluently as others but still i do... that's coz i m proud of my mother tongue but at the same time its really annoying to know that some people despite being fluent in their respective regional langauges are ashamed to accept and are living in the myth that speaking in english would shoooooooooooow them hi5!!!
@KartikaThank you so much and proud of you :D
ReplyDeleteYou presented it intelligently, Deepak :) Well done, Keep going...
ReplyDeleteAs you said, mother tongue represents our identity. In my opinion, losing our mother tongue implies losing our identity.
@AbhinavThanks abhinav :D well said :D
ReplyDeleteThat is so true! Personally I know how it feels. Hindi being my second language, I am not exceptionally good at Tamil other than the colloquial one we speak. I missing reading Tamil literature. I hear there are many brilliant ones.Anyway the purpose is solved. You have written about the thought that speaking in mother tongue is a shame. That is indeed happening.After all English is just another language.! I definitely am proud to be what I am. English makes my communication easier. But it is in no way superior to my mother tongue..
ReplyDeleteBtw forgot to add this. :D A food for thought! beautifully written :)
ReplyDelete@Archana NagarajanThank you so much for words and appreciations..
ReplyDeleteGlad to know about your feelings :)
I think us Indians are the most linguistic ever...can you believe that I didn't know how to read or write in my mother tongue until I was thirteen? I know its a shame but such was the school I went to, I knew English n Hindi better than Telugu (my mother tongue)...but having worked in the corporate/IT world I am kind of glad to have learnt English as my first lang...coz it just makes communication easier...but then I also hate the fact that I'm perfect in none of these languages...its immense pressure to perfect so many languages at such a young age...and neither am I proud of it.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed reading your post! In India we take it for granted that we'll be multi-lingual: mother tongue, Hindi, English. It's only when I started living outside that I realized how most people are conversant with one language, typically their mother tongue, and proficiency at another language- say English - is seen as a huge achievement! I think it's great to be able to speak and/or understand several languages - it is even good for the brain as neuroscience shows.
ReplyDeleteBut, finally, what counts is as you said, the ability to communicate. As long as we're doing that, any language is good. Cheers!
@radsThank you Radhika, glad to know about your story...
ReplyDeleteQuite interesting..
lucky you re
@Manreet Sodhi SomeshwarThank you so much for a honest comment,,, you have caught it correctly.
ReplyDeleteye toh kamal KA tha mere bhai !
ReplyDeleteEven we all think practically , it's hard to save our mother tongue!
@Deepak BagwariThanks Deepak Bhai :D
ReplyDeleteWell written and a matter of great concern too. As you said, I can't agree with people who do not speak their mother tongue at least at home. The child, each and every child, has to know it's mother tongue else it's like you don't know who your mother is! Only when parents show their respect to the land and the language will the children follow suit. I stay in Dubai and just coz of that many take it for granted that my daughter would be calling us as dad and mom. No, we always wanted our child to call us in our native tongue. She speaks our very well than the kids in my native land and I am proud of it:) I think our language will revive to a certain extent if all of us speak our own mother tongue atleast at home.
ReplyDeleteThis is turning into an essay!!!!As you know I don't write long comments; you made me do it:)))
Yes, our regional languages are deteriorating so badly!! I have my own example in my own house,my dad was a tamil medium student,however he learnt English reading The Times of India alone! Times of India was the cream of journalism back then! And today, my dad talks awesome english no less than others. Though he makes mistakes in his phonetics sometimes ..isn't it more than an achievement to be learning English on his own with nobody to help?!?:) I'm proud of him.Surely :)
ReplyDeleteMy dad also sang one of the famous old Bharathiaar songs in an international company of his just to revive our tamil nativity and guess what!Everybody loved it :)The problem is with our generation and too much of the cool yo yo doing where we are losing out on our very values of life that ground us to what we truly are!
Amazzzingg post :)
@Jen..The Butterfly EffectThat was a sweet info... we must be like him :)
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing...
keep visiting !
@deepazartzlovely words... nice to see such parents and thanks for commenting such stuffs :) i am happy for it !
ReplyDelete@Ashwini C N a wise comment, really a nice message..Thanks for the comment ash :) keep visiting !
ReplyDeleteI studied in English medium, my mother tounge being Malayalam which I took an effort to learn only after I was 18yrs old... Kind of felt wired saying my mother tounge is Malyalam but I don't understand it. I hope u understand what I'm trying to say. I took an effort to learn my mother tounge though I can live very well without it. My sister who too grew up like me has no clue about most of the Malyalam.
ReplyDeleteMy point is it's in our (each one of us) hands if w e care enough to use our mother tounge to keep it alive. Again it's a personal choice and not many favour sticking to the mother tounge... And frankly when I'm in trouble I involuntarily use English no matter what....
It's now kind of mandatory to write/speak in English everywhere... Mother tongue is gradually becoming something for talks inside the family or with the friends..
ReplyDeleteNice expressions from you deepak
I could relate to this blog only to some extent.. As you would have read my blog on identity crisis, you would know of my plight already.. Am already a victim of having a confused identity, so don't know what wil it be for the next generation. Born in Mangalore, speaking tits and bits of Malayalam coz thats my mother tongue. Despite which if anyone aska am I a keralite I reply with a No and if they ask am I a Kannadiga, its again a No. Phew! its all so confusing..
ReplyDeleteYou are lucky to identify yourself with some language and Tamil is certainly one of the lovely languages I ahve known.
hey Karthik.. Impressed by the way u conveyed and and well written. Loved the post.
ReplyDeleteDunno how I landed on ur blog but juz roamed thru it. Also read ur post about 'Gangs of Bloggers', I must say I wana copy n paste the same into my blog ;) pointing some rats. but'Ignoring' them is good enough right?
Had a good time with ur blog.. No doubt that i may visit ur blog for more..
Vysh :)
The world is becoming one global community at one level and hence it needs a common language, and English is that language. However, that does not mean people should ignore or neglect their mother tongue. One's culture is very much associated with one's mother tongue.
ReplyDeleteWhat an artical !! Take a bow..:-)
ReplyDelete:) Same thoughts! :) I have an idea though :) Il post it on my blog soon!
ReplyDelete@matheikalHaha rightly said sir !
ReplyDelete@Vysh @The Colourful Eyesthat's sweet comment.. visit often yaar :)
ReplyDelete@A Homemaker's UtopiaThank you ji !
ReplyDelete@Manish MoothedathThanks manish !
ReplyDelete@Anisha Ranjitwow.. sensible,, thanks for the visit :) glad to see you here !
ReplyDelete@Harithathank you thank you.. i read your post and got inspired to write this :)
ReplyDeleteGood Post!!
ReplyDeleteThe race between Eng(any foreign language for that matter) and Indian Languages have a economic value to it. If, we residents of the native language manage to attain the numero uno status among the economies of the world. Its for sure for years to come native languages will rock.
If, we believe A.R Rahman wining OSCARS ( WINNING SPEECH ) makes us so proud than wining a National Award for his debut film "ROJA" , We would continue to question "WILL THEY SURVIVE".
I may be wrong in my perception, this comment will not, i believe, hurt you....
@naveenThanks for the comment and visit :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting points, yes as you said..
if we reach the pinnacle world will follow us.
For oscar, See national award is highlighted inside a COUNTRY while OSCAR is famous across the globe.
You caught me wrong at that point.
there is nothing to get hurt here :D
Well, being in an era where we call "Tamizh" "Tamil". not our fault exactly, that is the situation now, this alien language has conquered us and now the mother tongue has become alien. True that there are a few aliens who think its a shame when they use their mother tongue while conversing with people. That's todays society. Only thing that they don't forget the predominant culture and the epic language of ours! :)
ReplyDeleteThis is a never ending debate Deepak. My answer is yes and also no. Mother tongue's will sustain because of the love & affection people have towards it but definitely not by the ones who try to force it on to others.
ReplyDeleteBeing a banglorean i am afraid to see kannada being sidelined.
One thing i appreciate in tamilians is they speak more tamil whenever they get a chance. Having worked two years in chennai, i have witnessed it even in professionals.
Good post
@Harshinivery true !
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment :)
@MakThanks for dropping by and sharing your views MAK.. glad to see you reading truly !
ReplyDeleteYour post is truly appreciating effort to make people aware that mother tongue languages must survive and to accomplish this mother tongue should be used atleast among family members or at home.The upcoming generation are future of our country so it is must to make them speak the languages they like without neglecting mother tongue languages.
ReplyDeleteNICE TALK WITH APPEAL!
ReplyDelete