Mind Your Language
Its been around 8 months that I have been in this place and I cannot help but wonder and feel irritated about the fact that Tamilians (Tams) are so obsessed with their language that they literally put you down linguistically. I cannot fathom why in the presence of 4-5 non - Tamil speaking friends, suddenly 2-3 people start in chaste Tamil?
I can understand that they are proud of their beautiful language. To be frank, even I love Tamil. It is really very sweet to listen to and speak. But, come on, there is got to be a limit. Whats the point of conversing in a language that 4 guys around you do not understand?
I have been amidst Telugu speaking population at school, but never did they speak their language when amongst a non-Telugu speaking group. And its not that some of these Tams do not know any other language, in which case their speaking Tamil is unavoidable. They do know other languages, say English (without loss of generality). But still they prefer Tamil (or should I say Tamizh). I have walked out of many an interesting discussion with my friends when Tamil became the working language.
May be my feelings are due to the fact that we Kannadigas, ourselves are very, what shall I say, unchauvinistic (for want of a better word) about our language. May be its because I have never seen myself as a person for whom language he speaks is an integral part of his identity.
I will not go as far as to say that linguistic chauvinism reflects xenophobia. But, the power and beauty of a language lies not just in its grammar but in the abilty of its speakers to parse their thoughts in a manner understood by all. Speakers maketh the language.
posted by Sujeet @ 9:42 PM
7 Comments:
the purpose of a language is to communicate effectively, and not to expose one's lack of familiarity with it.. this view of tamils is the same as my view of the hindi speaking 'junta'.. its just that every person breaks into their mother tongue or the language of comfort whenever an opportunity is available.. this applies to every language and not only to tamil
@ siddharth
I disagree with you. Hindi is our national language, and there is no excuse for not knowing it. And I am not against Tams speaking their language.But why do they break into a comfort zone induced by the familiarity of a language in presence of non - Tamil speaking people?
I am not saying that what tams are doing is right.. What I am saying is that this happens with speakers of other languages as well. I too have been on the receiving end many times (not including hindi).
Democracy allows one the freedom to speak in a language of one's choice. Any one (even a Tam :D) is well within his rights to use whatever language pleases him.
I believe it is a way of expressing their "Tam-ness" in an environment which otherwise gives no avenue to express such strong feelings as love for Tam-land. I am not sure about the numbers, but if (as I believe) the number of Tams is much lesser on campus then outside campus, then they seek to establish their Tam-ness by speaking as often as they can in Tam. I agree with Siddharth - I dont think this is Tam-specific. Its a general trend. I have observed it w.r.t Marathi among the "ghatis" here too.
Sujeet, you just wrote what was in my mind. With all due respect to the malayalis, I think the worst company to be in is mallus. In general mals are a pleasant congenial lot but the attraction between them and their mother tounge is like a fly and oil-paper. I have had incidents where I happened to be the only non-mallu in a group of people assigned for some work. They kept conversing in their language oblivious of my presence while I stood gawking there like an idiot.
In another gathering there was one a single mallu in our group and he was cheerfully talking to all of us in English and also with his best effort Hindi. This changed entirely when another mallu entered the group. The two formed a dipole, never to be separated, tied with a bond stronger than any chemist has ever discovered.
I mean, whats up with you guys? Can't you people be sensitive of your surroundings?
First of all, sorry for chipping in late for such an interesting discussion. No offence intended whatsoever to anyone.
I completely agree with Sujeet.The difference between language chauvinism and purpose needs to be figured out. I found it strange when I became aware that some folks in T.N. conduct Business meetings also in Tamil, not for the fact that all understand Tamil, but for insisting and expecting one to learn tamil. It’s a fact that this behavior is noticed, in effect ignoring the interests of the linguistic minority.
I have also thought that sending the message across to everyone in the group a civilized act rather than virtually out-casting a person from it . I really wonder how difficult it must be for people moving in to those places to converse and get along.
Without appearing to justify the attitude of Sujeet's Tamil friends, I'd quote the situation in Bangalore to address the issue from another angle.
There are innumerable people settled in Bangalore for good (living here for decades) from outside the state, who cannot speak a single sentence in Kannada. This, I find is more unpardonable than a person in Karnataka not learning Hindi since respect for the local culture and local language is imperative for one to join the mainstream.
When one settles down in a Hindi speaking town, it becomes mandatory for one to learn Hindi, and the same applies to every other language. Bangalore, unfortunately has become an exception to this logic.
The rather poor state of affairs prevails only because everyone in Karnataka goes miles out of his way to communicate in the language of the visitor rather than making it clear that Kannada is the de facto medium of communication. Without relating this directly to what Sujeet's friends did, I would think Tamilians have a love for their language that would prevent Tamil from sliding down like Kannada has.
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