05-03-2007, 09:40 PM
A part of the whole article:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Bilingualism
A Sacred Mantra to Save Endangered Cultures
My cousin in Hyderabad asks, "what is the purpose of Telugu?" Even street vendors and rikshawallahs in towns and villages speak Tenglish nowadays. It saddens me to note that Telugu has no purpose for 75-80 million strong Telugus in Andhra Pradesh. Some people argue that every living language has to influence and be influenced by other languages. Languages give and take vocabulary. Usually they point to English, which heavily borrowed from various European languages and the colonized languages. It is true, but English borrowed words from various languages to increase the vocabulary. English usually does not replace English words with new vocabularies and forget English words altogether, like Telugu does. Forgetting vocabulary is not a sign of growth, but a symptom of a debilitating disease that leads to death.
By immersing the youngsters in the language of their parents, we can save the language and thereby the culture. It seems more difficult to do this in Hyderabad than in America nowadays. My daughter speaks only her mother tongue at home, while my friends across the street use only Tenglish or English at home with their children. I notice the same attitude in Bhaarat also. My sister in Hyderabad uses Tenglish at home, and argues that for now my niece has to learn English day-to-day vocabulary and use in her conversation with her mother. It is very competitive even in kindergarten you know, especially in Bhaarat! Interestingly, with greater recognition and celebration of cultural differences, today, immigrant Americans are more likely to maintain and share their ancestral language with their children and to promote bilingualism as a reflection of ethnic pride and identity.
The concept of bilingualism and teaching two languages at a young age is not among Indians in general and in Andhra Pradesh in particular. My friends insist that they would teach their children Telugu later! One persistent argument against teaching two languages to a two-year-old is that it confuses the child. You may not believe it, but it is true that the daycare centers in Andhra Pradesh admonish the parents and ask them to stop teaching Telugu at home, if they want their children to succeed in kindergarten! If you spoke Telugu, you have to wash your mouth with soap! Without a doubt, this kind of attitude discourages people from speaking the native language in schools in Andhra Pradesh and Bhaarat. I think this is perverted and wrong.Â
Contrary to widely held beliefs in Andhra Pradesh and among Indians, most researchers agree that a child who is exposed to two languages at an early age and simultaneously, will naturally learn to use both languages.12 In general, speech-language problems are less likely to occur when both languages are introduced early and simultaneously. Children may also experiment with the two languages to express themselves in specific settings. For example, one language may be identified with daddy (foreign tongue) and the other with mommy (mother tongue): this has been working very well for us so far. Or one language used for home and family and the other for school and activities outside the home. This should work very well for Andhra Pradesh as the successive state and central governments have been resolutely working either in Hindi or English only, to eliminate the state and local languages from the mainstream, with a shrewd intent to make Bhaarat speak one language, perhaps Hindi, for the unity of the Union.
Even more absurd is that while people are struggling to learn two languages and are giving up on their mother tongue, most of the state governments have the so-called "three-language" formula! Many policy makers argue that we need to learn Hindi. They argue that the money spent on Hindi is from Central Government, so it doesn't hurt Telugus to learn a third language. They point out the advantages of learning many languages. This argument goes counter to the argument presented by my cousin above. But, the same people would argue for the three-language formula! We cannot even handle one language, but we have lofty goals of mastering three languages. There is a saying in Telugu, "uTTikekka lEnamma swargaanikekkutundaTa," meaning roughly, "a person who cannot climb on to attic desires to rise to the heaven!" Actually, I would like to learn Arabic, Chinese, German, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, and a couple of African languages as well, if I can. The father of Indian reforms and the modern Indian economy, the Former Prime Minister Venkatanarasimharao Pamulaparti (PV)13 was a polyglot who had knowledge in 17 languages. So, it is not impossible to master many languages. But first, don't we have to learn our mother tongue enough to maintain a trivial conversation at the dining table without indulging in bombastic English words for cup, curd, curry, glass, milk, plate, rice, spoon etc?
Other Indian languages are disappearing as well. The native speakers are dying off (by adopting a new language). The Indian national languages cannot compete against English, which is pervasive through television and other forms of pop culture. The native language is going to be gone if we don't do something. The best people to learn a language are kids in the developmental stage of pre-kindergarten and kindergarten.
Unlike other dominant languages, Telugu doesn't have books to teach Telugu to foreigners. We didn't even have a thesaurus in Telugu until recently. An American citizen (Rao Vemuri) compiled the only one I know of!14 If you visit any bookstores or music-stores anywhere in the world you would find lullabies and nursery songs in the local language, but not in Andhra Pradesh. Native Telugus have to do more.
To preserve the language, recording everyday Telugu conversations on audio and videotapes, popularizing Telugu conversation - not Tenglish conversation - then transcribing and translating the conversations for the spread of Telugu globally has to be taken up. It has to include people engaging in various vocations, preparing dinner, eating meals, and even playing games.Â
Telugu is the official language of the State of Andhra Pradesh. However, it is not implemented strictly. Government departments and agencies, including the central government institutions stationed in the state, should set up special units staffed by fluent Telugu-speakers (not Tenglish speakers) to serve the people. The working language of the state should be Telugu and every Telugu has to promote Telugu, (not Tenglish). A bilingual state is a state where the principal institutions provide services in two languages to citizens. Unfortunately, Andhra Pradesh is a tetra-lingual state (English, Hindi, Telugu and Urdu) with a three-language formula and, paradoxically, fails miserably to provide services in Telugu. Whatever, they claim to have provided in Telugu is only a lip service. Every document received by my mother in Hyderabad from any government institution or private institution or utility services requires help of an English educated neighbor because of extensive use of English. It appears as if the state governments have conspired with the central government to eliminate the state languages and do business in Hindi and English only.Â
Ultimately, it all depends on native populations in their own native lands, e.g., Telugus living in Andhra Pradesh. Unless the attitude of the people and the governments change, the collective march of our languages and cultures toward extinction is inevitable. I am afraid the Indian cultures may be on the path to eradication in a short while, unless they do something about it now.15 Let us hope the international seminar on 'Telugu culture and performing arts: philosophical dimensions' that is being organized by Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University from December 29, 2004 will have some impact.
http://www.vedah.net/manasanskriti/bilngualism.html<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Bilingualism
A Sacred Mantra to Save Endangered Cultures
My cousin in Hyderabad asks, "what is the purpose of Telugu?" Even street vendors and rikshawallahs in towns and villages speak Tenglish nowadays. It saddens me to note that Telugu has no purpose for 75-80 million strong Telugus in Andhra Pradesh. Some people argue that every living language has to influence and be influenced by other languages. Languages give and take vocabulary. Usually they point to English, which heavily borrowed from various European languages and the colonized languages. It is true, but English borrowed words from various languages to increase the vocabulary. English usually does not replace English words with new vocabularies and forget English words altogether, like Telugu does. Forgetting vocabulary is not a sign of growth, but a symptom of a debilitating disease that leads to death.
By immersing the youngsters in the language of their parents, we can save the language and thereby the culture. It seems more difficult to do this in Hyderabad than in America nowadays. My daughter speaks only her mother tongue at home, while my friends across the street use only Tenglish or English at home with their children. I notice the same attitude in Bhaarat also. My sister in Hyderabad uses Tenglish at home, and argues that for now my niece has to learn English day-to-day vocabulary and use in her conversation with her mother. It is very competitive even in kindergarten you know, especially in Bhaarat! Interestingly, with greater recognition and celebration of cultural differences, today, immigrant Americans are more likely to maintain and share their ancestral language with their children and to promote bilingualism as a reflection of ethnic pride and identity.
The concept of bilingualism and teaching two languages at a young age is not among Indians in general and in Andhra Pradesh in particular. My friends insist that they would teach their children Telugu later! One persistent argument against teaching two languages to a two-year-old is that it confuses the child. You may not believe it, but it is true that the daycare centers in Andhra Pradesh admonish the parents and ask them to stop teaching Telugu at home, if they want their children to succeed in kindergarten! If you spoke Telugu, you have to wash your mouth with soap! Without a doubt, this kind of attitude discourages people from speaking the native language in schools in Andhra Pradesh and Bhaarat. I think this is perverted and wrong.Â
Contrary to widely held beliefs in Andhra Pradesh and among Indians, most researchers agree that a child who is exposed to two languages at an early age and simultaneously, will naturally learn to use both languages.12 In general, speech-language problems are less likely to occur when both languages are introduced early and simultaneously. Children may also experiment with the two languages to express themselves in specific settings. For example, one language may be identified with daddy (foreign tongue) and the other with mommy (mother tongue): this has been working very well for us so far. Or one language used for home and family and the other for school and activities outside the home. This should work very well for Andhra Pradesh as the successive state and central governments have been resolutely working either in Hindi or English only, to eliminate the state and local languages from the mainstream, with a shrewd intent to make Bhaarat speak one language, perhaps Hindi, for the unity of the Union.
Even more absurd is that while people are struggling to learn two languages and are giving up on their mother tongue, most of the state governments have the so-called "three-language" formula! Many policy makers argue that we need to learn Hindi. They argue that the money spent on Hindi is from Central Government, so it doesn't hurt Telugus to learn a third language. They point out the advantages of learning many languages. This argument goes counter to the argument presented by my cousin above. But, the same people would argue for the three-language formula! We cannot even handle one language, but we have lofty goals of mastering three languages. There is a saying in Telugu, "uTTikekka lEnamma swargaanikekkutundaTa," meaning roughly, "a person who cannot climb on to attic desires to rise to the heaven!" Actually, I would like to learn Arabic, Chinese, German, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, and a couple of African languages as well, if I can. The father of Indian reforms and the modern Indian economy, the Former Prime Minister Venkatanarasimharao Pamulaparti (PV)13 was a polyglot who had knowledge in 17 languages. So, it is not impossible to master many languages. But first, don't we have to learn our mother tongue enough to maintain a trivial conversation at the dining table without indulging in bombastic English words for cup, curd, curry, glass, milk, plate, rice, spoon etc?
Other Indian languages are disappearing as well. The native speakers are dying off (by adopting a new language). The Indian national languages cannot compete against English, which is pervasive through television and other forms of pop culture. The native language is going to be gone if we don't do something. The best people to learn a language are kids in the developmental stage of pre-kindergarten and kindergarten.
Unlike other dominant languages, Telugu doesn't have books to teach Telugu to foreigners. We didn't even have a thesaurus in Telugu until recently. An American citizen (Rao Vemuri) compiled the only one I know of!14 If you visit any bookstores or music-stores anywhere in the world you would find lullabies and nursery songs in the local language, but not in Andhra Pradesh. Native Telugus have to do more.
To preserve the language, recording everyday Telugu conversations on audio and videotapes, popularizing Telugu conversation - not Tenglish conversation - then transcribing and translating the conversations for the spread of Telugu globally has to be taken up. It has to include people engaging in various vocations, preparing dinner, eating meals, and even playing games.Â
Telugu is the official language of the State of Andhra Pradesh. However, it is not implemented strictly. Government departments and agencies, including the central government institutions stationed in the state, should set up special units staffed by fluent Telugu-speakers (not Tenglish speakers) to serve the people. The working language of the state should be Telugu and every Telugu has to promote Telugu, (not Tenglish). A bilingual state is a state where the principal institutions provide services in two languages to citizens. Unfortunately, Andhra Pradesh is a tetra-lingual state (English, Hindi, Telugu and Urdu) with a three-language formula and, paradoxically, fails miserably to provide services in Telugu. Whatever, they claim to have provided in Telugu is only a lip service. Every document received by my mother in Hyderabad from any government institution or private institution or utility services requires help of an English educated neighbor because of extensive use of English. It appears as if the state governments have conspired with the central government to eliminate the state languages and do business in Hindi and English only.Â
Ultimately, it all depends on native populations in their own native lands, e.g., Telugus living in Andhra Pradesh. Unless the attitude of the people and the governments change, the collective march of our languages and cultures toward extinction is inevitable. I am afraid the Indian cultures may be on the path to eradication in a short while, unless they do something about it now.15 Let us hope the international seminar on 'Telugu culture and performing arts: philosophical dimensions' that is being organized by Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University from December 29, 2004 will have some impact.
http://www.vedah.net/manasanskriti/bilngualism.html<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->