Sonumb Kapoor: My first language is English (Loreal ad) - Page 30

Originally posted by: hollyBollyWood

here's one thing i'd like to clarify to most people making this argument. keep in mind that, for a good part of recorded history of india, what we know as india today has been collection of kingdoms. occasionally a good majority (but not necessarily all) of these various kingdoms came under the wing of a greater empire somewhat consolidating them during their reign. some of the kingdoms in the very south of india were often not part of the greater exapansion of the big empires like mughal, or maurya, and also generally not subject to the same cultural invasions of the north. this has added to the cultural distinctness between the very south and the north. add to this the fact that all the regions (states, kingdoms, etc) of india did not come together under a bigger tent until the british empire. so despite the fact that we're all indians, we all have some cultural similarities, we also have differences, and for the south indians, when you choose another regional indian language as national language, they look at it as you're displacing their own cultural heritage and identity, which is their main contention.

now getting back to the whole point about sonam's claim - i'd say its clear that she's embarassed about claiming sindhi, punjabi or hindi as her first language. your first language is not the same as the language you're most proficient with. my first language is tamil - its wht i learned basic communication phrases in at home - things like mom, dad, food, house, i'm hungry, i'm sleepy, i'm hurt, etc. i didn't learn how to read or write in it, i didn't learn the letters in it - just the spoken language at home. i even learned some basic english words like apple, ice cream, cycle, scooter, balloon - that doesn't mean that english was my first language. i learned hindi and marathi from growing up in mumbai, VERY early on - before i even went to kindergarten. i learned my ABCs at home before kg and in school, all the way from kg. despite tamil being my first language i'm the least proficient in it - english is without a doubt my most proficient language, followed by hindi but i'd never claim either of these were my first language.

Originally posted by: wetdream

i dont need to show u where u attacked me! any sane person who is debating n reading here can see it! still for u read bold parts n yeah my native language is kashmiri n dogri n still hindi is not related to them 😉

it is true they comeup with points like our ancestors were some europeans etc etc😆

I grew up speaking Gujarati and English, learnt Hindi later on. And I actually like the fact I can speak, read and write three languages. I don't see Hindi as imposing rather privilege. I definitely see benefits of having a common language people can communicate with. If English is acceptable, don't see why one of the Indian languages can't. It's a democratic country and people can vote for one language. India recognizes all the languages. If it didn't and we're imposing Hindi, I would have had issue with it. I really don't see the reason for insecurity if my native language isn't the national language.

Originally posted by: wetdream

i dont need to show u where u attacked me! any sane person who is debating n reading here can see it! still for u read bold parts n yeah my native language is kashmiri n dogri n still hindi is not related to them 😉

it is true they comeup with points like our ancestors were some europeans etc etc😆

Why r u giving so much importance to you , i even dont know u. I just share a general observation that i witness in this thread. Those are no way related to attacking anyone.

There is a reason why all north languages relate to each other , most of them are from family of indo aryan. Just like a lot of your language derived from sanskrit. Every language like gujarati , oriya , marathi , hindi , bengali etc. are different but if we keenly observe they are mostly relate to each other. We can understand a sentence of all these languages if we put a little effort but it is impossible to understand say tamil , telugu , malayalam etc. There are not relate to north language at all. Just like u find its difficult to learn their language.

Originally posted by: Antlers

Um why not Sanskrit?

Originally posted by: Fiery.Phoenix

I grew up speaking Gujarati and English, learnt Hindi later on. And I actually like the fact I can speak, read and write three languages. I don't see Hindi as imposing rather privilege. I definitely see benefits of having a common language people can communicate with. If English is acceptable, don't see why one of the Indian languages can't. It's a democratic country and people can vote for one language. India recognizes all the languages. If it didn't and we're imposing Hindi, I would have had issue with it. I really don't see the reason for insecurity if my native language isn't the national language.

To address a couple of questions raised in this topic. These are my personal views and do not represent all South Indians.

Why do South Indians refuse to refuse to accept Hindi as a national language?

First and foremost, Hindi is not the national language and has never been a national language. Secondly, India is a country with multiple languages and dialects. It is unfair to pick one language as above the others. To me every Indian language, tradition, custom, religion is equal and the nation constitutionally cannot and should not pick one over another. I would not even accept English or any other regional language as a national language.

Do South Indians hate Hindi?

Absolutely not. I speak Hindi quiet fluently. I will willingly and happily converse in Hindi. I watch Hindi movies and some TV programs. My reading and writing of Hindi is weak compared to my English. I hope that someday, I will be able to improve. It is not a priority though. My only problem against Hindi is the forced indoctrination. I don't think people should be forced to learn Hindi or embrace Hindi. I find it disrespectful that South Indians are expected to welcome with open arms a language that is alien to them. You wouldn't force your customs and traditions onto someone would you? It is not nice. Similarly, it isn't nice to force your language on someone either. People should have the freedom of choice on what languages they speak.

North Indians are not true Indians?

Are you kidding me? Whoever makes that argument has serious problems. All Indians are Indians. To me anyone who pledges allegiance to India has the right to be treated as Indian. This includes foreign immigrants to India.

Non-Indian citizens who live abroad but have Indian heritage are people of Indian/subcontinental origin. They don't have any political right to India. But if they honestly associate themselves with traditions, culture and sentiments of India then they can be associated as people of Indian heritage.

Back to the topic of first language.

What is first language?

I define it as the language you are most proficient with. In that case Sonam can say English.

It could be your preferred language of communication. In that case Sonam can say English.

It could be the first language you were taught. Depending on what Sonam was taught it could be English or not. I know my mom taught me English formally, while I picked Konkani from listening.

Some people define it as native language/mother tongue. People whose both parents speak the same language can claim that. Sonam can be challenged if this is the definition. As a dual language child I don't like this question and claim multilingual with preference for English. Sonam is Punjabi/Sindhi, so I feel she can also claim similarly.

Some people claim it as national language. India has no national language so that does not fit here.

I strongly feel that Sonam has the right to decide what first language means to her.

This rise of hindi debate is quite interesting . The way people try to shove the language on others its co relate with the current govt. over enthusiasm.

Till now we can accomodate with eachother, coexist without any national language but i dont know what great nationalism a language will create if few learn it 😆

Those who require it and felt necessary to communicate with other they themselves will learn any language. Eg. Deli, mumbai, kolkata, bangalore , hyderabad.

May be we should impose hitler rule and compulsorily teach all indians any certain language 😆 and take pride that this is our national language.

thank you buddy 😛. i hope i don't get banned either...i joined the forum so i can chat with my fellow bolly movie lovers

Originally posted by: KhatamKahani

You are a newbie. I hope you do't get banned. Because if you do, your post would not be readable. Hence I am quoting.😆