Why the shame in speaking Hindi - Page 13

Originally posted by: HearMeRoar

It's not a theory. Tamil IS older than Sanskrit. The oldest Tamil inscription is from 3rd century BCE while oldest Sanskrit inscription is from 1st century BCE.

Also, Tamil nationalism and Tamil language movement are intertwined, but they're not the same.

And yes, Tamil language movement did start because people were trying to *impose* Hindi. It's a part of recorded history. Tamilians did not have that problem with English. They don't even now. The issue is the forcing of Hindi on a population which doesn't want it.

Casting the language movement as the same as the national movement is not accurate.

No, that's just propaganda expounded by some hardcore Dravidian groups. It has no basis in history and any proof to such claims is hotly debated.

Even is Tamil is older in terms of writing, Sanskrit texts which were passed on orally was much older. They were written down in 1500 BCE. The oral traditions continued much earlier.

Also, the claim of Indus Valley scripts is completely baseless, since those haven't yet been deciphered yet.

Also, the zeal to protect and keep the Tamil language 'pure' from all outside influence dated way, way back before 1965. The language has even undergone several purges to remove Sanskrit loan words from the script. They associate Hindi with the Aryan group, who (according to them) are the perpetual enemies of the Dravidians. Here Hindi is not merely a language. It's a representative of linguistic and racial imperialism.

The issue is much, much, much more complex. It's not simply about 'Hindi imposition'.

Is language shaming an actual thing like body shaming, sexism, racism, casteism, communalism?

Band kardo yeh thread.. main kya keh rahi thi tum log kya keh rahe ho.. sab alag tangent pe nikal gaye ho bhaiyya.. itna bhi kya serious lete ho har baat ko..

Originally posted by: -MakhanMalaai-

Band kardo yeh thread.. main kya keh rahi thi tum log kya keh rahe ho.. sab alag tangent pe nikal gaye ho bhaiyya.. itna bhi kya serious lete ho har baat ko..

Look at your original post. It is all serious only. Not at all funny. So obviously the discussion would be serious only, unless you wanted a funny discussion.

I don't think this topic should be closed because it has a lot of insightful and interesting information about Indian history. The arguments and discussion have been civilized. The members have been mature and understanding despite having opposite opinions. So this one should stay open.

Originally posted by: HearMeRoar

See, what you're talking about is culture. While language and culture are intertwined, for vast majority of people, language is merely a medium of communication. I don't have data, but I'd venture a guess above 80% in India don't really care to read in any language (not that they can't read). It would be the same in any other country.

Those who are interested will of course learn. I'm trying learn Sanskrit. 😆 Not succeeding to any meaningful extent, but trying just the same. It's because I want that ability to read the texts in the original language. Which, by the way, is not even the original language because Panini formulated the rules of the language much after the texts were orally transmitted for the first time.

But culture can't be forced on to people. Nor should they be looked down on if they're not interested. I mean... the software engineer, the fashion designer... these are middle to upper middle class people who might not see any benefit in it. Let them live their lives in peace, bhai. That's all I'm saying.

The Bollywood natives are a diff breed. My peeve is they know they want to be in HINDI film sector from childhood. They go for gazillion other types of lessons. So why not language lessons? From whatever else I've seen, I can only assume it's coming from a place of classism.

I heard it's the hardest language to learn and then follow it what is written in the ancient scriptures.

I remember my school batch mates used to make fun of my hindi while growing up. My family speaks fluent bangla at home. At school I used English to communicate my teachers. Few years later my same batch mates needed my help in their English and Hindi subject.

I have been language shamed because of my non Hindi speaking background.

Originally posted by: Mahisa_22

But, if someone who grows up in their native land with ALL their family and everyone around them speaking a language, then they're a gigantic doofus if they do not pick up the language despite hearing it all the fricking time ever since they were in their diapers.

In my opinion, if someone does not know a language spoken by their family. Then either

- their family was not really diligent about immersing them in the language

- they have a learning disability

- they are pretending (which is shameful)

Unless I know 100% for sure - I refuse to make assumptions. There are wealthy kids here who struggle with English in school but can chatter in flawless Spanish because they spend more time with the servants and nannies rather than their families.

Originally posted by: NimbuMirchi

Topic maker’s intention wasnt that. Logo ka to kam hai offense lena. 😆

Good one!

Not only did the topic maker shame Bollywood stars for not speaking enough in Hindi, there were other comments on this thread e.g. how (some?) desi actors can't even speak English perfectly, so why speak in English when in UK, phalaana dhimkana.

But language bigotry is something a lot of people enjoy, so be it. 😆

Originally posted by: colossial2015

I remember my school batch mates used to make fun of my hindi while growing up. My family speaks fluent bangla at home. At school I used English to communicate my teachers. Few years later my same batch mates needed my help in their English and Hindi subject.

I have been language shamed because of my non Hindi speaking background.

Do you speak Bengali? Just curious.