Why the shame in speaking Hindi - Page 6

Hindi has been generally considered as a language of the poor and uneducated in north India after independence. Most of the rich and middle class had working knowledge of English. Most of the Hindi speakers do not take pride in their literature and mother tongue like non Hindi speaker.

I am a Bengali girl. Growing up I have been taught Bengali poems, songs and literature. I belong from a family where there is a less focus on singing and dancing and more on education and practical knowledge. Most of the Bengali kids learn- singing, dancing or instrument. Same goes for most of the south Indian kids.

I have never seen any of my classmates or colleagues showing any interest in their mother tongue- Hindi. They have never read Dinkar, Premchand, Maithalii Sharan Gupt, Mahadevi Verma etc. They have no idea about the beauty of Hindi poetry. Many non Hindi speakers know more about Hindi literature than Hindi speakers.

The Hindi speakers themselves, do not respect the rich history of Hindi language. Why non Hindi speakers would respect the language.

PS:- I have mentioned the authors whose work I have read a lot. There are many more I need to read.

There is no shame in speaking Hindi.

Many of the actors, like several other urban Indians went to English medium schools. English has become a de facto first language. It is natural for people to prefer speaking in their first language. They are usually more comfortable and fluent in it. Most do make a sincere attempt to answer in Hindi when asked questions in Hindi.

Let's just accept people for what language they speak.

Originally posted by: colossial2015

Hindi has been generally considered as a language of the poor and uneducated in north India after independence. Most of the rich and middle class had working knowledge of English. Most of the Hindi speakers do not take pride in their literature and mother tongue like non Hindi speaker.

I am a Bengali girl. Growing up I have been taught Bengali poems, songs and literature. I belong from a family where there is a less focus on singing and dancing and more on education and practical knowledge. Most of the Bengali kids learn- singing, dancing or instrument. Same goes for most of the south Indian kids.

I have never seen any of my classmates or colleagues showing any interest in their mother tongue- Hindi. They have never read Dinkar, Premchand, Maithalii Sharan Gupt, Mahadevi Verma etc. They have no idea about the beauty of Hindi poetry. Many non Hindi speakers know more about Hindi literature than Hindi speakers.

The Hindi speakers themselves, do not respect the rich history of Hindi language. Why non Hindi speakers would respect the language.

PS:- I have mentioned the authors whose work I have read a lot. There are many more I need to read.

Sounds about right. Kinda like how being fat was considered beautiful in the Middle ages because only rich people could be fat while the peasants were all scrawny.

Originally posted by: HearMeRoar

I'm not judging regular people who lived in Mumbai and didn't learn Hindi. Or in any city. Use whatever language you can use and feel comfortable with. But some of these peeps apparently knew from young age they wanted to be actors. So why didn't they learn is a huge question. If it's because of some silly superiority complex, yeah I'd judge them. That complex would be the only reason.

They learn n know Hindi..it isn't like they don't..but they speak Hindi too with a foreign accent ..which we as audience don't appreciate 😊

I cannot help but laugh at comments which suggest that language should not be taken as a sign of identity.

I'm sorry, but language IS a vital part of your identity. Language is NOT simply a medium of communication. It has history, it has richness, it has socio-political context. People have died fighting for their mother tongue. People in countries such as Bangladesh and World War-era France have led down their lives fighting for their mother tongue.

Anybody who refuses to learn their mother tongue SHOULD be looked down upon in my opinion. Idiots who refuse to learn their mother tongue should be judged when people worldwide have given up their lives to protect their linguistic identity. Also, learning your mother tongue is the only way to preserve and protect it. People arguing that there should be no compulsion to learn their mother tongue are either extremely ignorant of history, or simply blind to the very real consequences that over-usage of English has on other languages. Entire languages have been wiped out because of the dominance of English around the world. There should be some pushback and balance against it. This is not bigotry, this is a fight for survival.

The first people to be lectured at in that case should be the Hindi belt. Because they impose their language all over the country by soft power (Bollywood) and force (legislation).

When India gained independence, 3 language system was supposed to be the norm. Southern states still (mostly) stick by it. Hindi-speaking states don't.

Some central administrations even tried to make Hindi national language and medium of communication. South Indian states insisted on English.

Now, the Bollywood actors who are not from the Hindi belt are also supposed to speak Hindi in their personal lives? Talk about language bigotry and imposition. Hindi is not their native language. They feel more comfortable in another non-native language (English) than in (also non-native) Hindi.

Kapoors (Punjabi), Ranveer (Sindhi), Deepika (Kannadiga), Jahnavi (Tamil, Punjabi)... name any of the A-listers. Most don't have Hindi as native language.

This demand is nothing but bigotry and Hindi imposition couched in terms of ethnic pride.

And of all the dumb comments... fight more wars to force people to speak a language they might or might not want to? Are we going back to the middle ages now? Why not ask for beheadings for blasphemy also? So many people have lost their lives for religion, too. Nah, this is a way to divide people.

I thought inciting bigotry and divide was what Kangana did. Plenty of her followers here on IF, it seems.

Originally posted by: Mahisa_22

I cannot help but laugh at comments which suggest that language should not be taken as a sign of identity.

I'm sorry, but language IS a vital part of your identity. Language is NOT simply a medium of communication. It has history, it has richness, it has socio-political context. People have died fighting for their mother tongue. People in countries such as Bangladesh and World War-era France have led down their lives fighting for their mother tongue.

Anybody who refuses to learn their mother tongue SHOULD be looked down upon in my opinion. Idiots who refuse to learn their mother tongue should be judged when people worldwide have given up their lives to protect their linguistic identity. Also, learning your mother tongue is the only way to preserve and protect it. People arguing that there should be no compulsion to learn their mother tongue are either extremely ignorant of history, or simply blind to the very real consequences that over-usage of English has on other languages. Entire languages have been wiped out because of the dominance of English around the world. There should be some pushback and balance against it. This is not bigotry, this is a fight for survival.

For me it is...period....no more no less.....I take no pride in knowing any language.....even though I am Hindi speaking but my favorite language is Urdu...just because of its sheer beauty and how elegant and rich it sounds.....if I had to choose one language to speak and listen to for the rest of my life...it would be Urdu.....Good that people fought wars and take pride in their language...its all good.....but those who don't are not idiots....just because they don't subscribe to your thought process......prem, pyaar, love all have the same meaning....but to me mohabbat sounds a little sweeter to my ears.....like I said...its just a means to communicate....I find Bengali and Marathi.....sweeter than Hindi to my ears...Punjabi is a lot of fun....but I would never fight for a language...or give it an iota of more importance than it deserves...

Next topic: Why do these actors drink coffee instead of Chai...are they ashamed of sanskari chai?

Also knowing Hindi and speaking Hindi on a day to day basis are two different things. I know Hindi just fine, I don't speak it on a day to day basis. So do these actors. I've never noticed a "Katrina Kaif" accent on say a Saif when hes playing a Langda Tyagi.

Originally posted by: blue-ice.1

For me it is...period....no more no less.....I take no pride in knowing any language.....even though I am Hindi speaking but my favorite language is Urdu...just because of its sheer beauty and how elegant and rich it sounds.....if I had to choose one language to speak and listen to for the rest of my life...it would be Urdu.....Good that people fought wars and take pride in their language...its all good.....but those who don't are not idiots....just because they don't subscribe to your thought process......prem, pyaar, love all have the same meaning....but to me mohabbat sounds a little sweeter to my ears.....like I said...its just a means to communicate....I find Bengali and Marathi.....sweeter than Hindi to my ears...Punjabi is a lot of fun....but I would never fight for a language...or give it an iota of more importance than it deserves...

It's like wasting food and saying, "Bruhh, who needs so much food*, when children are starving all over the world. Preferring other languages is fine, but choosing to wilfully neglect your mother tongue is disrespectful to your heritage in my opinion.

Language is an integral part of one's identity. If language was not important, then we won't be having linguistic study courses, debates on linguistics etc. If language was not important, then people in the South states would not revolt for so many years against the imposition of Hindi.

As a Bengali, I have been taught from childhood that your mother tongue was like mother's milk. Rejecting your language is like rejecting your mother. My ideals were strengthened further when as a student of history I learnt how French professors were shot down by Nazis for not succumbing to German imposition; how martyrs in Bangladesh succumbed to Pakistani bullets. February 21, the day when Bengali students died for the Bengali language, is celebrated by the United Nations as the International Mother Tongue Day.

Language matters. The people who died for their language were not idiots. The UN who honours them as martyrs is not an idiot. People who fight to this day to save their languages from disappearing are not idiots. Every human being needs to respect their mother tongue, that is what history teaches us.

Originally posted by: Mahisa_22

It's like wasting food and saying, "Bruhh, who needs so much food*, when children are starving all over the world. Preferring other languages is fine, but choosing to wilfully neglect your mother tongue is disrespectful to your heritage in my opinion.

You disrespect something when you associate pride with it...I don't so I do not disrespect Hindi....I do not respect Urdu .....Urdu is just another language which entertains me more when I hear it....but I won't start talking in Urdu to a person who won't understand it....I will choose a language..depending on what the person I am talking to will understand....ease of communication...not pride....is what works for me.....There are a lot things that I take pride in....my religion...parts of my culture....but language is not one of them...so there is no disrespect...