Re: Shashi Tharoor: Celebrating India's linguistic diversity

by Idéfix Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:17 am

bw wrote:my kids know not a word of hindi or tamil or any other indian language. never felt the urge to teach them either.

I am curious... did you expose them to (or encourage them to learn) any other language beside English?

by Guest Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:32 am

Merlot Daruwala wrote:On the contrary, the Karnataka government has a special Kannada Book Authority, which just goes into the market and buys up Kannada books worth a few crores every year and dumps them into state-run libraries where nobody reads them. And there is a state-funded Sahitya Parishat that routinely makes grandiose statements about the "healthy" state of the Kannada book industry, completely ignoring the facts on the ground.

absurd. on another note, my son has to take spoken kannada classes (for elementary fluency) beginning this semester. it is as per VTU's prescribed curriculum. i see it as a foreign language requirement i was made to meet in college (i chose hindi).

by bw Wed Feb 20, 2013 3:01 am

panini press wrote:
bw wrote:my kids know not a word of hindi or tamil or any other indian language. never felt the urge to teach them either.
I am curious... did you expose them to (or encourage them to learn) any other language beside English?

they do learn two other languages at school - i haven't done anything outside of school.

by goodcitizn Wed Feb 20, 2013 3:08 am

bw wrote:
panini press wrote:
bw wrote:my kids know not a word of hindi or tamil or any other indian language. never felt the urge to teach them either.
I am curious... did you expose them to (or encourage them to learn) any other language beside English?

they do learn two other languages at school - i haven't done anything outside of school.

This is perhaps more typical of Indian American kids. My son knows only a smattering of Tamil (of which I'm disappointed) but proficient in Spanish and French that he took in school besides English.

by Kris Wed Feb 20, 2013 4:21 am

goodcitizn wrote:
bw wrote:
panini press wrote:
bw wrote:my kids know not a word of hindi or tamil or any other indian language. never felt the urge to teach them either.
I am curious... did you expose them to (or encourage them to learn) any other language beside English?

they do learn two other languages at school - i haven't done anything outside of school.

This is perhaps more typical of Indian American kids. My son knows only a smattering of Tamil (of which I'm disappointed) but proficient in Spanish and French that he took in school besides English.

>>>One of my sons took french for 4 years, can't speak a sentence. The other one is in Spanish now, but he shows more interest in conversational Spanish.

by Guest Wed Feb 20, 2013 4:25 am

Kris wrote:>>>One of my sons took french for 4 years, can't speak a sentence.

LOL! sounds much like some of my nieces who study french (CBSE teaches french as an option). can't speak a sentence beyong ui mui.

by Kris Wed Feb 20, 2013 4:37 am

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:
Kris wrote:>>>One of my sons took french for 4 years, can't speak a sentence.
LOL! sounds much like some of my nieces who study french (CBSE teaches french as an option). can't speak a sentence beyong ui mui.

>>>> I thought the problem was endemic to american schools, but apparently happens in India as well. Ironically, the one thing they are able to negotiate in any language is the happy meal at McDonalds. I have seen them get the order across in German, Spanish and French. I was having trouble ordering a cheeseburger in Spain, when my younger one came to the rescue and said 'dad, just say con queso, he will understand'.

by Guest Wed Feb 20, 2013 4:39 am

Kris wrote:
Huzefa Kapasi wrote:
Kris wrote:>>>One of my sons took french for 4 years, can't speak a sentence.
LOL! sounds much like some of my nieces who study french (CBSE teaches french as an option). can't speak a sentence beyong ui mui.

>>>> I thought the problem was endemic to american schools, but apparently happens in India as well. Ironically, the one thing they are able to negotiate in any language is the happy meal at McDonalds. I have seen them get the order across in German, Spanish and French. I was having trouble ordering a cheeseburger in Spain, when my younger one came to the rescue and said 'dad, just say con queso, he will understand'.

LOL! some utility there is after all.

by Idéfix Wed Feb 20, 2013 4:58 am

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:
Kris wrote:>>>One of my sons took french for 4 years, can't speak a sentence.
LOL! sounds much like some of my nieces who study french (CBSE teaches french as an option). can't speak a sentence beyong ui mui.

The only way you can get conversational in French while living in India is to go to the Alliance Francaise. Their approach is not at all textbook-oriented. They get you comfortable speaking basic sentences within your first 2-3 classes. I don't know how good the Alliance is in the US. I had a French native from Lyon as my teacher, and he insisted on talking to us in French after the initial introductions in English. Thanks to those lessons, I can still order food in France and tell the taxi drivers where to take me Smile

.

by Vakavaka Pakapaka Wed Feb 20, 2013 10:52 am

Looks like rationalists of this forum are in a congratulatory mode Very Happy

.

Hopefully they won't dismiss the roles of emotion, language and societal structures in daily living. The extremely brilliant discussion on this thread reminds me of Woody Allen's movie in which he goes into a booth, turns on a switch and gets all the love he needs.

Is it possible that fukularism, rapes and corruption in India are extreme examples of viewing emotion, ethics, morals, etc., with a mechanical mind set?

Seriously, language is much more than a communication skill. It participates in learning, memory, analysis and other complex brain functions.

by Kris Wed Feb 20, 2013 12:26 pm

panini press wrote:
Huzefa Kapasi wrote:
Kris wrote:>>>One of my sons took french for 4 years, can't speak a sentence.
LOL! sounds much like some of my nieces who study french (CBSE teaches french as an option). can't speak a sentence beyong ui mui.
The only way you can get conversational in French while living in India is to go to the Alliance Francaise. Their approach is not at all textbook-oriented. They get you comfortable speaking basic sentences within your first 2-3 classes. I don't know how good the Alliance is in the US. I had a French native from Lyon as my teacher, and he insisted on talking to us in French after the initial introductions in English. Thanks to those lessons, I can still order food in France and tell the taxi drivers where to take me .

>>>> Alliance helped me quite a bit with conversational french. Alliance instructors (in India) are usually native french speakers, I think. In the US, college level classes usually come with conversational exercises.

by Idéfix Wed Feb 20, 2013 2:18 pm

Vakavaka Pakapaka wrote:Is it possible that fukularism, rapes and corruption in India are extreme examples of viewing emotion, ethics, morals, etc., with a mechanical mind set?

Guruvu-gaaru, once you let your mind wander, anything will seem possible.

by Rishi Wed Feb 20, 2013 9:46 pm

panini press wrote:
Vakavaka Pakapaka wrote:Is it possible that fukularism, rapes and corruption in India are extreme examples of viewing emotion, ethics, morals, etc., with a mechanical mind set?
Guruvu-gaaru, once you let your mind wander, anything will seem possible.

What is that he said warranted such sarcasm?

by Idéfix Wed Feb 20, 2013 9:48 pm

Rishi wrote:
panini press wrote:
Vakavaka Pakapaka wrote:Is it possible that fukularism, rapes and corruption in India are extreme examples of viewing emotion, ethics, morals, etc., with a mechanical mind set?
Guruvu-gaaru, once you let your mind wander, anything will seem possible.

What is that he said warranted such sarcasm?

What is it that made you think that that was sarcasm?

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