Simbly bicked!
Have you winced when you see how South Indians are mocked for their apparent inability to speak Hindi properly? The done to death cliché of an Iyer’s “Aiyo…” or the Keralite “Simbly” have worn threadbare on the TV.
I know South Indians who can speak flawless North Indian languages and vice versa, though it is comparatively more difficult to learn the classical south Indian languages as the intricacies are more. The tamil la, lla and zha are legendary. So why this prejudice? Do the people up North perceive themselves linguistically superior to their brethren down south?
Just for a moment let us take the common denominator for all of us as English and then we find how language can be a leveler. When I say English I refer to the queen’s English which by virtue of our colonial heritage united the educational mediums into a common platform.
I wince when I hear some of us speak English. It is indeed painful. I do not look down on their inability for whatever is the reason but it is indeed painful to hear. This tragedy is so pronounced in our airlines today. The cabin crew if you care to notice are uniformly fair skinned and invariably skewed towards the northern part of the country. Their smiles make the journey pleasant indeed, but often I wish they would stop with smiles. I dread the announcements where it is so difficult to understand what is being said and often it is easier to pick up the Hindi translation. I fear the worst in an emergency situation.
The accents often vary from the Punjab / NCR region which is passable, to the cow belt which is just terrible Hinglish (with a greater Hindi touch to it), to the east coast which is simply Bicked. It is so difficult to get a neutral accent up there.
Have we made comedy movies on these? Do we look down on people for this?
This post is neither racial, nor is it meant to say “I can do better”, it’s just to say that the next time we have to endure or contribute to such racial comments. STOP.
So our language is simbly bicked? but hey, phir bhi dil he hindusthani!!!!
i take it that the repetition is not meant for emphasis!! ;P
ReplyDeleteyeah they do mock at us and we do mock at their "hinglish" accent. but what i do not undersand is that why do indians attach so much significance to the accent? it's so natural for a man's accent to be influenced by his mother tongue. try and speak the language right but mocking??? it's only a reflection of lack of civilization.
bythe way, thanks for dropping by :)
ReplyDeleteRoger, i think you have cut paste from your word doc during which you've pasted three paragraphs twice :(
ReplyDeleteanyway i've wondered why all this f(p)un... grow up people!
enna chinna pulathanama erukku!!!
Well, Amen to the part 'bout the announcements.
ReplyDeleteI've felt it's difficult to understand more because they've done it so many times, they've said it over and over again, that the whole thing just becomes one goooey word that they blurt out, rather than one lucid, clear sentence.
It actually pisses me off, that north indians.. (not all, i have nothing against north indians) make fun of our hindi accents, whilst they cant speak a word of tamil or malayalam.. at least we're making an EFFORT to speak hindi.. do THEY make the effort to speak south indian languages..?
ReplyDeletePlus, i had gone to Delhi last summer.. gorgeous men and women i must say, sadly, the minute they open their mouths you'd feel like running a mile.. :/ They cant speak one word of english properly.. Tut tut.. what a waste of good looks..
I agree with you Roger, I grew up in Delhi, hence I can speak hindi better than my mother tongue (tamizh, which my significant other points out is not tamizh at all, but thats another issue altogether!!) But during my childhood I have been the ridicule of many a jokes for unconsciously slipping out an 'aiyayo'! haha! At that time, I was embarassed about it, but now, I cannot be more proud of who I am and where I come from. And when I hear one of the Northy know it alls lash out their Hinglish, I emotionally shut myself out and wear my earphones. It irritates me.
ReplyDeletewow... kingfisher hostesses.. i see red.. forget about the language.. as long as you are good in non verbal communication we neednot worry
ReplyDelete@ Nithya: The repitiition was a ^C/^V error
ReplyDeleteThanx for passing by my space
@ Trinity: I have done ^X on the extra bits
@ gayatri: My sentiments exactly,
@ Oxy: The airline staff dont let me use my W810i on the plane, say it disturbs their equipment
@ chriz: kingfisher crew have an attitude problem, try spice, same quality but at economy fares! and they are red 2