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Malayalam

, a language of God's own country!

 
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> Malayalam, a language of God's own country!
unni
post Jun 3 2005, 07:18 PM
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In my humble opinion, the best way to teach children a language is for the parents to speak only that language at home. The kids will learn English and Hindi in school (and Arabic in the Middle-East). The parents do not have to teach them those languages.

I learnt this lesson from my own experience. At the time I moved abroad from India, my elder daughter was 6 years old. She then spoke Tamil fluently (my wife is a Tamilian). Within 6 months, my daughter stopped speaking Tamil but would answer in English the questions put to her in Tamil. But then, the only common language in our home is English, since my Tamil is scanty and my wife's Malayalam is negligible.

Whereas I've never lived in Kerala, never studied Malayalam, cannot read or write in the language. Yet it is for me, literally my mother-tongue, for that was the only language in which I could communicate with my mother. If I speak Malayalam, however badly, it is only because it was spoken at home.

I was all admiration for a couple I met. The husband is from India and the wife from Switzerland. Their two sons spoke Hindi, German, French and Italian, apart from English! The parents take the credit for that.

If you stop trying to make sense of it all, you'll be less confused. Reality is an illusion.
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unni
post Jun 3 2005, 07:19 PM
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In my humble opinion, the best way to teach children a language is for the parents to speak only that language at home. The kids will learn English and Hindi in school (and Arabic in the Middle-East). The parents do not have to teach them those languages.

I learnt this lesson from my own experience. At the time I moved abroad from India, my elder daughter was 6 years old. She then spoke Tamil fluently (my wife is a Tamilian). Within 6 months, my daughter stopped speaking Tamil but would answer in English the questions put to her in Tamil. But then, the only common language in our home is English, since my Tamil is scanty and my wife's Malayalam is negligible.

Whereas I've never lived in Kerala, never studied Malayalam, cannot read or write in the language. Yet it is for me, literally my mother-tongue, for that was the only language in which I could communicate with my mother. If I speak Malayalam, however badly, it is only because it was spoken at home.

I was all admiration for a couple I met. The husband is from India and the wife from Switzerland. Their two sons spoke Hindi, German, French and Italian, apart from English! The parents take the credit for that.

If you stop trying to make sense of it all, you'll be less confused. Reality is an illusion.
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tres
post Jun 9 2005, 01:36 PM
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QUOTE(unni @ Jun 3 2005, 07:19 PM)
.. But then, the only common language in our home is English, since my Tamil is scanty and my wife's Malayalam is negligible.



That's gonna be repeated in my case as well, now that i am getting married to an Assamese girl!! Speaking Malayalam is out of question since she can't even speak in Hindi..

Just imagine what happens when my kids learn Assamese (i don't know a word in assamese!).. I shudder at the thought of them using that language in future whenever they (my wife and kids) are conspiring something against me! NO WAY! The best option is to teach my wife Hindi and my kids both Hindi and Malayalam.. laugh.gif
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dileep_kuwait2
post Jun 9 2005, 01:41 PM
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So your house will become a language school. clap1.gif
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Nimii
post Jun 9 2005, 03:56 PM
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Tres not fair tongue.gif

I think both you and she should learn each others' mother tongue and the kids should learn both languages too smile1.gif

N biggrin.gif
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bibhas
post Jun 9 2005, 11:22 PM
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QUOTE(Nimii @ Jun 9 2005, 06:26 AM)
Tres not fair tongue.gif

I think both you and she should learn each others' mother tongue and the kids should learn both languages too smile1.gif

N biggrin.gif
*


I agree. My 4-yr old niece can speak English, Hindi, german (baby-sitter), Telugu (dad) and Bengali (mom). I think it's b'cos my bro & s-i-l took time to learn Telugu and Bengali and spoke to the kid in their respective mother tongues.

A science that does not deliver us to the portals of metaphysics is a failed science and a religion that does not embrace physics is not grounded in reality.
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tres
post Jun 11 2005, 10:17 AM
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QUOTE(Nimii @ Jun 9 2005, 03:56 PM)
Tres not fair tongue.gif

I think both you and she should learn each others' mother tongue and the kids should learn both languages too smile1.gif

N biggrin.gif
*



it's gonna be a tough time for me.. should that be a case. I will surely end up having a confused family speaking a new lang ultimately - a mixture of Malayalam, Hindi, English and Assamese.. ,

Ksamaa kariba, enique ninde not even one setence samaj aaya.. laugh.gif
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dileep_kuwait2
post Jun 11 2005, 10:57 AM
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If you happen to shift somewhere in Mideast, you will have a combination that includes Arabic as well. It will become a totally new language
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gkshyam
post Jun 13 2005, 07:29 PM
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Oh Well....Unni......I wasn't aware of that situation in your household.....Must've had quite a tough time in the beginning, right? wink2.gif

Also....I agree with you Tres......I stay in Mumbai......and I've seen innumerable......(really lost count....guess almost 90%) Malayalee families using Hindi as their main spoken language at home......And in all the cases, the kids at home.....are not so confident with Malayalam.......(can speak a bit broken Malayalam though)....Definitely the fault lies with the parents.......If this tradition goes on.......in the future.......All the languages (not only Malayalam) will die a slow death....definitely in terms of quality.... unsure.gif

Another thing to note here is that everyone knows the employment situation in Kerala.....and with all the communalism prevelant there....More and more ppl are migrating elsewhere.....either to "Gelf" or to other parts of India, in search of jobs.......once they start a family there.....thats it.......the kids and parents and everyone is conversing in Hindi or English.....or some such language........Possibly the families sticking to Kerala as their home, may not have this bad a problem.....But with more ppl getting out of Kerala.....the future looks uncertain........... unsure.gif

(And even in the cases in other cities where the parents or children speak Malayalam at home.....its not the traditional Malayalam that we know of.......they speak a cocktail kind of Malayalam......with other local accents and words coming in.....even the parents....) smile1.gif

Love Music....... LOVE GK
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bhanuvarma
post Jun 14 2005, 11:58 PM
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QUOTE(gkshyam @ Jun 13 2005, 07:29 PM)
Oh Well....Unni......I wasn't aware of that situation in your household.....Must've had quite  a tough time in the beginning, right? wink2.gif

Also....I agree with you Tres......I stay in Mumbai......and I've seen innumerable......(really lost count....guess almost 90%) Malayalee families using Hindi as their main spoken language at home......And in all the cases, the kids at home.....are not so confident with Malayalam.......(can speak a bit broken Malayalam though)....Definitely the fault lies with the parents.......If this tradition goes on.......in the future.......All the languages (not only Malayalam) will die a slow death....definitely in terms of quality.... unsure.gif

Another thing to note here is that everyone knows the employment situation in Kerala.....and with all the communalism prevelant there....More and more ppl are migrating elsewhere.....either to "Gelf" or to other parts of India, in search of jobs.......once they start a family there.....thats it.......the kids and parents and everyone is conversing in Hindi or English.....or some such language........Possibly the families sticking to Kerala as their home, may not have this bad a problem.....But with more ppl getting out of Kerala.....the future looks uncertain........... unsure.gif

(And even in the cases in other cities where the parents or children speak Malayalam at home.....its not the traditional Malayalam that we know of.......they speak a cocktail kind of Malayalam......with other local accents and words coming in.....even the parents....) smile1.gif
*




May I, another confirmed MALLU, butt into this very interesting 7 months old thread to offer my thoughts???? poseur.gif

I agree with the fact that very soon the influence of mother toungue is going to die a slow death if parents continued to encourage use of languages, other than the mother toungue, at home....however, I have honestly noticed this trend ONLY AMONG MALLUS.... I have personally come across Gujjus hitting it off in Gujju from the word GO, two tamils will probe each other just enuf to know that they r Tamils and then its Tamil all the way....Maharashtrians would 'amhi-marathi-manus' each other and carry on....Its only among Mallus that i have noticed a strange shame in acknowledging that they are Mallus....They gladly admit (with relief, many a times) that they know nothing of the language and they can speak in bits and pieces only......Ahhhhhhhh welllllll, strange are the ways of the world!!!!!! cry.gif sad1.gif arrogant.gif abuse.gif blink.gif doh.gif

As for me, urs truly can read, write and converse Malayalam, verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry fluently thumbs-up.gif
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hits
post Jun 15 2005, 07:38 AM
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QUOTE(bhanuvarma @ Jun 14 2005, 12:28 PM)
May I, another confirmed MALLU, butt into this very interesting 7 months old thread to offer my thoughts????  poseur.gif 

I agree with the fact that very soon the influence of mother toungue is going to die a slow death if parents continued to encourage use of languages, other than the mother toungue, at home....however, I have honestly noticed this trend ONLY AMONG MALLUS.... I have personally come across Gujjus hitting it off in Gujju from the word GO, two tamils will probe each other just enuf to know that they r Tamils and then its Tamil all the way....Maharashtrians would 'amhi-marathi-manus' each other and carry on....Its only among Mallus that i have noticed a strange shame in acknowledging that they are Mallus....They gladly admit (with relief, many a times) that they know nothing of the language and they can speak in bits and pieces only......Ahhhhhhhh welllllll, strange are the ways of the world!!!!!!  cry.gif  sad1.gif  arrogant.gif  abuse.gif  blink.gif  doh.gif

As for me, urs truly can read, write and converse Malayalam, verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry fluently thumbs-up.gif
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Ditto.
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tres
post Jun 15 2005, 03:14 PM
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QUOTE(bhanuvarma @ Jun 14 2005, 11:58 PM)

....Its only among Mallus that i have noticed a strange shame in acknowledging that they are Mallus....They gladly admit (with relief, many a times) that they know nothing of the language and they can speak in bits and pieces only......



Very true.. I will relate u all an incidence..

Few years back i was exploring a marriage proposal for myself. The girl hailed from a Malayalam family, residing in Mumbai.

A common friend of ours called me up to tell me that they (ladkiwaale) were expecting me to go and visit them. I told myself, 'Yea.. it had to be like that.. so let it be like that'. But what if they start firing rapid questions in Malayalam the moment they see me??? Well, I will tell them that since I was born and brought up in Bhilai, my Malayalam sucks! But what if the girl was born in Mumbai and hers was still fluent?

Finally, I asked this common friend to tell them that I’d prefer to meet the girl at a coffee joint before meeting her family up.. They seemed to be keen on accepting whatever proposals I were making, for they did agree to it! A meeting place and time was fixed; and never once I had a chance to talk to her in between (for some strange reasons I myself avoided it!)

Driving down to that meeting-place I kept wondering how to start? The obvious 'Hi!' will have to be followed by either a Malayalam sentence or an English one.. I decided to shoot off with English.. Yes. 'Hi! How do u do... Let me first apologize for having kept you waiting for so long!' (I was already late by 15mins).

I sensed I wanted to avoid Malayalam in every possible way!

I found her waiting for me at the entrance of the joint (I had seen her photograph earlier). Parking my vehicle and sporting a big apologetic grin on my face, I approached her. But before I could even blurt out a word, she raised her warning index finger towards me and said, "Please, don't expect me to speak in Malayalam.. My Malayalam sucks!"

laugh.gif Can't tell u how glad I was at that time.. But later that night I really regretted once again for being so poor in my mother-tongue..
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gkshyam
post Jun 15 2005, 07:15 PM
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Yes BhanuVarma, Hits and Tres......Exactly the kind of thing I was talking about......This is the same point I wanted to drive home......And BhanuVarma..You are absolutely right.......I've too seen this happen only in case of Mallus......and the worst part is.....they are shameless enough to openly acknowledge about their poor knowledge of their mother-toungue......to the extent that....they make a joke of it...and laugh themselves..... tongue.gif laugh.gif .....and they go on and on in English talking about their poor hand at Malayalam......as if that's a status symbol of sorts!!!!! Really strange are the ways of the world.....Hmmm...... smile1.gif

Love Music....... LOVE GK
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gkshyam
post Jun 27 2005, 12:19 PM
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Namaskaaram......I'm in a nice mood to share an old anecdote that happened with me when I was about 6-7 years old.... smile.gif

(Writing this in English for the 'benefit' of all the non-mallus...and all the mallus who aren't confident with their mother-toungue... tongue.gif )

It so happened that....during one of my first school vacations...(I must've been in 2nd standard or something.... )...I had been to Kerala with my family....to visit our native places......And one of the important stops in our long trip was "Irinjalakuda" (Trichur district), which happens to be my mother's native......And one of the days during our stay there....my grandmother took me on a round to the nearby homes...to visit people over there.....(some old friends of theirs.....and some neighbours etc.)

And I was a boy who would mingle with anybody easily at that time... tongue.gif .....

Now comes the bomber......I didn't know a single letter in MALAYALAM!!!! tongue.gif smile1.gif HAHAHAHA!!! smile1.gif

And we were sitting outside one of the houses...in the porch.....and my grandmother and the lady of that house were in deep conversation......and I was just having a nice time...looking here and there.....and smiling at them......smile1.gif

Then...that lady suddenly started to converse with me.....And Then I suddenly realised...."HEYY.....What is she talking....I can't understand anything!!! rolleyes.gif " (What an early realisation!!!;)) But I was not a boy who was going to leave it so easily......I decided to try my best to answer her properly.....(Irrespective of whether I understood her or not!!! tongue.gif poseur.gif )

And she asked me some simple questions....like my name......where do I stay etc.....which I could understand in some way....and I was "Smartly" answering her in one word......(Name..place etc....) And finally...she asked me a question......"Nee Sukkoolil (School) pohunnale? Leavil ivade vannutundalle........Ninde School eppo "Pookum"????"

Now.....I understood 99% of what she asked......but had no CLUE of what "Pookum" means!!!! laugh.gif But I didn't want to "GIVE UP" at the same time.....(Hehehehe.....what a kid I must've been.....wink2.gif) And I gave her a blank look....and repeated the word "Pookum???" (In an interrogative fashion....laugh.gif)

And..Paavam.....that lady....said...."Pokum...paranyaal......June, July, August.....angene.......ippo aana pookunnade????"

Now......the "SMART" kid that I was.......only understood....that the question had "something on earth to do with the name of a MONTH!!!!" Had no clue what she meant.........but I knew...she needed some name of the month as the answer....:LOL... And I coolly said....."July" (Only because that was one of the names she took....wink2.gif) And she replied....."Ohh..ohh.....Julaaayil pookunno sukkool......angene aanelle......" And I was Ssooooooo proud that I 'managed' the situation so well......without knowing anything in that language.....smile1.gif

Only much later....after getting to know the language better......did I recollect that incident..and realise that she actually wanted to know when was my school re-opening....smile1.gif (Which was supposed to be in June)...and I had so nicely said July to her!!!!! Hehehhee..... poseur.gif

That was my 'first' "BRUSH" with this wonderful language.......Can't help laughing whenever I recollect this one!!!! smile1.gif Btw.....this was only the FIRST of the Mannnyyyyyy such incidents....that were to follow....

Love Music....... LOVE GK
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gkshyam
post Jun 28 2005, 10:56 PM
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Ee Forum Eppo aane pookunnade??? tongue.gif

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