now, it's about hindi

Earlier, it wasn't it. I was only talking about Tamil pride or rather the lack of it.
Then mumbaigirl made an interesting comment on my post. After all, it's not the national language. It is one of the official languages.
I know Hindi haters -- but I ain't one of those. I am too fascinated by languages and communication to dislike any language. Least of all something that has lent itself to so much modernisation and slangs. much like English really.
what I have a problem with is that the Hindi-speakers expect the whole country to prostrate before it and them.
yes, TN fought tooth and nail against imposition of Hindi. but even then, Tamil was never made compulsory at schools in the state. Kannada is compulsory in Karnataka, Marathi in Maharashtra...
What I don't understand is that why the whole country has to adhere to a language, just because those to whom it is the first language can't be bothered to adapt?
You can manage with English in Madras, and most parts of TN. Can we say the same of UP or MP or Bihar?
It seems like the states that have moved on continue to be penalised for the backwardness of the rest.
The representation in Lok Sabha for instance is one MP per X population. So those states that paid no heed to population control form our majority representation... do I need to add that they are also ill educated and ill behaved?
Just take a look at the LS State wise list.
Why do states like Kerala, Karnataka, Gujarat, TN, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana (all with excellent social indicators and/or industrial growth, contributing largely to the overall development of the country) have fewer representation than Bihar, Uttar Pradesh...
So the minority law makers from the first set of states are up against the rather repressive majority bunch from the latter set.
Shouldn't there be a reward for development.
Now back to lingo:
The language we choose to embrace is our personal choice. There can't be a government stricture on that. Neither can there be social pressure from the bullies.
Those smart enough will know what language to choose to survive.
So if your livelihood is in Delhi, you bloody well will learn Hindi, if it's in Mumbai, you will learn Mumbaiya or Marathi, and if it has to be in the south or anywhere else in the country or most parts of the world, you have no choice but to learn English.

And another point: Those of us who have made an attempt to speak or converse in Hindi are mocked for our accent (in English as well). How does an addition of ‘yaar’ or ‘chalo’ to an already grammatically incorrect English sentence make their accent better?

Accents are the universal truth. Your mother tongue or first language is bound to affect the way you speak any other language. Be it Tamil, Malayalam, German or Russian.
The important thing is communication -- to be understood. The rest doesn't matter.

Tamil pride, where art thou?

Why don’t we, the Tamils, ever take pride in our heritage the way other communities do?
Tagore and Rabindra sangeet is so much a part of the Bengali culture. No Bong home is complete without records of his music and volumes of his work. For good measure, they throw in the (unreadable) Apu Trilogy by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay, and they rave about the (equally unwatchable) movie version by Satyajit Ray. Of course, my opinion is neither based on cultural jingoism or studied appreciation of the arts.
It’s just a personal comment, that probably goes against worldwide view of the works!

Bangra is a folk dance from Punjab, the dandia/gharba of Gujarat… yet, it has received branding and promotion on a monumental scale. How come, no street or rural art from Tamil Nadu has gained this kind of push?

Why aren’t ALL our children exposed to Bharatiyar’s songs – how many have even heard of him now? Why isn’t the incredibly intelligent Kurals on the bookshelves of every Tamil household? Why isn’t Kalki’s magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan (far, far more intriguing a narration than Apu3) touted by us?

Why do people think our movies are all about overweight heroines, heavily made-up heroes and garish dance numbers? What about KB (of the past), Sridhar, Bharati Raja (of the past), and the dozens of other fantastic film makers and actors? Why do they think our music is merely of the O Podu and Malle Malle genre? The Maestro and ARR are products of Tamil culture too...

Why don’t we celebrate Pongal with the same aplomb as the Keralites do Onam?

And seriously, have you noticed? The Tamils when they meet will try to impress each other with their English skills!!!!! They think it’s infra dig to converse in Tamil.

We stake claim to Idli and Dosais – but both the Malyalees and Udipi folks refute that. And we give in without a whimper!

Fortunately, there is still the Kanjeevarams and Rajnikant that we can cling to.

Amavi Latin phrases

I love latin (and greek) terms used in English. I would love to use it as a matter of routine, but I know I would harshly misuse it.

The only term I can use comfortably is pro bono... thanks to all the Grisham novels i devour.

The term I misused for the longest term, and in this I find myself in the company of a great many, is ad hoc. It means: for this purpose. However, it's used often to convey just the opposite meaning, for no particular purpose.

Here is a term that is so nice on the ear, but so difficult to use: Non sequitur (something that does not follow).

A few terms are easier to inject into your language -- that bona fide idiot who pissed you off on the road?
Persona non grata, too... not that I am one in any place or home. I think...

Here's a new one I read and really liked, and hope desperately that I would be able to use somewhere outside of this post:
Ceteris Paribus: means "other things being equal."

Then there are some that sound suspiciously like Madras pettai slang:

Mutatis mutandis (the necessary things have been changed).
Pari Passu (at an equal pace).

The really CUTE ones, which we wish had a sassy enough English equivalent.
Reductio ad absurdum stands for "reduction to absurdity."
Sui generis: "of one's own kind" or "peculiar". I would rather be Sui generis than peculiar, any day.

And RIP apparently doesn’t translate literally to Rest In Peace, but Requiescat in Pace which means "let him rest in peace."

I know that if ever I decide to study law -- and I do toy with that idea often -- one of the reasons would be all the latin lingo I will learn, and learn to use with ease. My father for instance, can turn a mundane conversation (which could well be about an ailing pet cat) into a language puzzle, dotting it with latin phrases, ad infinitum.

ps: Amavi = fall in love with

ana ismi V, wa anta?

well, i've started Arabic classes finally.
I learnt the script some 7 years ago, and thought it was time i made sense of what i read... mindlessly.
Interesting to be back in a classroom... The brain needs to open up a bit, soak in more...
there is time enough.
so for starters, ana min al hend, min madina madras. ana ashtaghil fi qt.
go figure!