Yes. This is without doubt the answer you'll hear upon asking any localite of Penang, Malaysia how it is to learn his language - Malay. Everyone in town says "Malay, ah, its easy to learn!" And well it sure is, as long as somethings are in order. Let's see..
Learning on the move
Just the other day I was trying to start a conversation with my taxi driver using whatever little Malay I had gathered from a few weeks' stay. Trying to stitch a sentence using the hand-countable Malay words I knew, I think I only confirmed the driver's opinion about me, formed by now by the looks of my face! He was now sure I had no clue of spoken Malay and seemed to prepare to teach me already! I asked him if he had seen any visitors learn Malay and if I'd be able to pick it up quickly, to which came the prompt response from the front - "Its so easy laa". And easy indeed he has been making it since then.
Interestingly, on further observation of people's behavior around I figured this was a common trait among locals here - to believe by heart that it is easy for anyone to learn their language. While there’s no absolute meaning of a language being tough or easy to learn, I gather this psyche has played a major role in taking Penang where it is today - where regardless of the origin of people and their immigrant ancestors, Malay is perhaps the only language known to every single resident of this island, and perhaps the only language when spoken in can bring a smile on any Malay's face.
If you make it seem easy, it becomes easy
This very important perception of easiness created around learning Malay has helped immigrants and locals alike. It has formed basis of people's homely psychology while approaching others - strangers and friends alike, thereby giving Malaysia the reputation of a friendly tourist country. Thanks to these prevailing conditions the first language of choice for public use is Malay. What's more, television channels airing non-Malay programs don't fail to scroll Malay sub-titles, and Malay channels provide sub-titles in English making the language ladder easier to climb. Advertisements in all media are predominantly carried in Malay to capture the benefit of its reach. Essentially there are several such factors that make learning a language easy, and they only need to be in place to make it easy laa.
This could well be a leaf to take for us Kannadigas, especially in our rapidly growing towns where assimilation of immigrants into the mainstream needs to be energized by the presence of a supportive environment – an environment that only Kannadigas can help create.
(Trivia: laa happens to be one universal suffix used by Malaysians while speaking. This typically seems to give a friendly & affirmative tone to the end of a sentence, and is characteristic of any Malaysian's style of speaking!)
There the malay government, their people love and promote their language, its not the case here in karnataka. Local would be first to give up their language.
ReplyDeleteWe own no means of media. None of the TV channels are owned by Kannadiga(except the less popular Kasturi), none of the major NewsPapers are owned by us. almost all of the editor/journalists working in english newspapers published in Karanataka are non-kannadigas. How will our language or culture grow?
We are at the mercy of others in our own land!!
Dear Pachii,
ReplyDeleteI agree to your statement of a problem you perceive here. But to your surprise, let me tell you, neither are many of the TV channels available in Malaysia run by any locals in particular. I indeed refer to many multi-national TV channels that sincerely provide Malay subtitles - a simple outcome of Malay speaking populace demanding for such facility. I am not denying any flaw in the market in Malaysia at all, but as Kannadiga consumers in the Kannada market, we are yet to put our feet down with our own demands. That is the simplest ingredient to make one's language or culture grow.
I dont see why beginning to practise this needs Kannadigas to run TV channels, newspapers or anything for that matter. Yes, I agree it helps if that is the case, but with clear thoughts in mind, and no ambivalence about one's linguistic identity, an informed consumer can reform the world around him/her in prevailing conditions of our society.
That is what we Kannadigas could learn from this comparison.