The recent show in 'Neeya Naana' took up the issue of English at its various levels of usage. People use it to 'show off', 'improve knowledge', 'come up in life' etc.
I was reminded of my grand mother. She knew a lot of verses from Kamba Ramayanam, Periya Puranam and other classical works. I must tell you that she taught herself to read and write. Those days, that is almost a hundred years ago, in Kanya Kumari District Hindu women were not sent to schools established by the Missionaries.
British Protestant women came to villages and taught women to do embroidery, stitching etc. Today we are talking about colonised minds. But then the women looked at the British women as 'door openers.' My grand mother was one such women who wanted to become independent like the 'western' women.
Indians probably think only English people opened avenues. Schools in Kanya Kumari District have changed the District's quality of life.
What are the repercussions of this education?
Without this education would we have lived better?
Can we 'use' English as an Indian National language?
Can we 'use' English as a global language that has stored all kinds of knowledge?
The indirect reasons for the English wave could be:
1. Social mobility
2. Nation/State
English and the computer have brought women to the economic forefront in India. The old concept of 'warrior' any way does not hold any value in real life, as technology is now the 'great warrior'. Therefore in modern life English that is the global language and English that is the internet language will be used by women as tools for achieving success. This could be one of the reasons why it is always women who are more 'particular' about English and its pronunciation.
English has become a politically powerful language and Indians are now not much interested in the literature of the country from which the language came from. Instead the average Indian wants to learn it as he would learn a technology.
When I took BA English literature in 1985 I loved English literature. We enjoyed reading prose, poetry, novels, short stories etc. that depicted 'English' culture. In 2012 students opt for BA English to get a smart job. They are 'culturally' away from Britain. They are closer to America through Hollywood.
Today's English no more represents England. It is instead a language of 'communication' to tackle the practical world.
I was reminded of my grand mother. She knew a lot of verses from Kamba Ramayanam, Periya Puranam and other classical works. I must tell you that she taught herself to read and write. Those days, that is almost a hundred years ago, in Kanya Kumari District Hindu women were not sent to schools established by the Missionaries.
British Protestant women came to villages and taught women to do embroidery, stitching etc. Today we are talking about colonised minds. But then the women looked at the British women as 'door openers.' My grand mother was one such women who wanted to become independent like the 'western' women.
Indians probably think only English people opened avenues. Schools in Kanya Kumari District have changed the District's quality of life.
What are the repercussions of this education?
Without this education would we have lived better?
Can we 'use' English as an Indian National language?
Can we 'use' English as a global language that has stored all kinds of knowledge?
The indirect reasons for the English wave could be:
1. Social mobility
2. Nation/State
English and the computer have brought women to the economic forefront in India. The old concept of 'warrior' any way does not hold any value in real life, as technology is now the 'great warrior'. Therefore in modern life English that is the global language and English that is the internet language will be used by women as tools for achieving success. This could be one of the reasons why it is always women who are more 'particular' about English and its pronunciation.
English has become a politically powerful language and Indians are now not much interested in the literature of the country from which the language came from. Instead the average Indian wants to learn it as he would learn a technology.
When I took BA English literature in 1985 I loved English literature. We enjoyed reading prose, poetry, novels, short stories etc. that depicted 'English' culture. In 2012 students opt for BA English to get a smart job. They are 'culturally' away from Britain. They are closer to America through Hollywood.
Today's English no more represents England. It is instead a language of 'communication' to tackle the practical world.
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