Recently while I was watching a program in a local television channel I heard the presenter asking a question to the guest,” Ahile ko generation le hamro culture ra tradition lai birsadai chhan bhaninchha ni. Tapailai kasto lagchha?” What an utter nuisance! You must have noticed where she was making a joke of herself.
Like everything, we have even adulterated our mother tongue. It’s a thing to ponder why we hate our identity. Why can’t we say sanskriti ra parampara instead of culture and tradition? Words “Mummy” and “Daddy” have replaced the words “Aama” and “Buba”. Today, the whole gamut of people are found using the remix language. Be a student of primary standard to post graduate, everyone seems to be fond of mixing foreign words while speaking. Even the presenters of different radio and TV programs are found using remix languages. Nowadays, pure Nepali language seeks solace only in the newspapers, some typical Nepali programs and in some culture conscious people. Today’s child learns to say school but not vidyalaya tiffin but not Khaja, homework but not Grihakarya, thank you but not Dhanyabad.
To many people foreign clothes may be easier to wear, foreign films may have better quality and foreign festivals may look more delightful, as a result they opt for them. But, what about the language? Is their similar rating also among languages? We don’t become pakhe speaking proper Nepali and there is nothing to prove by speaking others’ languages.
Prosperous countries like Korea, Japan are found emphasizing on the use of their national language. Koreans and Japanese can speak their languages properly and they don’t have fondness for foreign languages. At least they don’t mess up the languages. Why do we? Why don’t we have love for our own language?
We should realize that glory lies in maintaining one’s separate identity not in blending on the identity of others. If we have our own words then why should we borrow them form others? And it’s necessary to conserve our traditional norms and values. Our rich diversity in culture and tradition should be treasured. Language is the first and the foremost thing of civilization which other languages have; anukaranatmak; like kwappa, thachakka, etc. Why don’t we promote the richness of our language instead?
Though I have penned down my feelings here, it doesn’t mean that I am able to speak our language complete without mixing it, maybe it’s because of the environment. But at least I have realized that I was making a mistake and so am making an effort to speak as far as possible to speak proper Nepali. Do you agree with me?
– Surath Giri “EVENING POLE STAR”
