National Language vs. Mother Tongue

 Hindi is less than a few hundred years old. My mother tongue Telugu is well over 2000 years old, possibly as old as Tamil. 

Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Odiya, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Assamese, Manipuri etc. have their own unique scripts, many ancient and evolving, some recent. 

The above languages have a great history and superb literature dating back to a thousand years or much much more. These languages have also been the vehicle and instrument of social change and development. Moral tales, proverbs, folklore, unique forms of expression. All of them have wonderful fiction.

In the 1960s it was said that one of the best works of fiction in Hindi was the timetable book of the Indian Railways.

Growing up in Hyderabad we learnt to read write and speak Telugu, English, Hindi. Urdu, Marathi and Kannada were not foreign to us in the neighbourhood. Actually when we went to the neighbouring states they spoke to us in our language. In Bangalore they spoke to us in Telugu or Tamil. In Hyderabad, our buses had destinations written in Urdu, Telugu and English. We read them out for those who could not read at all. We knew at least 3 scripts. Some of us 4. I learnt and forgot another four scripts including three of Japanese and Chinese. I also spoke, read, wrote and taught French and German. 

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THAT WE LEARNT OTHER PEOPLE'S LANGUAGES AND CULTURES. WE DID NOT FORCE THEM TO LEARN OUR OWN. WE VALUED THE OTHER'S LANGUAGE AND CULTURE. AND PARTICIPATED IN EACH OTHER'S CELEBRATIONS.

Language is identity. Language is culture. Language is ideas. Language is one's breath. Language is history. Often Language is Literature, it can be the basis of Art and music. Language is lore. Language is lyric. Language is fable. Language is song. Language is mythology. Language is our connect to the inside. Language is our connect to the outside world. Language creates community. 

In Europe countries are organized on the basis of language. Italy - Italian, Greece - Greek, France - French, England - English, Wales - Welsh etc. 

In India states are organized on the basis of language. And minority languages are protected at the same time.

Of course, Language can also lead to hatred and fanaticism. To parochialism. Especially when you speak only one language. Or think that yours is superior. 

Official is not the same as National. Apart from the 15 on the Indian currency, there are at least 500 more, some with a script, some without. What would unite all the language groups would be the common thread of freedom and human rights and common aspirations. Shared hope, common experiences. Sense of solidarity and belongingness.

Now, the first thing any sincere lover of a language does is learn the swear words in the lingo. When you know many languages you know many swear words.

If single-language-speakers try to impose their language on those of us who are multi cultural and broad minded, you will soon find out how well we learnt those special words in several languages.