Not just words

While the queries of the curious little minds are often ignored for one’s own convenience,linguists and language professors will have you know that the base to the study of any language weakens the moment parents dismiss uncomfortable questions posed by their wards.

The loophole

As the kids grow up on their mother tongue’s rich vocabulary and unparalleled expressions,the transition to their second language becomes a difficult journey. And it does not remain a problem confined to just the kids. The grown-ups are not spared and neither are college goers,whose sheer negligence has deprived these intricacies of languages from its fair share of exposure.

Padmaja,a professor of Hindi at the SNDT College says,“While language students should be well equipped with the nuances,you will find many fumbling when asked about the equivalents of such words. Many words from Indian languages don’t have English equivalents,but then the person should be ready with the right explanation. And many students who can speak read and write English and Hindi both don’t know the exact reasons why this is so.”

The remedy

And while many little minds could not quench their thirst for knowledge,the elders make an effort to ignore the questions spiraling in their heads all the time,which,as the linguist will tell you,is not a healthy sign. Sonal Kulkarni Joshi,reader,Dept of Linguistics,Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute has an easy remedy available for the unanswered questions.

“The words semantics,lexicon,syntactic might sound alien to people,but a little knowledge of all of the above will help them understand languages better. A logical explanation of these terms will make the child know the valid reasons behind it,instead of just blindly following the structure of the language without understanding it,” she says.

According to Joshi,a given language is rich in a certain semantic field,if it is culturally or socially or otherwise of significance to the community speaking the language. “To give a clichéd example,the word ‘mama’,in most Indian languages distinguishes a certain kind of uncle from other uncles,because of the important role he plays in both patrilineal and matrilineal societies in India. English has not lexicalised this difference since it is not culturally relevant,” she adds.

Culture cringes

Just as it is difficult to find an exact equivalent in English for Indian concepts such as maika,sasural,joothaa,prasad etc,it is difficult to find exact single-word equivalents for English words like anxious,tension,nervous,in Marathi-Hindi. Paraphrasing (e.g. trousers = tang vizaar in Marathi) or literal translation using native root words (e.g. Sanganak = computer,Avarakt kiran = infrared rays,Svanaateet = ultra sonic,Bhraman dhvani yantra = mobile phone) are the two commonly-used strategies in translation across languages. A third option has been to borrow the new concept along with its foreign name (e.g. pizza,burger,cursor,screen,mouse,skirt). “A lot of words in the fields of science and technology are borrowed as they are not there in Indian languages. So it’s not that the gaps are only in the English lexicon,” says Joshi.

No English equivalent for these:

* Bheekh

* Maika

* Nanihaal

* Tashrif

* Utran

* Jootha

* Arthi

* Sondhi