Language is, at it's crudest form, a means of communication. But at it's finest, it is a thing of beauty, of sophistication, a thing to be admired. When did language appreciation become a thing of the past?
Why suddenly am I going off about language, you may ask. And do I have anything particular to say, because of course, this post could be pointless. That, dear reader, is entirely up to you.
I am talking specifically about Tamil here, because I have a right to it; but it applies to pretty much every Indian language.
The entire education system has dropped the ball. Because right now, language is nothing but a tool used to boost your final scores. Of course, there are people who believe that the entire school system must be taught in the native tongue. To them, I say that it is a foolhardy move. English is as necessary in today's world as the oxygen you breathe, there is no going around it.
But, does that mean you trample your mother tongue on your way to glory? How many of you have actually appreciated the Tamil alphabet? How many of you have spent time to sit and learn the beautiful nuances of each letter, appreciated the range of pronunciation? How many of you can honestly tell me that you know how to pronounce each letter of the Tamil alphabet to perfection?
That is probably because Tamil to you was just a means of communication at home, a mere subject in school, and a way of increasing your scores in life. You never considered it an art, because it never occurred to you. And if the future generations continue on this path, it will be nothing more than page in the history textbook, and an exotic memory on Google Translate.
The responsibility of maintenance of this very fragile, living, growing art form has now fallen to...(You may disagree, that's why the comment section exists)...the film industry, more specifically the music industry. Who else cares about lost proverbs and forgotten mysterious words that were rampant in the years gone by? Who else stresses on perfect pronunciation of each and every syllable in a song (even if the singer happens to be someone who has never spoken a word of Tamil all their lives)?
Even if you can't appreciate the language, make sure you learn to respect it. Wherever you are born, wherever you are brought up; if you can't appreciate your mother tongue (whatever it may be), you have lost my respect.
There is no use in screaming 'Thamizhan da' from rooftops if you are slowly erasing the very language you are looking to glorify.
Language is a gift from our ancestors, probably the only gift that will stand the test of time...but only if we let it.