Wednesday, October 10, 2012

English Vinglish and more.....not a review.


English Vinglish was the most awaited movie in recent times, the comeback movie of the yesteryear actor Sridevi. The storyline of the movie which reflects reality is ably  directed by Gauri shinde and fantabulously enacted by the whole cast. 

The storyline is simple but handled beautifully. It is laced with a potpourri of  human emotions most of which are identifiable in most middle class homes. Infact, the protagonist character is said to be inspired by the director Gauri's own mom. 

Sashi Godbole ,  a middleclass  Maharashtrian house wife is also an entrepreneur who sells “laddu” to make her own money. She does not  know to speak English and so she is ridiculed by her family. She is the object of  humour by her husband ( fantastic acting by Adil hussain)  and her children who make fun of her English and have scant regard for her talent and her duti consciousness towards her family.


 Meanwhile Sashi is invited by her sis in Manhattan to help her in the wedding plans of her niece. She travels to US alone and how she enrolls herself in a crash course in English with her peers from Spain and France and learns to speak English  forms the story line. The finale where she delivers  the  wedding speech in her niece’s wedding is one of the high moments of the movie. There are many such soft moments  with subtle lessons on  loyalty, dedication, familial love,  perseverance and values of institution like marriage – all these without being preachy.




Like I said in my title, this is not about the movie but the message from the movie. What is about the language of English that enamors many families?  Isn’t it a language like any other language. A means of communication,  a medium to capture feelings and emotions like love, respect and transact business.

I remember long back when I was moving up the elevator in my block, my neighbour’s kid  a 3 year old who was with her dad was crying. When I questioned him about it?  He said, she did’nt  attend her school interview in English and so he was worried that she might not be admitted in the school. He said  “much as I try to speak to her in English, she refuses to respond to me back”.  He had been scolding her all along and hence the teary eyed girl.

 I am not being judgemental about him here, it is his child and his choice. But why force a 3 year old to speak in English? Won’t she take to the language like a fish to the water when in school. After all she has the whole lot of her life  to learn. What is wrong in speaking her mother tongue?

Similarly, I approached a kid who spoke my mother tongue with a line in tamil. The mom proudly said “No Asha, he does’nt speak tamil. He speaks fluent English though”. The child is hardly 2.5 years old.

Today , it is considered trendy in most families to speak in English. Even if the child tries to express in their mother tongue, the parents or grandparents cut short the child and respond to him/her in English.

Isn’t it important for a child to think and learn her mother tongue also? 

 I agree many of today’s children are born in intercultural families. But then the child has the opportunity to learn dual languages. Isn’t it?  Contrary to belief this is not confusing to the child.  Statistics claim that learning more languages only makes the brain more engaging, active and the child utilizes a greater percentage of the brain. Multilinguals have a higher performance rate than monolinguals  on tests of intelligence, inventiveness and problem solving ability and creativity.  Then why restrict them only to English. Let them learn as many languages as possible along with French , Spanish, add your own mother tongue.

I honestly feel English language has its own limitations. The emotions nestled in the deeper crevices of the human mind and heart can seldom be expressed with English.  These can be best expressed in your mother tongue/native language. English for me is not an emotional language but a language of business. The rate at which English is given importance today, I doubt if any other language will flourish 50 years hence.

 I am not against English language. My own thought process and soliloquies are in English. This is the most spoken language today especially in the field of work. No second thoughts about it. It is just that it feels bad  when parents refuse to teach their children or reprimand when they express in their mother tongue and put them on track in English.

Anyways, these are my thoughts. What are yours?

16 comments:

  1. it varies for adults and definitely different for kids..to understand that its just a language for communication..u need certain amount of maturity..which is rare even among grownups. school pasangaluku it doesnt apply to a large extent i feel. They need to learn it as a subject and majority of the kids treat it just that way..another language. For them scoring marks would be prominent on their mind and languages, be it english or tamil or hindi..are always boring classes. atleast my classmates felt that way :) if u one is so strong in his/her belief that learning in native tongue medium is best for their kid, thats a challenging stance and considering our society..it might even be a gamble on the child's future.

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    1. NEVER. I would'nt recommend vernacular medium. Even the so called famous language fanatics have educated their children in english medium. It definitley stunts the growth opportunities for a child.

      I never even apply this to school students coz i myself was one who hated languages in school.

      But my point is with the kids, Our mother tongue, has an important role in shaping our thought and emotions. It is the moral duty of every parent to pass the baton of language from one gen to next, because as children grow in the seamless world where english is the spoken language, the native language will forge a bond between the the child and his parents, his culture, his history etc.

      mother tongue connects the heart, brain and tongue- an emotional connect was what i was referring to . The parents show interest in their children learning french, english, along with that the mother tongue too.

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  2. I have the opposite problem - we are trying so hard to make our 2-yr old talk in our mother tongue :)...she is fluent in English because of daycare and neighbors (we live in the US), and she understands everything we speak in our mother tongue, but when she has to respond or speak, her first choice is in English. She has improved coz grandparents have come and are living with us for few months....also, I am going to be in India for few months soon, and I hope the immersion in our culture helps her to start talking fluently in Gujju :).....

    Have not watched the movie yet and don't know when I will get a chance....I have a 2-year old and a 4-week old so movies are off my bucket list for a while :)

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    1. Welcome to my space Shachi :)

      Seeing the various cartoons like caillou, noddy in english, my children too would speak to me in english. we would reply back to them in tamil. Slowly but steadily they picked up the language. now they do show interest in reading too. Your 2 year old will learn too with time.

      Congratulations on your new mommyhood. The movie can wait. you enjoy every moment of your time now. i too went through the same phase. my children are teenagers now.

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  3. We all have to be multilingual in the future. In a globalised world, knowing only one language - even if its English isn't good enough. I believe to be successful in future we have to be comfortable in the three main languages of the world - English, Spanish and Mandarin.

    Yes, in India, English is equated with social mobility and hence the craze.

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    1. The more the merrier.

      A new language opens a new door in our world view and makes us more broad minded and helps us to respect other cultures.

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  4. It was a fantastic movie. We really enjoyed every bit of it.
    And I am also not against English, one has to move with times. It does not mean everybody in the world bothers to speak English, but still till they are able to manage without knowing it is alright, but once they feel the need they do make an effort to learn it.
    That's the spirit.

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  5. yes, but my point is about the children learning the mother tongue and not just english.

    the mother tongue gives us a sociolinguistic identity in today's world where most children are born immigrants. They don't face a identity crisis in a global world when they know their native tongue.

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  6. Well I agree with you .. and I want to add thats what make it so hypocrite we on one side say oh WEST is this and that , Western influence etc etc .. YET we have not left english.. even our leaders who keep on harping on how India this and that speak in english..

    it is funny sometimes when u listen to a interview .. the interviewer would be asking questions in hindi and the so called leaders reply it in english..

    I dont have anything against the language , I like it , its a universal language so is a must in current day and age but MOTHER tongue is what we should not forget


    Bikram's

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    1. sometimes yes it happens like you say in tv, but i have no qualms about it as long as they are not rigid like fanatics.

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  7. I still have to watch this movie.. Thanks for the review

    love
    http://www.meghasarin.com

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    1. welcome to my space megha. movie is worth the time.

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  8. Like you said "The storyline is simple but handled beautifully"
    Coming to the language, its always good to learn another language, but here in India I have yet to come across any school that takes an interview (for admission) in a vernacular language. And that explains the reason for the parents trying to coax the kids to learn English.

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    1. yeah, i completely understand the parent's position but is it worth scolding a 3 year old? Moreover, i don't think the schools interview a 3 year old for english speaking skills. It is just to test the alertness of the child i suppose.

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  9. Valid points! Today, in nuclear families with inter-caste marriages, the vernacular languages are slowing taking a back seat and English is the main spoken language. Making it as a prestige issue is something that's not right! Have seen so many kids, who refuse to talk in English, despite they understanding each and every thing said to them in English! And a few years later, they are so fluent in the language.

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  10. exactly, those are the right words. 'Prestige issue'. I am of the view that kids should be taught mother tongue while young bcos they absorb faster. Later on amonst peers they would'nt get a chance especially with migrant kids.

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