madrasi_in_mo

From an online friend's journal:

" If we think of the majority of our society (or world), with respect to children and schooling, as moving in direction X, and our small minority as moving in direction Y, what I want to do is to find ways to help those who want to move in direction Y to move that way. There's no point in shouting endlessly at the great X-bound majority, "Hey, you guys, stop, turn around, you're going the wrong way!" People don't change their ideas, much less their lives, because someone comes along with a clever argument to show that they're wrong. As a way of making real and deep changes in society, this shouting and arguing is mostly a waste of time."

-- John Holt

("children" and "schooling" can be replaced with anything else....).

http://tulikapublishers.blogspot.com/2010/03/announcing-tulika-blogathon.html#idc-container

Question: How different are the written and spoken forms of your first language? If you want children to become familiar with their first language, which form would you look for in children's books - formal or informal? Why?

பதில்:

How different are the written and spoken forms of your first language? If you want children to become familiar with their first language, which form would you look for in children's books - formal or informal? Why?

பேச்சு தமிழுக்கும் எழுத்து தமிழுக்கும் நிறையவே வேறுபாடு உண்டு. குழந்தைகளுக்கான நூல்கள் பேச்சு தமிழில் இருந்தால் நன்றாக இருக்கும் என்று நம்புகிறேன். ஏனென்றால் நம் செவியில் என்ன கேட்கிறதோ அதை வைத்து தான் நாம் மொழியை கற்று கொள்கிறோம்.
படிப்பு, எழுத்து பின் தொடரலாம். படிப்படியாக எழுத்து தமிழை அதிகப்படுத்தலாம்.
என் பிள்ளைக்கு இப்போது நான்கு வயசு. சற்று எழுத்து தமிழ் நூல்களை அவனுக்கு நான் படிக்க ஆரம்பித்திருக்கேன் - அவனுக்கு முக்காவாசி புரிகிறது. பேச்சு தமிழ் நூல்களை அவனே படிக்கிறான்.

தமிழ் என் தாய்மொழி. நான் கடந்த பத்து வருஷமாக அமெரிக்காவில் இருக்கிறேன். நான்கு வருஷம் முன் என்னுடைய முதல் குழந்தை பிறந்த பிறகு தான் மொழியைப்பற்றி நான் யோசிக்க ஆரம்பித்தேன். என் பிள்ளை என்னை "அம்மா" என்று தான் அழைக்கவேண்டும் என்பது என்னுடைய விருப்பம். நான் பிறந்து வளர்ந்தது சென்னையில். என்னுடைய கணவர் பெங்களூரில் பிறந்து வளர்ந்தவர். நாங்கள் வீட்டில் தமிழ் மட்டும் தான் என்று முடிவு செய்தோம். சில மாதங்கள் கழித்து தான் எங்களால் தூய தமிழில் பேச முடிஞ்சிது! மெட்ராஸ் தமிழ் ரொம்பவே மோசம்! இப்போது எங்கள் வீட்டில் மூன்று அகராதிகள் உள்ளன - எங்களுக்கு தெரியாத சொல்லை தேடி பார்க்க மிகவும் உதவியாக உள்ளது.

நம்முடைய கலாசாரத்தை நம்முடைய பிள்ளைகளுக்கு புரியவைக்க வேண்டும் என்றால் அதற்கு முதல் படி நம்முடைய தாய்மொழியே!
எனக்கும் என் கணவருக்கும் துலிகா நூல்களை பார்த்ததும் மிக்க மகிழ்ச்சி. "உஷ்" என்ற நூலை என்னுடைய 18 மாச குழந்தை கூட விரும்பி படிக்கிறாள்! இன்னும் நிறைய நூல்களை வெளியிடுங்கள்.

Answer: Tamizh is my mother-tongue. There is a LOT of difference between the written and spoken form of this language. I feel that for children, books written in spoken Tamizh style are better suited. This is because, we learn a language first by hearing. Reading and writing follow. My son is now 4 years old and I read to him books that are slightly in formal Tamizh and he seems to understand most of it. Books that are in simpler, spoken Tamizh styles - he can read on his own!

I have been living in the USA for the past 10 years. Four years ago, when my first child was born, that is when I started wondering about my mother-tongue. I wanted my son to call me "Amma" - I was very clear about that! I was born and brought up in Madras (and it is always Madras for me, not Chennai!). My husband was born and brought up in Bengaluru (and he can speak fluent Tamizh, in addition to Kannada, Telugu and Hindi). We decided that at home, we'd speak ONLY Tamizh. It took us a few months to iron out all the non-Tamizh words and to speak in unadulterated Tamizh. Madras Tamizh is outstandingly bad as there are more English words than Tamizh ones! We have three dictionaries in our house now and these are very useful for us to look up words we do not know or are not familiar with.

If we have to pass on or teach our culture to our children, the foundation would be to expose them and teach them our mother-tongue. When my husband and I saw Tulika books for the first time, we were VERY happy! Even my 18 month old likes to "read" books like "Ush"!. Please continue the good work and publish lots of books for children!

And my non-desi friends - you might find this refreshing (?!!) if you have been hearing too many Christmas songs each time you step out....

Punjabi "Jingle bells".... :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5egq7QNCXY

Here's what I have discovered (!):

Condescension (towards others) comes from a feeling of insecurity.

Speaking of clippings from youtube.com, here is one that I enjoyed watching: ((Oh well, this is from the dancer's website):
http://mythiliprakash.com/videos5.html

Apparently, Sahana is done with baby food - the mashed up, ground stuff, that is. She does not have any molars yet, but seems to want to eat exactly what we eat!
Last night, she did not eat much of her food (some tofu bits, a bit of avacado and some kanji+ground walnuts). I reminded myself that toddlers are like this - they eat reasonably well on some days and on others, just don't want much food. But later, when Hari was having his dinner, she kept going to him and eating a bit of what he gave her and what was it? Tomato masial with rice! And it wasn't bland by any standards!

So Hari and I will have to finish up all the kanji (porridge) that I made for Sahana. :)

Hari was rather surprised to note that I have a cousin who is very career-oriented. Well, she is actually my cousin's daughter (my mother's older sister's grand-daughter). She used to live in San Diego but recently got a job in Wisconsin and has moved there. The job? CFO in a multi-million dollar company! (and she is only 31 !!). I am impressed. And she has TWO small children - one kid who is Sahana's age and an older one who is 28 months old. Her husband is in SD now and will join later, (once he is sure that she is going to stay in Wisconsin in spite of the cold weather).

We invited them home for Thanksgiving and yes, they are planning to come over. Her parents too will be joining us as they will be in town at that time. So....the Samrat family needs to get ready to welcome four adults and two small children to our house for four days! I had better plan the menu much ahead, write it down and stick to it. This CFO's mother - my cousin, is a talented person - I remember her gorgeous vegetable carvings and her Tanjore paintings. But what I am most impressed with is the fact that hers is the only house that I remember as always being tidy and clutter-free. During our last trip in 2007, Hari and I went to their house for dinner and he too was impressed. So...my point is, we gotta clean and clear the house and get started NOW!