Urdu vs English: Are we ashamed of our language?

[Abu Zolfiqar]

It's all about comfort really. We usually speak in the language we study because we speak it most of the day, but yes it shouldn't go at the cost of your own language. I also think Urdu/Hindi is a very beautiful language and a proof of it is it's endless beautiful poetry and songs. Nonetheless, Pashtu is Pashtu afterall!

i agree


every language has a beautiful aspect to it i think

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

I have never come across a Pakistani who is ashamed of Urdu.

Never come across a Sindhis who is ashamed of speaking Sindhi.

Never came across a Balochi who is ashamed to speak Balochi.

Never came across a Pakistani Pashtun who is ashamed to speak Pashto.

Though I come across alot of Pakistani Punjabis who are ashamed to speak their Punjabi language, and see Punjabi as a lower class and inferior language.

I'm a native Pakhtu speaker who speaks Urdu regularly with non Pakhto speakers

i wanna learn Punjabi, i speak and understand it somewhat -- but there's something about it...it's a very rough, urban type language.....you have the street Punjabi which is hardcore -- but there is also a softer and more poetic Punjabi which you hear from time to time

whoever is ''ashamed'' of their own language must get their head examined....Punjabi is a widely spoken language in Pakistan --since most of the populated areas are generally areas where use of Punjabi is widespread (especially among the common man) -- e.g. Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot etc.

 

[Truth Teller]

alot of Pakistani Punjabis are ashamed of their language.

But it is a rare occasion to find a Pakistani Sindhi, Balochi, Pashtun, Kashmiris, ect, who are ashamed of their language.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

''a lot''

i dont think so, never met a Punjabi who was ashamed of who they are.....but if you met someone like that, bop them over the head and impart some sense into them

 

[Last Hope]

alot of Pakistani Punjabis are ashamed of their language.

But it is a rare occasion to find a Pakistani Sindhi, Balochi, Pashtun, Kashmiris, ect, who are ashamed of their language.

Really? But the ones I saw or met, take pride in it.
How can you say that?

 

[Al-zakir]

After Farsi, Urdu has serve to spread the message of Islam among the Muslims community in Subcontinent. Hamd and naat in Urdu touch mu'min heart.
One of my favorite from Allma Iqbal.

[video]http://youtu.be/4v6LbyddeVo[/video]

 

[MadDog]

Once a sensible govt with vision is in power they should introduce regional languages at the secondary school level , just as it is in UK where more than one regional languages such as German or French are taught at secondary school level along with English.
I would prefer Persian and French along with Urdu and English to be taught at the secondary school level. Persian was the language of our saints in this region, be it Shah Waliullah or Allama Iqbal or tons of Muslim dynasties who ruled this region.

Along with Urdu , Persian indeed played an important role in the muslim history of this region.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Yes Persian plays a big role.....I think especially for any Urdu or Baloch speaker, learning Persian would be a total walk in the park. 65% of the vocabulary is the same more or less.

just a question of grammar really....

French? nahhh! English is more useful no?

I do think Pakistanis should be given option to choose which regional language they focus on (i.e. they can choose between Pashto, Baloch, Punjabi, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Balti, Seraiki, etc. etc.)

ideal, but i doubt it will be implemented anytime soon

 

[Ajaxpaul]

Learning any language is a beautiful experience...multiple language means multiple ideas and connectivity.

But nothing like mother tongue !!!

 

[ahsanraza81]

we should develop softwares in urdu to carry tasks in IT sector

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Thats not the point.

No one is saying you shouldn't learn English because it is the unofficial lingua franca of the world, but you shouldn't disregard your native language completely. In Pakistan and India, if you don't speak English you are sometimes looked down upon and are considered to be not educated. Look at China/Japan, they barely speak English but they are pretty successful in the world. The point is to cherish your native language and stop treating English as superior

One should see the hurry the Chinese are trying to learn English.

Therefore, when they are fluent, they will also be speaking in English.

English is the international language and that is the reality.

However, when others are not present, one should speak in the language that all in the group understands.

In India, unless one is of the same community in the group, one cannot talk in the vernacular.

Hindi, maybe the official (it is not the national language) language, but then those who are non Hindi speaking mayn't be able to express themselves well in Hindi as they would in English. The reason is not that they would not like Hindi to be the via media, it is just that they paid more attention in learning English than Hindi since having a good grasp over English would give them a better job opportunity.

 

[SQ8]

You cannot ignore English..
however.. by adapting it as the standard into your own language, you erode away your inheritance.

Biggest example..

All airports in Pakistan have International written in urdu.
when the correct word for it is "bain-al-aqwami"..
whats the problem is putting that out there instead of writing "intar-Naish-tional" in urdu.

 

[chinapakistan]

Don't tell me Chinese don't consider English as superior.

No, we dont, not like india, we definitely dont consider other languages are more superior than chinese.
Most chinese go to American university is for learning advanced technology, not English.
But for studying in US school, they must learn English first. So, english is just a tool for
learning knowledge to chinese, not some superior things.

 

[mr42O]

We are still slaves in our mind of British. We love what ever is made by gora ppl. Like most of sports equiment , garments are made in our country and they put a tag on it like NIKE, PUMA, ADDIDAS etc which we love to buy. But if same clothes have Pakistan company tag no one want to buy or pay that much money.

Go to any country in EU, every thing is in there own language. Forms, newspapir, tv etc etc etc and we Pakistanies who are by % much less educated ppl have all our goverment, school, bank papirs in english. Every poor ppl need alawys help to fill forms etc.

What i like about Indian news channels they 99% hindi. But our channel have 50% english in there talking.

Be proud and speak urdu, punjabi, sindi etc. Dont mix it with english. english is a ugly language.

 

[mr42O]

We were in Spain in La manga with our cricket club and was shocked that a country with that much turists 90% of ppl cant a word in english. Same is in Italy , france etc. Its better these days but before they just ignored u if u speak english with them