Why is the language debate unending, unrelenting, emotive and yet very meaningful?

 Why is the language debate unending, unrelenting, emotive and yet very meaningful?

I have many more points to make as I can read, write and speak in some 3 European languages and know how to read and understand two more European languages. Besides I did my entire schooling in my mother tongue Tamil. Sanskrit is a language I love and I got the university second mark in that and thanks to my sister I learned a bit of Hindi. She is a Hindi pandit. Thanks to Saint Tyagaraja’s kritis I can understand very chaste Telugu which unfortunately very few speak. 

Besides​,​ I have read and can quote from some 100 best books and authors on linguistics, not only those who have written  purely academic stuff  but more so very interesting books by  those who have made in depth observation and research on how languages are used and how they use, make, modify, motivate, maneuver , manipulate and do many more things to the mind and thinking process itself with the help of /hype of many wonderful expressions, intricate usages, sublime suggestions [as used in religious business] , sensuously enticing usages [ as used in business promotion advertisements], surreptitious intentions [as used in political brainwashing techniques] and many more subtle aspects of many languages.

As with any other subject languages too are, and preferably must be, analyzed from two extreme ends of the pendulums and all our debates, discussions and discernment swing between these two extreme points they are:-  

1] Very close to everyone’s heart purely subjective, passion filled [sometimes even with a tinge of fanatical affinity] with an ethnocentric and cultural affinity influenced and impacted by several generations of association and enhanced by ideological indoctrination promoted with a proportionately pleasant bunch of literature and philosophy, symbols imbued with extraordinarily valued and sometimes venerated substance because of the knowledge and perception of the significance of the concepts hidden beneath or manifested by those symbols a sort of magical lens that reveals what eludes the normal outside observer or a prism that unravels a kaleidoscopic splendor of patterns and colors etc. 

2] Very objective, prosaic analysis in terms of the inherent value of the subject [[here language] under scrutiny with reference to its utility, value for survival, significance to life of humanity especially the functional aspects of life etc. 

Both are right and wrong because both are relative and being an umpire here is as unpleasant or an uneasy task as being an adjudicator in an argument between a mother and wife.[ [if you view it subjectively] or between a mother-in –law and daughter in law [if you view it quasi subjectively] or between two women of different ages with different relationships to you [if you are very objective].

For example the syntax of a sentence describing the beauty and importance of eyes is very objective and precise to the point when it is used to advertise a product or lens or spectacles for the eyes but the very same description of the beauty and impact of the beauty of the eyes wanders into very poetic and romantic realms throwing all rules of grammar /syntax to the winds when describing a lover’s beautiful eyes.

So the language debates will always be reasonable, could be recreational, relevant [ for various reasons]  and reverberating with vigour.

As per the great linguistic scholar Steven Pinker in his wonderful book one of the trio logy ‘THE STUFF OF THOUGHT-LANGUAGE AS A WINDOW INTO THE HUMAN NATURE’ writes “language itself is not a single system but a contraption with many components…….syntax itself encompasses several mechanisms, which are tapped to different extents by different languages……one of the key phenomenon of syntax is the way that sentences are built around their verbs. The phenomenon goes by many technical names [including subcategorization, diathesis, predicate argument structure, valence, adicity [roots thus mark points of interface between the language faculty and the wider cognitive makeup of a person], arity [the number of arguments that a function can take] , case structure, and theta-role assignment], but I’ll refer to it using traditional term verb constructions.”

He also goes on to write , “For example, pour, fill and load are all ways of moving something somewhere, and they all have the same cast of characters: a mover, some contents that move, and a container that is the goal of the movement. Yet pour allows only the content -locative [pour water], fill allows only the container –locative [fill the glass], and load goes both ways [load the hay, load the wagon]”

A book by the linguist Beth Levin classifies three thousand  English verbs into about eighty-five classes they appear in; its subtitles is ‘A preliminary Investigation’

But due to want of time and space I am not going into the details and as suggested by many well meaning, experienced and erudite persons in this long drawn discussion on English versus Hindi debate I am more comfortable and convinced with English for various reasons which you may find in the links below.

  

http://contentwriteups.blogspot.in/2014/06/language-its-limitless-limitation.html

http://contentwriteups.blogspot.in/2012/09/language-very-interesting-article.html

http://contentwriteups.blogspot.in/2014/07/languages-and-language-teachers.html

http://contentwriteups.blogspot.in/2014/07/languagerituals-politics.html

http://contentwriteups.blogspot.in/2012/09/sanskrit-why-it-is-great-language.html

One must also read David Crystal on language studies besides Vygotsky the much neglected great linguist whose only mistake was being born in Communist Russia during the cold war period

http://contentwriteups.blogspot.in/2012/10/quotations-from-vygotsky-1962-1986-1978_514.html

http://contentwriteups.blogspot.in/2014/01/my-sincere-lifelong-lovers-26-gems-who.html

http://contentwriteups.blogspot.in/2014/01/romance-of-words-raped-and-killed-by.html

http://contentwriteups.blogspot.in/2013/08/my-20-point-observations-on-languages.html

http://contentwriteups.blogspot.in/2013/01/language-hegemony.html

Middle class and existential priorities

  "Poverty is never an excuse for achieving one's dreams".

While I agree with the message wholeheartedly, I think it's also indicative of the sick mentality to celebrate poverty.

We all must praise and empathize with  individuals who come up in their life and go on to scale great heights in different realms despite poverty and societal pressure driven hardships.

We as a nation, especially, the rich, upper middle class, governments of all parties, corporate CSR holders, NRIs all must feel ashamed at poverty levels ( in a country aspiring to become a super power) along with hyper conservative attitudes, a hoard of other irresponsible behaviors, our grand indifference all put together.

Not that disparities do not exist in other nations. Not that poverty is not used as very useful pawn by every religion, political system in addition to other pawns of race, caste, gender biases.

When disparities and discriminations are paraded either as virtues or objects of sympathy one must realize that behind the prolonged parading of such status lurks a sense of deprivations and insecurities which will turn into potential dynamites for revolts. 

Mere superficial lip sympathies, periodic patronizing doting of freebies and praise when people from such backgrounds achieve some success alone will not do. 

Collectively from 1950 the total number of MLAs and MP every time when they got elected if they have laid just 5 small roads properly , provided electricity to one small part of a  village we could have had 20,00,000 well laid roads and 4 lakh small villages with electricity. The basic necessities for life. This applies not only to politicians but all others in the list mentioned earlier. If only we had a real humanitarian attitude from all those, ours is perhaps the only country which could easily become a poverty free nation.

Social welfare comes about not through political ideology peddling, religious preaching, or a multitude of economic systems but through a sense of social responsibility beyond and besides those social engineering tools.

History has been witness to poverty swing between two populist extreme ideologies:- one socio-economic political dispensation capitalizing on sensationalized  victimhood peddling while other socio-economic political dispensation  using its capital to trade off pecuniary benefits for inhuman treatment, hard labor and stripping the poor of self respect. 

The least we can do is to abuse and to find fault with the community that has delayed the blossoming of such talents and subjected such talents to unnecessary hardships.

Let us not resort to over philosophize or to generalize or resort to comparisons of places worse than ours bla bla.

 

Celebration of Poverty is never a good thing. Celebration of  deracination from humane concerns is unethical.

Any proposal that is put forth to change the status of the wretched problem of misery which has existed much before the famous ' Oliver Twist' and continues to haunt societies will sound obviously idealistic.

However, on progress I am a rational optimist and believe in possibilitarianism. Changes do happen either incrementally, gradually, spontaneously through the interactions and involvement of many at various levels through some developments observed across several societies where there has been a growing population of the middle class-the vital bridge between the poor and the rich. This bridge will strengthen by paying attention to the nuances of real values at multiple levels, be it healthy political democracy, protection of humanitarian concerns, value of the native culture , promoting arts, sports, scientific outlook etc.

The rich may not bother about most things unless  their business and personal life are affected and the poor because of their dependence may not care for nuances and niceties as long as someone comes forward to help them come out of poverty. 

The responsibility and relevance  of the bridge between the two becomes vital in various aspects of a nation's economy, culture, collective socio-psychological behaviors etc.

As Lester Thurow says, "A healthy middle class is necessary to have a healthy political democracy. A society made up of rich and poor has no mediating group either politically or economically.”  

Again the same author writes, "Change requires individuals who recognise that new things can be done and who take the initiative to get them done ... The existing bureaucracies, public and private, will not take on the job of changing what is".

As existential priorities change, most identities of religion, region, race etc, may continue as they  wish but will hopefully take a back seat as they should.

Diplomacy , sense of humor, survival and living aspect of life

 In any group no one can ignore diplomacy.

Incidentally, diplomatic silence is a sign of maturity and not resorting to emotional rants bordering on personal hurt/attack ( age does not matter at all as everyone needs to be treated with respect- what advantages elders may have in experience youth may have in enhanced learning, greater exposure to new opportunities, sometimes even better understanding due to looking things from different, various or differing perspectives, emphasizing more on analyses, logic etc.).

It is naïve to expect endorsement of or seek appreciation of  any/every view of anyone by anyone else much less everyone else.

To criticize, to analyze, to evaluate and to interpret anything no one needs to perform in or to practice that field. 

There is no point in engaging in ego fest based  on any complexes in a group.

Everything must be taken in light spirit and with a sense of humor.

Parental concern and love can knock off all boundaries but good parents are those who are  extremely tolerant and have the wisdom to observe silently the eccentricities, excellences and exhibition of talents, troubles and tantrums all with extreme equanimity.

We need to acknowledge and to feel proud that the younger generation do think far far in depth, view and analyze anything from various perspectives, they are more PRACTICAL, ANALYTICAL & LOGICAL and may be less emotional or selectively emotional ( which again is justifiable). So, it is normal and expected of them to brush aside very casually anything they find has a huge load of irrelevant bias, excess emotional affinity, exaggerated opinions, hero worship etc. 

We learn more through observation. If we observe the younger generation in slightly educated upbringing and environment do not like to subscribe to many of the things that the older generation wants or expects them to do that most out of sheer respect decide to escape ( from the nation, the religious rituals, petty prejudiced - jaundiced views of life based on orthodoxy etc.) or resort to indifference if they cannot escape.

As life is too competitive and careers becoming tougher for the younger generation that they need to address primarily the SURVIVAL aspect of life before they can relish the LIVING  aspect of life.

We must become mature enough to acknowledge the views, comments of the younger generation without getting emotional and we need not agree with them.

Human brain's ingenuity and Anaesthesia

Human brain's ingenuity to hack or to hijack any system or any control and its ability to circumvent any regulation is its unique feature whether it is right or wrong is judged based on the outcomes or intentions.

There are many such factors like imagination, dreams, creativity, the confluence that one can experience under Anaesthesia ( I experienced it in December 2019 ) when there is collusion between forgotten or unknown subconscious feelings, semi- consciously aware conditions all moving around as if in a fiction movie vividly but even the vague memory of it all fade away once the effect of Anaesthesia slowly goes away. Whatever little I can recollect of that one hour will be like a real fiction movie.

Politics of present times

Modern day requirements demand that politics must transcend wherever necessary the identities and labels.

In reality, thankfully it is emerging.

There is very little Left left, no right Right and nothing is centered on any Center. In a way these terms are like neutral journalism. 

Real politics is all about Social Engineering ensuring optimum utilization of the available  resources to provide maximum benefit to the maximum number of people on various aspects like economy, health care, social harmony, regional cultural activities, certain time tested cardinal values which are  good for cohabitation of all human beings and a feeling of national pride along with promoting global concerns and cooperation. 

All these must also ensure that a livable planet is bequeathed to our future generations.

Healthy conditions can be planned and programmed if those scripting any political narrative realize to do away with the outdated dichotomy of Left and Right because life, especially socio-cultural and economic life, has many dimensions each having its own dynamics and in addition there are also those emanating from intersectionality and interactions and all of these manifest themselves with varying degrees of intensity. Fortunately life and all its concomitant evolutions happen despite and beyond the blinkered narratives peddled by status quo addicts of trite dichotomies and have made visible various options between, besides, beneath and above those dichotomies, and these may strengthen the wings and enable the discourse to soar into unbiased zones and offer some solutions to many present day problems faced by humanity.

Unexpected prediction

​Also when, where, why , how ....?

Guestimates, estimates, statistically arrived conclusion may at best be approximations and not exact. ​​

Even with well established, proven scientific measurements and facts change in the course of time as newer,  more convincing and better applicable discoveries emerge in the course of evolution.

But by whatever methods be it a wild guess or well explained through  astrological or scientific theories of  probability as prediction, if and when it happens it sends a sense of unexplainable delight as a news item. We just need to enjoy it. 

Life is a pendulum

Everyone has some strengths and some weak points.  We must be kind to whatever one contributes and blind to mistakes.

Life is a pendulum swinging between strength and weakness, pleasant and painful moments.

It  involves  constant process of adjustments, compromises, help and learning but only by its constant movements it makes life lively. 

The moment one stops the pendulum to over admire strengths or zoom faults, time halts.

Life has no pause button nor is it a pass it on baton. It is a live wire and never goes on lock down.

There may be thousands of expectations and compatibility parameters and no one can score 100% in all. There will be even arrears.

Life is a pendulum swinging between strength and weakness, pleasant and painful moments.

Actionable attitudes and/or reactionary amplitudes;

Benign beliefs and/or  blinkered biases;

Compassionate creativity and/or conspicuous conditionings;

Dedicated duty and/or deft dodging;

Enthusiastic emancipation and/or

It  involves  constant process of adjustments, compromises, help and learning but only by its constant movements it makes life lively. 

The moment one stops the pendulum to over admire strengths or zoom faults, time halts.

Life has no pause button nor is it a pass it on baton. It is a live wire and never goes on lock down.

There may be thousands of expectations and compatibility parameters and no one can score 100% in all. There will be even arrears.

Choosing and filtering influence decision making.

Choosing and filtering influence decision making.

​​

Across domains one cannot afford to rush into decision making with any ' finite  frames of references or limited options' especially when it involves the welfare, happiness and sometimes the very livelihood and/or survival of multiple stake holders.

However, human knowledge even with all the advantages of technological advancements enabled accessibility and availability hubris , still navigates in the orbit of finiteness.

Whatever they be and however well packaged they are be they surveys,  statistics,  spread sheets all are meaningful abstractions and presentations of multiple facets and factors like randomness, measurable patterns, easily understandable classifications, blue prints or outlines or guide lines projecting or superimposing the trajectory of trends etc of real events, activities, actionable remedial measures of  PEOPLE who are involved or impacted by or responsible for such events or activities and circumstances which went on to create those factors or facets. 

 

" Scientists use whichever methods help  them  understand the  world:drudgelike tabulation  of data,experimental derring-do, flights of theoretical fancy, elegant  mathematical modeling, kludgy computer  simulation, sweeping verbal narrative" -karl popper. "All the methods are  pressed into the service of two ideals, and it is these ideals that advocates of science want to export to the rest of intellectual life. The first is that the world is 'Intelligible'. The phenomena we experience may be explained by the principles that  are  deeper than the phenomena themselves." " The second ideal is that we must allow the world  to tell us whether our ideas about it are correct, i.e. consistency  with empirical evidence".

Vulnerabilities  are unavoidable but leaving them unobserved, unattended and unaddressed is bad.

 "I was at the age when one felt like one needed to read everything, which prevented one from making contemplative stops"- Taleb. 

This happens to most of us. 

 

In a way it is good initially more the merrier.  Then we end up getting lost with excess of fuzziness than real assimilation.

 

The INSTINCT/IMPULSE to filter and be selective come with prejudices and biases to NARROWING DOWN on only a few things. However, the ABILITY to do so come with enhanced matured way to choose and decide and end up CONSOLIDATING our radius of receptivity.

Sometimes, many other factors like time constraints, lack of resources etc too limit our options.

 

I cannot resist quoting my favorite author here. 

" The ability to choose an action that best satisfies conflicting goals is not an add-on to intelligence that engineers might slap themselves in the forehead for forgetting to install! It IS intelligence"- Steven Pinker

 

" Understanding does not obey Moore's Law: knowledge is acquired by formulating explanations and testing them against reality, not by running an algorithm faster and faster. Devouring the information in the Internet will not confer omniscience either: big data is still finite data, and the universe of knowledge is infinite" - Steven Pinker . He also writes, “if narratives without statistics are blind, statistics without narratives are empty". 

Summing up the whole thing I would like to add that life is injected into the spread sheets only when one SYNERGIZES them with underlying HUMANITARIAN WELFARE and long term ENVIRONMENTAL  IMPACT based on  RATIONAL OUTLOOK and SCIENTIFIC APPROACH with CONTEXTUAL RELEVANCE and ensuring not to hurt the SENTIMENTS and VALUE THE SOCIO-CULTURAL SENSITIVITIES of the people involved. 

Surveys,  statistics,  spread sheets are meaningful abstractions and presentations of multiple facets and factors like randomness, measurable patterns, trajectory of trends and so on of real events, activities, actionable remedial measures of people who are involved or impacted by or responsible for such events or activities and circumstances which went on to create those factors or facets. 

Life is injected into the spread sheets only when one synergizes with underlying human and environmental factors.

media diversion

In India we think , talk and exhibit an attitude of great and extreme sophisticated  modern scientific adaptation to methods and rational outlook.

However, when it comes to implementation and action all healthy public posturing get inside the shell to hide due to filthy personal agenda. 

It is good that at least now people are thinking of governance, reforms, leveraging on making optimal use of technology etc. 

But then, in India the scope of  every issue does not have just 360 degree view. 

Depending on the ideology or sponsors it can vary from 3 degrees to 3 million degrees. Sometimes they will use a microscope, sometimes magnifying glass, sometimes telescope etc to scan and view.

In this case also groups will question compromise of privacy, Cybersecurity protection, who will be the controlling or nodal agency to be the referee and so on​.

However, ironically, all these will be debated by the judge all and omni issue specialist umpires of media and social media. 

The issue will get so over cooked, fried up and spiced by these two( MSM and SM) that one may not be able to recognize the real or original issue as it was before getting fried up. Or one may get diverted to the extent to focus on subplots and side stories at the cost of the original story. Or it may get superimposed on utterly unconnected platforms and/or get extrapolated based on some totally irrelevant pet ideology.

Intellect, Intellectual

The spirit of Advaita is not to keep away from anything, but to keep in tune with everything." - Swami Chinmayananda. 

One may wonder of what relevance does the above quotation when discussing about intellect. First we need to know what we mean by intellect /intelligence. 

That’s why even the most well meaning and super intellectual giants if they fail to grasp reality as it is without any preconceived frames of references end up becoming frustrated /depressed and desperate because very often there are numerous things /events/persons that happen to deliver things which are beyond any intellectual analysis or appropriation.

https://contentwriteups.blogspot.com/2019/08/intellectual.html?m=0

The possibilities that exist between, beneath and beyond ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ are numerous for intellect to grab and give a name or label. 

I remember vaguely reading a translation of a Zen poem titled ‘The logic of non intellectual reality’ if I happen to somehow get it I shall share it [I think it was in one issue of Thought provoking article and comments  

http://nautil.us/issue/18/genius/super_intelligent-humans-are-coming

Not only the article but most of the comments too, prod one to put lots of things in the cauldron of the thinking and understanding and churn out and observe the reactions, relevance and relationship of all those things.   

The following is the selection of much generalized version of some of the things that come to my mind which I feel one can drop inside  that cauldron and wait and watch the churning process and the outcome. Thoughts, information and /or knowledge of /in various domains, intellect, conscious awareness, perception, tools of perception, logic, reason, evaluations, purpose of evaluations, tools of evaluations, understanding and application of understanding, social values, social interactions, individual and/or collective emotions/feelings, psychology, cultural contexts, ideological identities which influence that very thought process, imaginations, dreams, fantasies, scientifically established facts, intelligent questioning, attitudes, willingness and ability to understand and solve problems, bio-chemical components  of human beings and /or some other species as well, application of  highest physical laws and so on.

Business perspective is vital

Can we conduct any format of game unless it earns revenue. 

Schooling and college are to be seen as education industry;

 

Hospitals are to be seen as healthcare industry; 

Games are to be seen as sports industry; 

Agricultural cultivations and harvests are to be seen as food industry;

Automobile vehicles of all types are to be seen as mobility industry;

Rituals, sermons and pilgrimages are to be seen as religious industry; 

Drama and films are to be seen as entertainment industry;

Music, dance, arts are to be seen as cultural industry;

Research and Development  and Science are to be seen as technology or medical industry;

Activist protests are to be seen as anarchy peddlers industry;

Sensational narratives and news are to be seen as media industry;

Ideology based political contests are to be seen as social engineering industry;

Governance based policy frame works are to be seen as government  industry; 

Business of politics is to enable a conducive ecosystem and to ensure all these businesses run smoothly ( with self sustenance and profit- part of which political leaders either in power or out of it gain to sustain their business). 

We must be more than happy that thanks to  some persons we started looking at making money for the BCCI. 

Otherwise, India would be as charged up and as motivated a team as Scotland/Ireland. 

Old folks and aged people tend to criticize every new trend. They are not able to exercise detachment from nostalgia, which is sometimes understandable as business focus may compromise on subtle nuances and aesthetics.

However, the elderly people  must also become ' mature ' to understand that the inevitable changes leading to transformation may be as good , if not, better ( in many aspects in most realms) than what they had  experienced during their youth.

Ignore them to make them realize their ignorance

Some people ​may be well informed, highly opinionated, very articulate but totally lack a​ sense of purpose and fail to see things in a larger perspective and behave very immaturely. 

The dynamics of obvious international politics itself is difficult or hardly understood by a very few, even among heads of state as they rely on known sources of information, imagine the dynamics of  hidden agenda and simmering discontent based dimensions of slithering international secretive schemes which only a very few may know and fewer still will be willing to share with appropriate authorities. 

So, the best way to deal with such pseudo verbal diarrhea secreting ​desperate social engineering amateurs and ​mediocre ​maniacs ​engaged in ​mental masturbati​on​ with opinions but ​manage ​parade under the mask of  either ' intellectuals or liberals' ( because these two terms carry an aura of worthiness​,​ but not ​disoriented from​ humaneness or respect for the nation​,​ is to ignore them and/or make them realize their ignorance.

Thanks to technological advancements, even these so- called intellectuals , if only they bother to know on a daily basis multiple news items across the globe and try to perceive with nationalistic interest as a frame of reference, then they would cease to be ignorant and know the really the facts.

When lobbies of luddites rule the roost

Indian political system/admin like most nations runs on several wheels some among them are lobbies, middlemen, PRs, Narrative peddling media, bureaucrats and so on.  In addition a democracy known for anarchy. When the status quo of abv listed beneficiaries are disturbed those luddites will go to any extent to protest. 

Where the farmers benefited they welcomed the laws and where the middlemen had control they sponsored protests. 

There are too many problems because there are no pan Indian represented sane debate or dialogue in parliament by opposition. 

India's problems

 The facts

Instigators from outside

Narratives peddling media

Dissent sponsoring lobbies

Indifferent ( selectively) individuals

Anarchic agitators all

Insulated

Nicely to promote 

Divisive policies and

Inculcated through institutions may not

Allow changes.

FOILED civilizational advancement

 Yes wrong attitude. If fear starts dominating over reason, facts and  investigation, then, we are back to dark ages which FOILED civilizational advancement.

Fear

Operating as

Indifference

Leads to

Encouraging

Destructive elements.

Maturity

When one matures along with unbiased observations followed by philosophical enquiry to know the intrinsic attributes of everyone, everything and every issue and contextually evaluate the relevance or inevitability of them as they are, as well as use relevant frames of references to understand them, then, one ends up gaining wisdom to rectify  those that are rectifiable in one's capacity, to accept or to ignore those that cannot be and to move on with life. 

Aftercall, life is mortal which we cannot afford to spend too much on analysis and anger.  

But we must not stop questioning with the why? How? When? Where? ​and so on,​ but act according to what best suits us without harming others.

Fate and freewill are like the Horizontal and Vertical planes of a staircase that can help us move up. 

If we practice and adopt a philosophical attitude as indicated in para one along with viewing life with a broader outlook and factor in various relevant perspectives to understand , adjust and accommodate, then those Horizontal and Vertical planes of steps will turn into a smooth escalator and enable us to move up.  

Media's major victims

When agenda of narratives and mass opinions are set by ideological identity based media and a status quo politics, two things become victim i.e. facts and sanity .

Mask as master of Everything; Desultory deception of Involvement to inform All about everything.

Ideal India as 21st Century global leader but its problems