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A man who 'discovered' 780 Indian languages

bbc.com

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Re: A man who 'discovered' 780 Indian languages

#61

Post by boxy310 »

cortesoft wrote: post #53
Alex3917 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's interesting that the same technologies we use to preserve language (audio/film/text) are also largely the reason for their destruction. If you just have two people talking with each other in the woods there aren't any economies of scale, no 'best' version of Wikipedia, no Hollywood movies to watch, etc. While not related to language, except for one episode, NPR's archive of lost & found sound is also worth check…

I don't know, languages have been dying out for a lot longer than those technologies have been around. Languages die when the cultures who speak them either get assimilated or eradicated; I am not sure what technology has to do with that?

Before the printing press, there was dramatic variation in regional dialects of European nations. After the printing press, standardization and state centralization have been grinding these regional dialects into the ground. Even traditional regional languages like Irish or Scots Gaelic are going extinct.

Re: A man who 'discovered' 780 Indian languages

#62

Post by adictator »

> Dr Devy says there are more pressing anxieties. He worries about the ruling Hindu nationalist BJP's efforts to impose Hindi all over India, which he calls a "direct attack on our linguistic plurality".

Trust BBC to bring politics into this as well & inject the anti-India value somehow.

Re: A man who 'discovered' 780 Indian languages

#63

Post by nonamechicken »

deanstag wrote: post #45
ravirajx7 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not just that. Ever since he has got his position he is trying to promote India's ethnic values and culture and he's not saying "Bhaiyo aur beheno bas hindi bolo" ( brothers and sisters just speak hindi) and nobody is imposing the language hindi on anyone. But if you're living in a country and serving people(working in government sector) where almost majority of the people speak hindi don't you think you should…

But If there is a better utility for a language like English, why not push for English + Regional Language?

As a South Indian, there is no utility for Hindi other than to interact with North Indians (which is more or less non existent) or to watch Bollywood movies. English got me a job, everything I learn is because of English.

Re: A man who 'discovered' 780 Indian languages

#64

Post by dang »

1024core wrote: post #52
dang wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but none of that changes the point about not taking HN into flamewars.

I agree. It was not my intention to start a flamewar; but with all the talk about "biased RT", "biased Al Jazeera", etc. flying about, I wanted to point out how BBC also is equally biased, just not in the direction "we" would like them to be. And https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmin5WkOuPw

I don't disagree with you, but in this context, it just doesn't matter. Being right is of small significance compared to not going up in flames.

Nobody ever feels like they were the one who started anything, so that consideration has little value.

Re: A man who 'discovered' 780 Indian languages

#65

Post by deanstag »

astrodust wrote: post #48
deanstag wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think soneca's point was Brazil is still developing irrespective of any language barriers. So how does your statistics on PPP become an argument for that?

Rampant foreign interference and military juntas have a way of stunting your country's development.

Are you talking about Brazil or India here?

( I apologize in advance if it looks like I am arguing by asking questions. But I am asking because of curiosity/lack of knowledge )

Re: A man who 'discovered' 780 Indian languages

#66

Post by deanstag »

afghanPower wrote: post #57
axiom92 wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> On a slightly related topic, India has a vast and rich set of languages and millions of people that speak/read/write these languages. My landlady needs to know this. She still thinks we all speak "Indian".

Correct me if I'm wrong, but most Indians do understand "urdu", no?

I think you might be talking about Hindi. That is the most common language.

Re: A man who 'discovered' 780 Indian languages

#67

Post by dodigitty32 »

sandGorgon wrote: post #40
pavanred wrote: post #31

On a slightly related topic, India has a vast and rich set of languages and millions of people that speak/read/write these languages. With daily newspapers, tabloids, literature etc, I presume there is a (potential) huge corpus of rich data for each language too. And, I just read yesterday that India just surpassed US to become the second biggest mobile phone market. Then why is there not more of NLP work/products on…

Here's something that was released fairly recently by my alma mater - IIT Bombay https://arxiv.org/abs/1710.02855

Is this anoop ? :P

Re: A man who 'discovered' 780 Indian languages

#68

Post by beat »

cortesoft wrote: post #53
Alex3917 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's interesting that the same technologies we use to preserve language (audio/film/text) are also largely the reason for their destruction. If you just have two people talking with each other in the woods there aren't any economies of scale, no 'best' version of Wikipedia, no Hollywood movies to watch, etc. While not related to language, except for one episode, NPR's archive of lost & found sound is also worth check…

I don't know, languages have been dying out for a lot longer than those technologies have been around. Languages die when the cultures who speak them either get assimilated or eradicated; I am not sure what technology has to do with that?

Thanks to a college professor long ago, I'm firmly convinced that technological advancement is the main reason cultures get assimilated/eradicated. Or more to the point, new cultures rise with new technologies, and wipe out the previous ones.

Along the same lines as my original comment and the source of this story, one of the most educational nights of my life was a lecture by a visiting professor from India. His research took him to the most remote villages, villages that had never experienced electricity before. He recorded their music, because the moment radios and tape players arrived, the local music was basically obliterated. And he felt guilt and shame, because while he was preserving it, he was also the nose in the tent - the first time they ever experienced recorded music.

Re: A man who 'discovered' 780 Indian languages

#69

Post by beat »

boxy310 wrote: post #61
cortesoft wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know, languages have been dying out for a lot longer than those technologies have been around. Languages die when the cultures who speak them either get assimilated or eradicated; I am not sure what technology has to do with that?

Before the printing press, there was dramatic variation in regional dialects of European nations. After the printing press, standardization and state centralization have been grinding these regional dialects into the ground. Even traditional regional languages like Irish or Scots Gaelic are going extinct.

I live in a city with tens of thousands of east African immigrants (mostly Somali). It's fascinating to me, to hear the difference between how the adult Somalis speak, and how their children speak. The teenagers, having grown up here, speak in perfect, accent-free English. Will their children even speak Somali at all?

(As an aside, I totally love my little window into Somali teenage girl culture, just from riding the train and sharing a neighborhood with them. Their fashions are incredible, and they're so energetic and happy. Somali teenage boys, on the other hand, are just as glum and faux-cool as teenage boys everywhere.)

Re: A man who 'discovered' 780 Indian languages

#70

Post by 1024core »

dang wrote: post #64
1024core wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. It was not my intention to start a flamewar; but with all the talk about "biased RT", "biased Al Jazeera", etc. flying about, I wanted to point out how BBC also is equally biased, just not in the direction "we" would like them to be. And https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmin5WkOuPw

I don't disagree with you, but in this context, it just doesn't matter. Being right is of small significance compared to not going up in flames. Nobody ever feels like they were the one who started anything, so that consideration has little value.

You are correct. I apologize for the distraction caused.
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