Kerala Tips

I always wonder why we spent so much energy and effort on things which matter least. The latest in these controversies is the demand for giving “Malayalam” the classical language status. The demand is triggered by the recent addition of Kannada and Telugu as “classical languages” by Government of India.

It was in 2004 that government of India has started the “classical language” nonsense. As if we didn’t have enough problems with language fanatics and militant regionalism. In 2004 Tamil was given the classical language status followed by Sanskrit in 2005. Then all hell broke loose when Indian government declared Telugu and Kannada as classical languages. Not to be left behind, we Malayalees are also demanding classical language status for Malayalam.

Now before we look at demand for Malayalam to be included as classical language. Let us see what a “classical language” really is.

Wikipedia article on classical language says,

A classical language, is a language that have a broad influence over an extended period of time, even after it is no longer a colloquial mother tongue in its original form. If one language uses roots from another language to coin words (in the way that many European languages use Greek and Latin roots to devise new words such as “telephone” etc.), this is an indication that the second language is a classical language.

Government of India officially classifies classical language as,

i) High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years.
ii) A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers.
iii) The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community.
iv) The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.

The reality is that only two languages actually fit to the above description. Tamil obviously is the oldest language and Sanskrit is important since almost everything else is derived from it. I don’t think Kannada and Telugu qualifies to be classical language if we are to keep the classification to “ancient and special languages”. I guess it is all political and even the press release says it!

Representations were received from a wide spectrum of political and civil opinion from both Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh for declaration of Kannada and Telugu languages as Classical Languages.

Now coming back to Malayalam, the Malayalam literature is relatively recent and it is still in early stages. Malayalam established as a separate language from Tamil only during 15th century. I don’t understand how we can claim “classical language” status! But hey, every language is demanding it, so let us also demand it.

“Kittiyal kitti, illengil chatti”

I have one suggestion to our government. Before we demand classical language status for Malayalam, at least ensure that all Malayalis are learning Malayalam! Personally I think Malayalam must be a mandatory subject for all schools in Kerala till 10th standard.

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