Mahesh - Week 1: An Endless Horizon

 Mahesh - Week 1: An Endless Horizon   

    Language is also known as the medium in which many communicate. This word has the most impact on anyone's life, being a single word. I love studying languages and interacting with cultures. My parents have placed special emphasis on the learning of my mother tongue, Tamil. Even last summer, I visited India and got to speak Tamil for the entire summer. I started my summer off by visiting my grandparents' house in the city of Trichy. While in Trichy, my relatives had organized a festival that we attended together. 

    When I attended the festival, I realized the number of people I did not recognize. I made it my objective to meet everyone and engage in conversation. My relatives were surprised at how well I spoke Tamil; they thought as an American-born Indian, I would not have the capability to speak my language. My relatives and I played a word game as a competition to see who could name the most items in one category. We played this game in Tamil, and I won a few times. It felt unique to talk to someone other than my close family in Tamil. I realized that language itself can be a bond and a connection. I came away from that trip as a new person altogether. 

    Language is what truly connects me to my past and my roots; my gratitude to my parents for initiating my pursuit of Tamil knowledge is never-ending. I assume my identity through learning my language. When eating some mouthwatering Indian street food nearby that night, laughter ringing around the table, I fully connected the dots between language and identity. Language is not just about speaking and communicating. Language is a bond, a limitless journey, and a seek for truth. Change cannot happen overnight; however, embracing my identity through language is the closest I can get. 


Here is an interesting read on why the mother language is important in education:

https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/why-mother-language-based-education-essential



 Source:

Sujat, Tamim. McGill Daily, 17 February 2014, https://www.mcgilldaily.com/2014/02/international-mother-language-day/. 29 August 2023.


Comments

  1. Anushka ReddySeptember 6, 2023 at 10:45 AM

    Hi Mahesh! Thank you for sharing your beautiful and heartfelt experience with language and culture. It is inspiring to hear how, despite being born in America, you have embraced and honored your mother tongue. Your commitment to speaking Tamil and using it in conversation, especially when visiting India, is very admirable..

    ReplyDelete
  2. Allison September 6, 2023 at 11:05 AM

    Hi, Mahesh! I agree that language is a very crucial part of our identity. I find it so amazing that American-born people like you can speak their parents’ native language so well. My abysmal grasp of my parents’ language, Mandarin, impacts me day after day. I recall many times when my poor conversational Chinese resulted in me spending less time talking to my grandparents and other relatives. Not being fluent in the language also means I can enjoy way less Chinese media, missing out on all sorts of incredible shows and books. If I had tried to hold learning my native language in the same regard as you, perhaps I would have been able to enjoy my time with my grandparents too. I love how you used your own experiences to elaborate on how important languages are to our day-to-day lives, with the inclusion of the story about how you won a few games in Tamil. I also love how you started writing with the basic definition of the word “language” before finally ending your blog by adding everything you’ve discovered about the hidden ties between language, identity, and culture.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Muhammed AliSeptember 6, 2023 at 5:34 PM

    Hi Mahesh! Your post was very nice, and I loved how you tied everything up in the end to the overarching theme. You provided good context at the beginning for what you were going to be talking about, and your personal stories and accounts were really effective at conveying your points. My only criticisms would be to split the paragraphs in ways where somewhat new ideas start at the beginning of each paragraph. The second paragraph was a direct continuation of the last couple sentences in the first paragraph, and that threw me off just a little bit. I really liked the descriptive language you used in the last paragraph. Again, you managed to wrap the blog post up very nicely. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Aishwarya GogiSeptember 6, 2023 at 6:29 PM

    Hi Mahesh! I enjoy the connections you made from language to identity by connecting back to food and bonding with your family. I agree that language not only helps you communicate with your family, but it also plays an important role in shaping your identity. Your blog post is also inspiring because of the way you convey how language helps you engage in a conversation with your family which makes me want to learn more about the language I speak so I can get to know my relatives better. I found it engaging that you shared the word game you played, not only by describing your wins but also by highlighting the importance of speaking your native language with your family. I would definitely recommend elaborating on the word game and explaining its significant role in shaping your identity.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Siddarth KamathSeptember 6, 2023 at 9:46 PM

    Hello Mahesh! If I was in your shoes, I probably would have been hesitant to talk to those speaking the same language as me. I love how you started with a statement about people who assume that American-born Indians speaking an Indian language is quite astonishing for native Indian people. I, personally, have found that being evident when I went to India and was able to get hints about the ideas you were thinking about while reading further on in the article. This article included information about yourself which in the end, you tied to the vast growth in those who are gaining an identity and how speaking a language, e.g. Tamil, relates to the identity of a person. The use of colorful language such as "mouthwatering" helped me have a sense of the location you were describing, which is a great choice to include for further articles. I found that you briefed over the definition of identity and language by "connecting the dots." I was wondering if you could elaborate such as mentioning, identity is the root cause of who we are and by speaking I found that I was a certain individual by heart. Also, by adding information on how other people could also feel and grow their language and identity (which are positively correlated) would be great to add. For example, by describing the nuances with learned words and the environment in which gaining a stong grasp of identity is needed, the passage would not only include your life and adventures but also how others can reach the state you are at. Overall, I found this article to be well written, have powerful word choice, and have examples that describe your life and your journey for the connection between language and identity to a new level. Great job and keep up the fantastic work!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Allison October 11, 2023 at 2:03 PM

    Hi, Mahesh! I agree with you that language is a very crucial part of our identity. I find it so amazing that American-born people like you can speak their parents’ native language so well. My abysmal grasp of my parents’ language, Mandarin, impacts me day after day. I recall many times when my poor conversational Chinese resulted in me spending less time talking to my grandparents and other relatives. Not being fluent in the language also means I can enjoy way less Chinese media, missing out on all sorts of incredible shows and books. If I had tried to hold learning my native language in the same regard as you, perhaps I would have been able to enjoy my time with my grandparents too. I love how you used your own experiences to elaborate on how important languages are to our day-to-day lives, with the inclusion of the story about how you won a few games in Tamil. I also love how you started writing with the basic definition of the word “language” before finally ending your blog by adding everything you’ve discovered about the hidden ties between language, identity, and culture. (I don't know why this comment disappeared, i remember posting it.)

    ReplyDelete

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