Monday, January 12, 2009

Of blogging, debating, ragging and English

I seriously need to work with Sinhala Unicode. (try my web tutor) The reason is nothing but the mere feeling of outlandishness I experience when commenting on Sinhala Blogs in English. The valance of Sinhala Blogging in developing or diminishing the image if Sri Lanka in the web is a problem to be debated. However, it is nice to have at least a small portion of servers to store information that cannot be decoded other than by a Sri Lankan. if we have the resources, now we can even end up with something like Youkutube in Sinhala.

Now, some of the English Bloggers would say that Sinhala Blogging is just bullshit. Why waste server space for the use of a small number of people? The Chinese do it because China has the largest population in the world. The Indians do it because Tamil and Hindi and India are known through out the world.(This reminds me of a comment reply that i received in You Tube.)

And i have noticed a big difference between the English and Sinhala bloggers. Most of the English bloggers(I mean posting 100% in English) are equipped with good english and most of the popular bloggers are working in big companies. They are far superior to the sinhala bloggers who are mostly uni students, school goers and all the nitwits. (now, guys, i m new to this world and this is my first impression. if i am wrong, please forgive me.). Most of the Sinhala bloggers are fun type. but they are real Sri Lankans and you feel it when going through the blogs. For example, a Sinhala blogger would say"මම ඊයෙ හන්දියෙ කඩෙට ගියා පාන් බාගයක් ගන්න" and an English blogger would say the same thing like this" I went to the boutique yesterday to buy a loaf of bread"(pardon me,i don't know how to say පාන් බාගයක් in English). But හන්දියෙ කඩෙ is totally different from the "boutique in the junction". And consequently, the person who says හන්දියෙ කඩෙ is treated differently by the person who says "boutique".

It is a simple fact for the average Sri lankan. The fight and the discrimination is everywhere. School, University, Bus, market, Tuition Class and even the Bath Room..If you do not know the English Way of doing things, you are sure to end up using comed as the wash basin like BORAT (In fact, that had happened to me.. but yes, not literally)

In the school, i was in all this "English Socieities" . But my parents knew very little English. My mother once accompanied me to a debate to see how im doing my job although im sure she wouldnt have understood half of the things i said at the debate. But that is motherly love. Mothers love to see how well the children are doing. But that very "love" had made her left out in the audience. Apparently, the English had won the day. Love was a scrap. She was treated by the other parents as if she had drunken the waters of comed simply beacause she was not good at kadu fighting (English) and she did not fit in the "make up all over", "posh","wearing expensive clothing" society. When all the people are speaking in English, a non English speaker would keep the mouth shut. She did that too. The conclusion was that she was a misfit.

That was the first and the last time she accompanied me to a English drama, debate or to any place that i had to deal with English speaking crowd.

And hats off to you who guys did it. Now i know when to use English and when not to use it.

"Mother like daughetr" ---Darcy is correct (If im still ok with the loving memory of Pride and Prejudice). Im going through the same.

University Life is the latest. I did my A/L and got into the Uni to become a member of the Non-Ragging student community. As a Buddhist, im really happy that im not hurting others nor get hurt by others in the name of "orientation" or "Welcome" . I have the freedom from seniors to do what ever I want. I really appreciate that.

but,

when the freedom itself becomes a cage where my true self is tormented. It hurts.

I dont know how to speak, dress and eat like a daughter of the elite class but i was chosen to be among them. May be to watch and learn how to dance and speak English Fluently and practice the elite etiquette like they do. But Lord, God who ever you are , your decison dosent work for me. Still im a misfit, just like my mother.

I feel nervous when talking to the receptionist at ACHE (in English) because I Know Im sure to make a mess in front of every body. so I tend to speak with a low voice. Then they hear the simplest thing like "close the door" as "I wanna go to the toilet". I may be too timid and they might have also thought that I belong in the dust bin.

Yes, that is the place for all the (English speaking) girls with a parentage who does not know English,unshaven legs and hands, no expensive car and the no high society etiquette. People say that you have to learn English, but believe me, it is not enough, you have to be like one of them. Until then, you will be a misfit. Just like how English comments in a Sinhala blog would sound. Another important thing,"හෙට මට ශොපින් යන්න තියනවා මෙයා" is always laughed at(by the Godaya and accepted by the other group) and "හෙට මට කඩෙ යන්න තියනවා" is always accepted(by the Godaya and laughed at/ considered uncommon by the other group).

But

Im not broken.
Im happy and proud of me, myself and I
I will not change

And

I will grow with the people who accept me as this







16 comments:

  1. මමත් හැමදාම වගේ අත්දකින දෙයක්... English දන්නේ නැති නිසා එතනින් කැපෙන එක..

    නිකන් අහන්නේ...ඔයා පේරාදෙනියෙද? මගේ කොච්චි කරලත් පේරාදෙනියේ... =D

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  2. ඔව් ඔව්. මාත් පේරා තමා. fac of arts

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  3. තාම පලවෙනි අව්රුද්ද

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  4. විභාගේ තිබ්බා නේද?.... හොඳට ලිව්වාද???? මගේ ගෑනු ලමයා නම් දැන් ගෙදර... එයානම් රැග් වුනා..දෙවෙනි වසර... වාත....හැබැයි රැගට සම්පූර්නයෙන් විරුද්ධයි.. =D මම කියන්නම් ඔයා ගැන...

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  5. "Yes, that is the place for all the (English speaking) girls with a parentage who does not know English,unshaven legs and hands, no expensive car and the no high society etiquette. People say that you have to learn English, but believe me, it is not enough, you have to be like one of them."
    Sorry that you are disappointed. I never learnt English to be in a particular social class. I learnt it because it opens the way to a bulk of knowledge otherwise out of reach. I still remember a teacher from my secondary school said knowing a language is like having another pair of eyes. This pair of eyes open the way to a whole new world.

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  6. but the thing is when u learn english u will automatically have to adjust to the level of higher class in the society. The reason is that english is not just another language in the society. It is an indicator of social status.

    If someone was really fluent in using english would that matter alone grant him access to Hilton hotel?? The security guard will surely kick him/her out. For him/her to get in, it would require a proper dress, proper makeup and a list of the stuff the posh people carry.... (and a car of course.. u can't just get down from the bus, walk upto the reception and ask for a room)

    And who is chamila??? i'm චමිල =D

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  7. Of course, English opens the way to the whole world out there. That is why i learnt it.How ever, learning it paves us the way to mingle with a new society as chamila said.

    then only the problem starts.you are automatically shifted into that new society which, in turn creates a cultural dilemma. what your family considers as disgusting would be the accepted way in the new society.

    This would be worse when you have to introduce your family members to the English speaking community. if your family members do not speak English and if they are not the "posh" type, both the parties would feel uncomfortable. it is the truth, However,this does not apply to all the people. I have some British Friends who communicate with my father using sign language and using me as a translator and i know, my father is very comfortable with them than the English speaking Sinhala crowd.

    the reason is simple to understand. For the British, English is just another medium of communication and for the Sri Lankans it is a social Status. That is what i am disappointed about.

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  8. @චමිල. ඔව් විභාග නම් තිබුන. පුලුවන් විදියට කලා.දැන් නිවාඩු නිසා ගෙදර.19න් පස්සෙ කොච්චිකරල හම්බ වෙන්න පුලුවන් වෙයි. මාත් අසයි අලුත් යාලුවො අදුරගන්න

    අර අනික් චමිල ගැන නම් මාත් දන්නෙ නෑ

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  9. "For the British, English is just another medium of communication and for the Sri Lankans it is a social Status."

    This statement says it all. It's sad that (some) of our SL society still thinks like this. Maybe it's because of this thinking that some people are reluctant to learn English as well. They feel intimidated by the so called "posh" people.

    English is not something you learn to impress people, it's a very helpful tool that can add value to your life. If the "posh" people can't understand that, then that's their problem. Let them be posh and feel superior to others, while we carry on with our learning.

    Another thing is just because you learn English doesn't mean that you have to stop being Sri Lankan. This is also something that some of our people forget.

    Anyways, good luck with your studies
    Cheers!!!

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  10. "Let them be posh and feel superior to others, while we carry on with our learning"

    it is true Azrel. but when it comes to jobs, the "posh" are luckier than the average Sri lankan. if you have gone to a school with a high name, that is it. nothing else. we can learn, but when it comes to the interview panel, the school name, English and the Social connections matter a lot than the learning.
    it is another thing i m disappointed about

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  11. Language is only a tool - a doorway to an unlimitted quantity of knowledge - nothing more or less. And believe me, those who imagine otherwise are kidding themselves and I even feel quite sorry sometimes, for those wear it proudly, just to show off to those who are less fortunate or less privileged. What you are saying is 100% true, Deeps. Just be yourself and be liberated from mere superficies. You are not alone in this particular way of thinking.

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  12. hehhee Welcome to the party pavi!!

    but i have got this little problem. I was wondering what my Mr. SMS would be thinking of us?

    mmm..wel he is out of my concern, but in the sociological perspective, I think he too is worth to be studied, isn't he?

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  13. මට ඉංගිරිසි තරමක් දුරට ලියන්නත් හොදට තේරුම් ගන්නත් පුළුවන්. ඒත් කතාකරන්න අමාරුයි වතුර වගේ. හැබැයි එදිනෙදා වැඩ කරගන්න හරි පිටරටක ගිහින් ඉන්න හරි ඒ ටික ඇති.
    හැබැයි මට ලොකු උවමනාවක් තියනවා තව ඉංගිරිසි කතාවෙන් චතුර වෙන්න. වැඩිවෙන්නෙ නෑ නෙ.

    මම ඉගෙනගන්න තැන බහුතර සිංහල අය උනත් එකිනෙකා එක්ක කතා කරන්නෙ ඉංගිරිසියෙන්. මම නම් සිංහල අයෙක් එක්ක නම් කතා කරන්නෙ සිංහලෙන්. මොකද මම හිතන්නෙ සිංහලෙන් මට දැනෙන්නෙ සිංහලෙන් නිසා.

    මම සිංහල කතා කළා කියල මට ඔය වගේ ඒවා නම් වෙන්නෙ නෑ. මගෙන් දේවල් අහගන්න, ප්‍රොජෙක්ට් වලට උදව් ගන්න ඕන කෙනක් එනවා. කතා කරනවා. දෙමළ කෙනෙක් හරි වෙන සිංහල බැරි කෙනෙක් එක්ක හරි නම් ඉංගිරිසියෙන් කතා කරනවා.

    මට කිසිම කෙනෙක් මටයි දෙමව්පියන්ටයි වඩා ලොකු නෑ. කවුරුහරි පොෂ් කෙනෙක් මට ගොඩයෙක් විදියට සලකනවනම් මම එයාව ගනන් ගන්නෙ නෑ. මට වැඩකුත් නෑ. ඔළුව කෙළින් තියාගෙන තමන් කැමති විදියට ජීවත්වීම තමා හොදම මම හිතන්නේ. මිනිස්සු 1000ක් හැදි ගෑරුප්පු වලින් කන තැන අතින් කන්න මම බයත් නෑ ලැජ්ජත් නෑ. දැනගෙන හිටියත් මම කන්නෙත් නෑ මොකද *මගේ* කැමැත්ත අතින් කන්න නිසා.

    ඉංගිරිසි කියන්නෙ මට උපකරණයක්, සිංහල නොවන අය එක්ක කතා කරන්නත්, ඉගෙනගන්නත් ඉංගිරිසිය මට උදව් වෙනවා. එච්චර තමා.

    ඔයාට කොච්චර හොදට ඉංගිරිසි ලියන්න පුළුවන්ද. ඒ නිසා කතාවත් හොදට පුරුදු වෙන්න. හැබැයි *පොෂ්* අය නිසා නෙවෙයි. සත පහකට ගණන් ගන්න එපා ඒ වගේ පොෂ් මානසිකත්ව!

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  14. Lankawe companies wala aya mama POSH na kiala wena handakin bedanwanm ekko mama ehema nathi thanaka job ekakata yanwa, naththam rata yanwa, naththam magema deyak karanwa
    mona reddak da! hehe

    Dilshan

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