The last decade has seen a proliferation of commercial TV channels in India. In its wake, a lot many things have happened. A large variety of programs are being aired. Till some time ago, a number of soap operas involving family feuds, social intrigues, love triangles, quadrangles etc. were a craze.There were a number of quiz shows, a large number of Antakshri shows etc. etc. The trouble has been that a mild success of any one type of program results in the spawning of similar programs in all other channels. Consequently, we have innumerable talk shows, reality shows, singing talent search contests, dancing talent contests etc. etc. Most of these programmes are 'thoughless' clones of some 'unrecognizable' foreign programmes. We have a number of 'News' channels and 'Sports' channels. A sizable number of channels dedicated to religion and spirituality are in the business ( of making fast bucks). Every channel has one or more yoga instruction session(s). Of course, the most ridiculous of all, is the abundance of programs on daily fortune telling.
The list is very l o n g.
While a number of people of all shades and hues have been able to find ( undeserving) employment, a host of side effects have shown up. Of these, the most blatant is the deterioration in the language that is employed. Though a number of channels are supposed to be Hindi-based, the language used on these channels is certainly not Hindi. It is not even good old Hindustani. It is not the in-fashion Bombaiya too.
To me, the language being employed is, at best, a strange cocktail of Hindi, Urdu, English and Bombaiya and some extra-terrestial tongue. The grammar has been done away with. Genders are being changed mindlessly. For instance, if a program host / anchor refers to India as "she" in one sentence, the same person in the very next sentence calls it "He". Every moment a new method / technique is invented to murder the language ( Hindi, English etc.) . I am totally pissed off by some things. The following is only an illustration
1. Head lines are plain crazy or idiotic. Take this as an example
"Nahin Zamanat Milegi Sunjay Dutt ko". I fail to understand the syntax. A lot of racking of my small brain has resulted in a conjecture that the headlines are first composed in English( "No bail for Sanjay Dutt") and then translated verbatim to the cocktailish language hypothesized earlier.
Take another one "Mobile ab ban gaya Rupaiya". You can not ( I could not) make out as to which has become what. Subject and object are entirely interchangeable. Transevite???
I shudder to think what further deterioration is in store.
२. The adjectives are used as nouns and vice-versa. Every channel considers it fashionable to use 'Chashmdeed' चश्मदीद (Eye-witnessing) and 'masoom' मासूम ( Innocent) as nouns.
Then, other words are invented, albeit thoughtlessly. The most irritating being 'Sattoria' ( bookie). The etymology of this single word could be the subject for a Ph.D thesis!!!!!!!!!!( No joke)
3. Another thing, which causes heartburn is the way the simple Hindustani / Urdu-origin words are pronounced.
Fee sadi ( percent) invariably pronounced as Fees di ( paid the fees) tops the charts.
Some other words are used wrongly by even the elite ( boasting knowledge of Urdu)
Khilafat (opposition / resistance / dissension) in place of Mukhalfat
Andaz ( style) in place of Andaaza ( Estimate)- Anumaan would be better
Khulasa ( Summary, precis) for expose' and ironically sometimes to mean details
The list is endless as usual
But wait my agony finds no end: Look at the following
जिंदगी ( Zindagi ) becomes जिंदगी ( Jindagi)
ज़मीन ( Zameen ) becomes जमीन ( Jameen)
तेज़ ( tez) becomes तेज (Tej) and vice versa
ग़ज़ल (ghazal) becomes गजल (gajal )
फ़ना becomes फना
खाना becomes खाना
( The first one means house / dwelling / abode and the other stands for FOOD)
The singular "Hai" है is used in place of plural "Hain" हैं. This misuse / abuse is not restricted to speech alone, it is endemic and has found its way into writing too. Even in film titles this grave error is regularly committed with impunity. 'Kitne Cool Hai Hum' is one example.
I have illustrated the 'POINT' enough. Observe carefully. It is the dot ( POINT) which goes missing from under ( subscript) or from over ( Superscript) a letter. The point is the 'Beauty spot'; the present day language has lost its beauty because "It has become POINTLESS".
Q.E.D
The list is very l o n g.
While a number of people of all shades and hues have been able to find ( undeserving) employment, a host of side effects have shown up. Of these, the most blatant is the deterioration in the language that is employed. Though a number of channels are supposed to be Hindi-based, the language used on these channels is certainly not Hindi. It is not even good old Hindustani. It is not the in-fashion Bombaiya too.
To me, the language being employed is, at best, a strange cocktail of Hindi, Urdu, English and Bombaiya and some extra-terrestial tongue. The grammar has been done away with. Genders are being changed mindlessly. For instance, if a program host / anchor refers to India as "she" in one sentence, the same person in the very next sentence calls it "He". Every moment a new method / technique is invented to murder the language ( Hindi, English etc.) . I am totally pissed off by some things. The following is only an illustration
1. Head lines are plain crazy or idiotic. Take this as an example
"Nahin Zamanat Milegi Sunjay Dutt ko". I fail to understand the syntax. A lot of racking of my small brain has resulted in a conjecture that the headlines are first composed in English( "No bail for Sanjay Dutt") and then translated verbatim to the cocktailish language hypothesized earlier.
Take another one "Mobile ab ban gaya Rupaiya". You can not ( I could not) make out as to which has become what. Subject and object are entirely interchangeable. Transevite???
I shudder to think what further deterioration is in store.
२. The adjectives are used as nouns and vice-versa. Every channel considers it fashionable to use 'Chashmdeed' चश्मदीद (Eye-witnessing) and 'masoom' मासूम ( Innocent) as nouns.
Then, other words are invented, albeit thoughtlessly. The most irritating being 'Sattoria' ( bookie). The etymology of this single word could be the subject for a Ph.D thesis!!!!!!!!!!( No joke)
3. Another thing, which causes heartburn is the way the simple Hindustani / Urdu-origin words are pronounced.
Fee sadi ( percent) invariably pronounced as Fees di ( paid the fees) tops the charts.
Some other words are used wrongly by even the elite ( boasting knowledge of Urdu)
Khilafat (opposition / resistance / dissension) in place of Mukhalfat
Andaz ( style) in place of Andaaza ( Estimate)- Anumaan would be better
Khulasa ( Summary, precis) for expose' and ironically sometimes to mean details
The list is endless as usual
But wait my agony finds no end: Look at the following
जिंदगी ( Zindagi ) becomes जिंदगी ( Jindagi)
ज़मीन ( Zameen ) becomes जमीन ( Jameen)
तेज़ ( tez) becomes तेज (Tej) and vice versa
ग़ज़ल (ghazal) becomes गजल (gajal )
फ़ना becomes फना
खाना becomes खाना
( The first one means house / dwelling / abode and the other stands for FOOD)
The singular "Hai" है is used in place of plural "Hain" हैं. This misuse / abuse is not restricted to speech alone, it is endemic and has found its way into writing too. Even in film titles this grave error is regularly committed with impunity. 'Kitne Cool Hai Hum' is one example.
I have illustrated the 'POINT' enough. Observe carefully. It is the dot ( POINT) which goes missing from under ( subscript) or from over ( Superscript) a letter. The point is the 'Beauty spot'; the present day language has lost its beauty because "It has become POINTLESS".
Q.E.D
