Knowing Different Languages
People are always interested in knowing about the number of languages a certain individual can speak. It is always fascinating and amazing to get in contact with people who are capable of speaking several languages. It introduces you to the diverse cultural insights, enhanced and smooth communication skills, and the complex critical thinking abilities those specific individuals would have, which are qualities truly everyone would desire. However, have you ever really thought of the importance of polishing your fluency and understanding of your mother tongue before proceeding to learning additional languages? Improving your accuracy and expression in your mother tongue goes far beyond just proper speech. Factors like ability to read and write also play a crucial role in determining one’s proficiency and expertise in a language. Unfortunately, nowadays, the drive to learn various languages has defeated the motivation to perfect our first language. Being a Pakistani, I have always been keen on learning more about my language. My family and I shifted to Kuwait when I was 7 years old, which restricted my ability to develop my reading and writing skills in Urdu. Although I was fluent in speaking Urdu, till date, I often struggle with reading complex passages like News headlines and other books that have overwhelming amounts of traditional Urdu vocabulary.
Introduction to Roman Urdu
However, does any of that even matter anymore? People have developed alternative ways of communicating in Urdu by the use of Roman Urdu. Roman Urdu script is the use of English characters for Urdu words and vocabulary. This is a widely adopted method in various social media platforms, along with everyday messaging, comments, reviews and other forms of texts that would normally be conveyed in traditional Urdu. The rise of Roman Urdu in Pakistan has further decreased the motivation to strengthen Urdu reading and writing proficiency for an individual.
The Role of Roman Urdu in Pakistan
It’s important to question when and how Pakistan experienced a rise in Roman Urdu. As explained in this article, Roman Urdu serves the purpose of satisfying people’s socializing needs, and is therefore mainly used by individuals that are highly active on websites and other online platforms. These individuals are composed of Pakistan’s young population that find convenience in using the English keyboard instead of the Urdu letters and commands, therefore have developed the habit of sending Urdu messages, comments and other texts using English characters. The authors of the article make an important contribution that thoroughly explains the rapid increase of Roman Urdu. They explain how Roman Urdu is also greatly used for the purpose of information extraction and to perform other search techniques. Several people amongst the users of these online platforms face difficulties in efficiently comprehending the English language, therefore the development of Roman Urdu serves as an excellent channel to extract academic or other information that can deliver them their desired results. Although it acts as an effective and valuable tool to deliver important knowledge and information for people that lack English proficiency, others have also incorporated Roman Urdu into their lives by using it for other socializing purposes. Not only has Roman Urdu been incorporated for personal communication and simple search engines, its rising involvement in everyday life is evident through its use for other entertainment purposes like memes, tweets and Instagram stories and posts that once again target the young population. This shows that gradually, Roman Urdu is penetrating the most frequently used and famous platforms of social media, and will eventually secure a stable position in Pakistani society.
Accuracy of Roman Urdu
Now that we understand the purpose and use of Roman Urdu in Pakistan, it is important to analyze its accuracy and efficiency in conveying the message. This article presents and thoroughly explains the flexibility and adjustments of words and vocabulary that can be introduced in Roman Urdu unlike normal Urdu. Traditional Urdu has a fixed format of writing sentences, punctuations, lining, and formatting which adds an element of organization and clarity to the writing that also aids the process of reading and understanding, whilst giving the language its own unique characteristics. On the other hand, Roman Urdu can translate the same word in English characters, with no punctuation and specified rules for spellings and formats. Although the transition from Urdu to English characters is an effective one, Roman Urdu takes away all the elegance and structure of the Urdu language. The meaning stays the same, but the way people may read and pronounce words can differ on several margins, which affects the articulation and diminishes the beauty and identity of the language.
Will Roman Urdu Replace Traditional Urdu?
Although this may seem as an exaggerated question, considering the rapidly changing environment we are surrounded by, it does not take time for people’s language patterns and habits to evolve and take new forms. Several people are highly influenced by social media activities, and considering the vast use of social media amongst the young population, it will not be a surprise to notice the gradual elimination of traditional Urdu from the lives of the upcoming generations. They may know how to speak and communicate in Urdu, however, the ability to convey their thoughts into Urdu words and express their emotions in their mother tongue, may become a rare quality.
I often see my parents or other people from the same age group that still use Urdu letters and words to text and communicate online, and I find it so fascinating to see their ease and convenience in using the Urdu keyboard and language. However, if we really think about it, this should not be a surprise to us. The question of “Do you know how to read and write in your language?” should not really be a common one. In fact, everyone should work towards strengthening and enhancing the understanding of their own language because that is their initial and ultimate personality. Their mother tongue is what shapes their personality and highly influences their thinking and life habits. Apart from just verbal communication in Urdu, I think it is essential to ensure its written presence in the books and other literature materials to secure the cultural significance of the language that beautifies and leaves a remarkable touch to the country as a whole. The quote below is a great conclusion to the point of knowing and communicating in your mother tongue.
If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.
~Nelson Mandela
Questions for discussion:
- What do you think is the importance of being able to read, write, and speak in your mother tongue/ first language.
- Do you believe that one can truly express themselves in a language other than their mother tongue?
- Do you think the rise f English language in society can threaten/diminish the existence of other languages?
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Great work, Tahreem! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
I understand your point of view because I believe the same is applicable for the Arabic Language. With the rise of social media and use of English language, the younger generations-including myself- have found it easier to communicate with Arabic in English letters. Although this could seem just fine, I think that this threatens the future of Arabic language as it loses its main characteristics that differentiates it from other languages. This is a serious issue because your mother language is not just the language of the country you come from. It forms your identity, cultural beliefs, and so much more. Therefore, it is our responsibility to preserve our mother tongue language and take steps towards improving in it.
Amazing job Tahreem! As an Urdu speaker, I found this article super interesting and insightful. I agree that people should work towards strengthening and enhancing their understanding of their own language before proceeding to learn additional languages. It is fascinating to see the rise of Roman Urdu and how it serves the purpose of satisfying people’s socializing needs, especially among Pakistan’s young population. However, the use of Roman Urdu takes away all the elegance and structure of the Urdu language (I feel), which affects the articulation and diminishes the beauty and identity of the language. It is essential to analyze the accuracy and efficiency of Roman Urdu in conveying the message, and we should question whether it will replace traditional Urdu in the future. In my opinion, it is crucial to preserve and cherish one’s mother tongue, as it is a precious relic in itself.
Very different topic, but as a linguist I found this super interesting. Being able to read, write, and speak in your mother tongue is super important in order to express yourself and understand others. I definitely believe that one can best express themselves their mother tongue, but at the same time, in specific cases, they are able to express themselves as good in another language they learned. Great work! Loved the effort and thought put into this writing.
Wow! I thought only Arabs did this.. this was very entertaining and educational
Great topic! I loved reading this post. To answer the question, “Do you believe that one can truly express themselves in a language other than their mother tongue?” I think it is possible to fully express yourself in a language that is not your mother tongue because it all depends on what you are used to and what language you tend to use to express your emotions.
Tahreem, thank you very much for your wonderful blog article! Franco Arabic is a writing system for Arabic that is quite similar to Roman Urdu. If I’m not mistaken, this writing system first appeared in gaming chat rooms when there was no Arabic option or when the letters would be displayed in the opposite order. Although while some people frequently use various letters to spell the same word, most of the time the spelling is not all that different. The Arabic letters and sounds are represented by numbers from 1 to9, which are written using the Latin alphabet. Many people were concerned about the use of Franco Arabic because they thought it would influence how the younger generation understand and learn Arabic. I believe it is feasible for me to be capable of expressing myself in a language other than my mother tongue. However, sometimes I feel like Arabic words have a more sentimental value you to me, I don’t just understand them. I feel them too!!
This is so interesting and relatable, Tahreem! I speak fluently in Urdu but I can barely read and can’t write. I appreciate Roman Urdu because it enables me to communicate in Urdu over text, but I understand how it’s becoming a threat to Urdu script. Personally, I think it’s really important to be able to speak, read, and write in your first language. Because I struggle to read in Urdu, I find it so difficult to connect with my culture at times because our culture and history are immortalized in Urdu script. I wish I could easily read and connect with Urdu poetry, books, news articles, etc. We’re witnessing in real-time how the younger generations are losing Urdu in favor of English, partly because of how our culture views fluency in English as a symbol of intelligence and modernity. I think people can learn to express themselves in other languages, and I feel like I can in English – but also, sometimes, something will come up that I just can’t be translated. But I like how some things cannot exactly be explained in other languages, it feels like you get to keep the beauty of the expression all to yourself. Nice job, thank you!
Lovely post, Tahreem! We have a similar way of writing in Arabic – called Franco-Arabic. It is only used in informal settings and it consists of using the English alphabet as well as some digits that represent certain Arabic letters that cannot be replicated by the English alphabet. For example, 7 corresponds to the Arabic letter ‘ح’. I am guilty of using it sometimes, because I find it easier to type using the English keyboard. Although, I try to use the Arabic keyboard because as you said, the words can be interpreted differently when not written in their traditional way (also my parents do not like it when I text them in Franco-Arabic, or English). My mother tongue is Arabic, and I only started learning English when I was 4 years old. However, I feel that I am more fluent in English than in Arabic – something I am not necessarily proud of. Another thing about Arabic is that there are so many dialects, I for example speak the Egyptian dialect. Thus, since I do not usually use classic Arabic, it is not very easy for me to speak it.
This was a very interesting and very relatable read, great work! I’m also Pakistani but since I never lived there my Urdu never developed the way it had for my older siblings. I can speak Urdu fluently and read well too, but I’ve never really got the hang of writing in Urdu, on the other hand I can comfortably read and write in Arabic but cannot fluently speak the language despite growing up in the Middle East. To answer your question regarding the possibility of rise of the English language threatening diminishing the existence of other languages, I believe that the short answer is yes. It is true that very few languages have ever been as widely spoken as English, but like all things, I think it will be time that takes its toll and end some of the languages we speak today. The remaining languages will change, develop and grow into entirely new languages. For example, the Arabic we speak today is a type of North Arabic, which is itself a subsect of the branch of semitic languages, which are derived from proto-semitic languages. The language lifecycle can take many, many millennia, but it is a constant reminder that even things as deep-rooted and complex as language and culture will all be wiped away at some point and deviate into something unrecognizable.
Amazing work, Tahreem! As people mentioned already, we have something very similar in Arabic, where we use the English syntax to write Arabic words. While that may be convenient I think it does have unintended negative consequences, people in our generation have a weaker grasp on our mother language, due to the fact that we don’t read or write in it as much, personally, my Arabic writing is woeful. This is really important as staying connected to your mother tongue is very important to maintain culture and heritage.
Great work, Tahreem! To answer your question about expressing oneself in a language other than one’s own, I think – and I’m not sure if this is scientifically backed – that multilingual people’s brains tend to associate different languages with different purposes. For instance, I speak both Urdu and English, and a very rusty form of Arabic. But in my head, each language is compartmentalized for a different purpose. For example, I’ve noticed I articulate myself better and more persuasively in English (this is probably in large part due to the fact that I was formally taught in English). On the other hand, Urdu is the language of family and companionship for me. I’m at my funniest in Urdu; something about it being my mother tongue means I feel less reserved and more at home in the language. There are no pretenses or facades to hide behind when I’m speaking in Urdu. I’m not remotely good at Arabic, but from the basics that I know, I’ve noticed that Arabic poetry is unmatched (followed closely by Urdu poetry). So I think that your ability to express yourself is relative based on the languages you know!
I really enjoyed reading your post Tahreem. I believe it is very important to be able to read , write and talk in in your mother tongue as it keeps you connected to your roots and can always have a reminder of where you came from. It is very possible to express yourself in other languages for example my cousin went to Sweden for a few years and when he came back he felt that it was easier to communicate in Swedish rather than English or Arabic . Over recent years I would say that the rise in English specking children in The UAE has increased a lot that they don’t even try to learn Arabic which is slowly diminishing.
Personally, I have never struggled with speaking my mother tongue. That is mainly down to the fact that I have grown up in my home country at a time when English was not yet on the rise (at the very least, English online was not on the rise). Thus, it is quite easy for me to speak both Egyptian Arabic and English separately. When it comes to speaking Egyptian Arabic, I find that it is not as understandable as the English expression wise (especially when it comes to the rural dialects). However, Egyptian Arabic, for me at least, is much more expressive when it comes to Egyptians compared to any other tongue they may choose to speak (mainly because our body language is intrinsically tied to our tongue). As such, I would wager that other native speakers, especially of languages that have a history/culture dating back thousands of year, would find that expressing themselves in anything other than their mother tongue is not as expressive (at least, till they have lived in another place that have had the same profound effect towards them as their home country did).