'Dominance of English on regional languages threat to culture'

Filmmaker Nagathihalli speaks on need to take Beary language to masses

The dominance of English on regional languages has been increasing owing to obsession for English and there is a need to preserve the authenticity of regional languages, said filmmaker Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar.

He was speaking after releasing a documentary on Beary language, produced by Karnataka Beary Sahitya Academy in Mangaluru on Sunday.

He further said that in Kannada film industry too, there is a lot of obsession for English language. Most of the Kannada films released nowadays have English titles, which is unfortunate, Chandrashekhar said.

“Any language flourishes with more and more public usage and there is a need to take Beary language to the masses. Social media these days can be used effectively for popularising the language, along with establishing it with a positive force and creativity,” he advised.

“Beary community should preserve its culture for the next generation. Languages like Kannada and Malayalam have adopted a lot of Sanskrit words into their vocabularies while languages like Beary are more authentic compared to Kannada. Beary community has also strived to preserve Kannada language,” he compared.

Speaking further, Chandrashekhar said that the people in Mangaluru are well-versed in a couple of languages. In Konkani alone, there are 50 dialects across India, he reminded.

Language is the expression of soul. If one goes deep into the subject of a language, one will realise that we are all children of the same mother and this understanding is required in this age of globalisation, he insisted.

“Language is not a mere group of words. Music, folklore, legends, handicraft and other things also make a language. Language is a resource one should preserve. It is high time that one understands the need to protect one’s language and culture,” Chandrashekhar explained.

Karnataka Beary Sahithya Academy President B A Muhammed Haneef presided over the programme.

Journalist B M Hanif, Kannada and Culture Department Assistant Director Chandrahas Rai, Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy President Roy Castelino, Dakshina Kannada district Wakf Advisory Committee President S M Rashid Hazi, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi Central Muslim Committee President Muhammed Masood were present.