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    3 June 2004

    More on Gandhi vs. Ghandi and the Language Log deluge

    In response to my hand-wringing, Prof Mark Liberman has expounded rather lucidly at Language Log on possible reasons for confusion. I have yet to come across the rarer alternatives Prof Liberman cites like "Gandi" or "Ghandhi". Meanwhile, over at the BBC, the Queen's very own have redeemed themselves by correcting their spelling in the article alluded to. While on the Language Log, there was an entry written with commendable effort where nary a verb was used. Of course, the write-up appeals liberally to one's notions of colloquial language and capacity to conjure up the verbs in the head. And while on clever sophistry, the Log also features a poem without adjectives nonetheless eulogising their essence. A final say on words: the Double-Tongued Word Wrester (link originally from Language Log). They even have a definition for the doosra! On to languages, there was some talk of Sanskritising the IITs during the Vajpayee term. In as much as there is good reason for the move to be railed against for its typical "saffron" (must retire this cliché) undertones, my limited exposure to Sanskrit leads me to appreciate the motive. It is a tragedy to observe that Sanskrit has been so neglected in India not least because of the concomitant political baggage. Far be it for me to say it, but Sanskrit in addition to being (one of?) the oldest language known to humanity, and perhaps because of it, is a highly principled language with strict rules of pronunciation and usage that are devoutly followed thereby making the task of picking it up a lot simpler. True, there is a steep learning curve that must be negotiated particularly for students with no exposure to it or even the Devanagari script (their tribe exists) but once mastered, picking up the rest of the language is not much more than a cinch. To this day, I am glad I can at least decline the Raama shabda and conjugate in present tense the Patha verb. Alright, that should be high-pedestal proselytising enough for the day.
  • (Mis)spelling Gandhi
  • A Verbless Post
  • The verbless of the earth
  • A poem about adjectives (without them)
  • Double-Tongued Word Wrester
  • Sanskritising the IITs
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