The Relationships of Languages
We have seen how the Aryans spread out over many countries, and carried their language, whatever it was, wherever they went. But different climates and different conditions produced many differences in various groups of the Aryans. Each group went on changing in its own way with new habits and customs. They could not meet the other groups in other countries as it was exceedingly difficult to travel about in those days. Each group was cut off from the others. If the people of one country learnt something new, they could not tell it to the people of another country. So changes came in, and after some generations the one Aryan family became split up into many. Perhaps they even forgot that they all belonged to one large family. Their one language became many languages, which seemed to differ greatly from each other.
But although they seemed so different there were many common words and similarities. Even now, after thousands of years, we can find these common words in different languages and can tell that once upon a time these languages must have been one. You know that there are many such common words in French and English. Let us examine two homely and ordinary words like 'father' and 'mother'. In Hindi and Sanskrit, the words are, as you know, m and >mlT; in Latin they are 'pater' and 'mater', in Greek 'pater' and 'meter'; in German 'vater' (pronounced "tJ'iTIR), and 'mutter' (pronounced lj(R); in French 'pere' and 'mere'; and so on in many other languages.
Do they not all seem to be very much alike? They have a family resemblance, like cousins. Many words, of course, may be borrowed by one language from another. Hindi has borrowed many words from English in this way, and English has borrowed some words from Hindi. But 'father' and 'mother' could not have been borrowed. They cannot be new words. Right at the beginning, when people started talking to each other, there were of course fathers and mothers and words must have been found for them. Therefore, we can say that these words are not borrowed. They must have come down from the same ancestor or the same family. And from this we can find out that the people living far apart now in different countries and using different languages must have belonged once upon a time to the same big family.
You will see how interesting the study of language is and what a lot it teaches us. If we know three or four languages, it is not very difficult to learn more languages.
You will also see that most of us now living in different countries far from each other long ago were one people. We have changed greatly since then and many of us have forgotten our old relationships. In every country people imagine that they are the best and the cleverest and the others are not as good as they are. The Englishman thinks that he and his country are the best; the Frenchman is very proud of France and everything French; the Germans and Italians think no end of their countries; and many Indians imagine that India is in many ways the greatest country in the world. This is all conceit. Everybody wants to think well of himself and his country. But really there is no person who has not got some good in him and some bad. And in the same way there is no country which is not partly good and partly bad. We must take the good wherever we find it and try to remove the bad wherever it may be.
We are, of course, most concerned with our own country, India. Unhappily it is in a bad way today and most of our people are very poor and miserable. They have no pleasure in their lives. We have to find out how we can make them happier. We have to see what is good in our ways and customs and try to keep it, and whatever is bad, we have to throwaway. If we find anything good in other countries, we should certainly take it. As Indians we have to live in India and work for India. But we must not forget that we belong to the larger family of the world and the people living in other countries are after all our cousins. It would be such an excellent thing if all the people in the world were happy and contented. We have therefore to try to make the whole world a happier place to live in.
Source: http://indiragandhi.in/en/philosophy/letters/2
But although they seemed so different there were many common words and similarities. Even now, after thousands of years, we can find these common words in different languages and can tell that once upon a time these languages must have been one. You know that there are many such common words in French and English. Let us examine two homely and ordinary words like 'father' and 'mother'. In Hindi and Sanskrit, the words are, as you know, m and >mlT; in Latin they are 'pater' and 'mater', in Greek 'pater' and 'meter'; in German 'vater' (pronounced "tJ'iTIR), and 'mutter' (pronounced lj(R); in French 'pere' and 'mere'; and so on in many other languages.
Do they not all seem to be very much alike? They have a family resemblance, like cousins. Many words, of course, may be borrowed by one language from another. Hindi has borrowed many words from English in this way, and English has borrowed some words from Hindi. But 'father' and 'mother' could not have been borrowed. They cannot be new words. Right at the beginning, when people started talking to each other, there were of course fathers and mothers and words must have been found for them. Therefore, we can say that these words are not borrowed. They must have come down from the same ancestor or the same family. And from this we can find out that the people living far apart now in different countries and using different languages must have belonged once upon a time to the same big family.
You will see how interesting the study of language is and what a lot it teaches us. If we know three or four languages, it is not very difficult to learn more languages.
You will also see that most of us now living in different countries far from each other long ago were one people. We have changed greatly since then and many of us have forgotten our old relationships. In every country people imagine that they are the best and the cleverest and the others are not as good as they are. The Englishman thinks that he and his country are the best; the Frenchman is very proud of France and everything French; the Germans and Italians think no end of their countries; and many Indians imagine that India is in many ways the greatest country in the world. This is all conceit. Everybody wants to think well of himself and his country. But really there is no person who has not got some good in him and some bad. And in the same way there is no country which is not partly good and partly bad. We must take the good wherever we find it and try to remove the bad wherever it may be.
We are, of course, most concerned with our own country, India. Unhappily it is in a bad way today and most of our people are very poor and miserable. They have no pleasure in their lives. We have to find out how we can make them happier. We have to see what is good in our ways and customs and try to keep it, and whatever is bad, we have to throwaway. If we find anything good in other countries, we should certainly take it. As Indians we have to live in India and work for India. But we must not forget that we belong to the larger family of the world and the people living in other countries are after all our cousins. It would be such an excellent thing if all the people in the world were happy and contented. We have therefore to try to make the whole world a happier place to live in.
Source: http://indiragandhi.in/en/philosophy/letters/2
Comments
Post a Comment