Meenamma
and I were strolling through one of the serene campuses of India, MCC College.
With its greenery, scrub forest, herd of deer, peacock make the campus one of
the most-sought-after campuses and that is what truly allures everyone to the
campus. I had a bad habit of introducing my classmate-friends to my other
friends in the campus. On this fine evening Meenamma and I were walking towards
Principal's road and a friend of mine named Mejo came towards us and I greeted
him with a smile and I told him, Mejo, “This is my girl friend, Meenamma.”
Meenamma went flabbergasted, nervous and uncomfortable at least for a few
seconds, although she knew that I have all these pranks in my stock. After a
small pause, I continued, “she is my girl friend, friend who is a girl.”
Well,
our culture, religions, custom, tradition, conservative society, stereotypical notion
and social stigma assign rather redefine so-called meanings for words and
language we use. So at the end of the day the language we use may not be conveying
the meaning that its proponents invented for as well as the message we wanted
to really convey to. As the language
exists in a clear context; time and space, it is getting influenced by the tongues
which speak it and the ears that listen to it.
It is
always said that the language is culturally and politically polished. The meaning
of certain words, sentence used in a particular, culture, time and space may be unparliamentary, defamatory and politically incorrect in another time and
space. Though everyone pretends to be part of a forward community rather open
community, deep at heart everyone is conservative.
When
the western language, English, is used in Indian context the language used has
more connotative meanings than it really denotes rather the language has
limitations. When I say that Meenamma is my girlfriend, it does not mean that she
is my love but it simply means that a friend who is a girl.
If I
tell a girl that, ‘I love you,’ it is easily misunderstood and I might land up
in trouble. I can love her gestures, her innocence, character and all
that. It does not have the so-called sexual meaning when I say I love a girl. I
think guys should look at girls and Praise The Lord that how beautifully she is
crafted thus, through the creatures The Creator, God, being praised.
If I
address someone, Dear, or rather say I love her, she is nice, she is pretty,
she is beautiful, all these salutations not necessarily should be seen with a
sexual connotation rather all these simply mean what he means to her and she
means to him.
Even
the things that are written and spoken crystal clear and with good intentions
are misunderstood often. The context in which the message is written and spoken
and the context in which it is being read and listened to, are different. The
moment a writer finishes his writing and a word is spoken by a speaker, it no
longer belongs to him or her and it becomes a public property. We can interpret
the way we want and it’s our freedom. But we need to interpret in a most
accurate way possible. The true intention of any author and speaker may not
reach home accurately.
As
the spoken words can’t be retrieved and it is all about the listeners’ choice
and freedom to interpret it in whatever ways they want it. Interpretation is a
vital part of our very existence. We keep on interpreting things that we see
and hear in our everyday life. From the moment we get up in the morning till we
go to bed in the night, we have to interpret what is happening in and around us.
It is through interpretation we derive meaning. We may be able to live without
a code of language but never without hermeneutic ways. In order to have a
meaningful existence in this world we need to interpret things that happen in
our life.
The sense
of certain words, sentence used in a specific, culture, time and space may be unparliamentary,
defamatory and politically incorrect in a different time and space. So we need
to be really cautious in using our languages; whether it be our Malayalam,
English or Hindi.
Cool connotation. Completely true
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