One aspect that has helped people during the lockdown is that they got sufficient time to look back and make some changes to their life. For some of the Bengalureans, the quarantine period has also helped them in picking up the language.
“Kannad Gothilla”
For each Kannadiga, the term “Kannad Gothilla” irritates him/her to the end. The refusal of the settlers to learn the language and try to become a true part of their adoptive state has made the above term famous. However, this is all set to change, courtesy the lockdown.
Settlers picking up the language during the lockdown
A proof of the same is the rise in interest on Kannada-learning platforms such as Kannada Gothide and Kannada Gothilla. Deepak N, who started the ‘Kannada Gothide’ group has seen a rise in the number of learners over the last few months.
He said: “During the lockdown, people began spending a lot more on-screen time, and perhaps realized that all they needed is 10-15 minutes a day to learn the basics of the language. The benefit of learning in our group is that they can drop a message whenever they are free. We have no fixed timings to learn the language and members don’t have to log in to the website to find specific words that they want to learn.”
One of the admins of the group Kannada Gothilla says: “When we began, members only wanted to learn basic spoken Kannada to get by, but in the last two months many said they want to read and write it as well. The objective of our group has been to get Bengaluru’s migrant population to know the language and respect the local culture. Admins in the group are teachers and we follow a set format -we send audio files and notes and members can revert in case of doubts.”
A page on Instagram, called Chumma Talks, uses an innovative method to get across the language to the learners. Iconic songs are edited and used to teach basic and complex words to the students. In some cases, pictures are also used for better understanding.
Source: Times of India
