February 21st is celebrated as "International Mother Language Day".
As we celebrate this #InternationalMotherLanguageDay, I proudly & patiently share with all that my mother language is- ODIA.
The attached image by ABP Live has interesting facts about language. But, it has the old spelling- Oriya.
If you share a WhatsApp or social media group with me, you must have seen my messages regarding the need to use the correct spelling- Odia.
No, it's not Oriya anymore.
No, it's not Odiya either.
Many of us have read about "Oriya" and "Orissa" in school having done our schooling before 2011 when the said change name change from ORIYA to ODIA and from ORISSA to ODISHA happened thanks to our Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik Babu.
Yes, it is Odisha and not Orissa anymore.
We surely need more awareness sessions. Charity begins at home. Everyone is responsible.
Name change has happened eleven years ago in 2011.
Much water has flown in the Mahanadi in the last 11 years.
But, has it made any difference to our public and the fourth pillar- the media?
News media are trusted and their reports are considered to be credible and shared.
Research teams are employed by media houses. They slog to provide us a lot of news in real-time 24X7.
Still they do not know that the spellings are- Odia and Odisha?
These days information can be easily and quickly accessed from cyberspace by a few strokes of the key-pad or simply the click of a mouse-button!
But, who will even think of accessing info from online resources and links when they are so confident about their knowledge and awareness level?
Even Odias continue to use the old spellings of Odisha state and Odia language i.e. Orissa and Oriya respectively.
Odissi dance is also being spelled in a number of ways – even by Odissi dancers and writers/journalists themselves!
One person even asked- "Is your language- Odissi?"
This blog post has more-
The Spellings Are Odisha, Odia, and Odissi-
If such facts are stated and requests for updates (to Odia) are made, some of the group-members take it as a personal insult, some react badly, while many others do not pay heed and continue using the old spellings despite several requests and interventions. Some defaulters try to shame the person who dared to raise such points! Their arguments/queries-
“What will you get?"
"Why are you so concerned?”
“Mind your own business!"
"I will use or not use whatever I wish! "
"What right do you have to tell me?”
“Who has appointed you as the spokesperson?"
Most people do something only after someone assigns them some work to do or if it is a part of their job/office and they are supposed to do.
Improper usage and uncaring attitude is influencing many. Thus, even now many continue using the old spellings of our language and state.
A name is the identity. It is sacred.
Misspelling and misrepresentation shows the amount of respect for a language or state.
Whenever posts regarding misinformation and misrepresentation are shared, very few support.
I value my mother language. It is officially Odia now.
I had shared some of these thoughts in my post about Nirmala Madam's Bomkai Saree that she had worn while presenting #Budget2022 at the Lok Sabha . It was misrepresented-
Q) Do you know and use the correct spelling of your language?
Q) Do you feel it is fine to use old spelling and any spelling we please?
Please help me with your answers to the above Qs.
I am glad Odia is the sixth Indian language to be designated a Classical language. Tamil, Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Odia.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much. True.
DeleteTruly proud that Odia is the 6th Classical language of India.