In this ongoing series of posts on partially mastered languages and my frustrating relationships with them, I’ve written about German and Spanish. Today, I come to the most vexed alliance of all, the one with Punjabi. My last name is a giveaway: I’m a Punjabi. But I’ve never lived in the Punjab. I did, however,Continue reading “On First and Second Languages – III”
Tag Archives: German
On First and Second Languages – III
In the first post of this series, I described my relationship with English and Hindi/Urdu/Hindustani; in the second, that with German. The story in today’s post–that of Spanish in my life–is similar to the German tale: partial fluency, a long-standing, constantly procastinated commitment to formal study. The distinctive contrast lies in the nature of theContinue reading “On First and Second Languages – III”
On First and Second Languages – II
In my first post in this series, I wrote of my relationship with English and Hindi/Urdu/Hindustani – my first and second languages. I claimed partial fluency in three other languages: German, Spanish and Punjabi. I aspire to mastery of all three and have varying levels of optimism about the plausibility of my success in thisContinue reading “On First and Second Languages – II”
Of First and Second Languages – I
Costica Bradatan‘s essay ‘Born Again in a Second Language‘ made me think my own homes in the two languages I speak: English and Hindi/Urdu/Hindustani. Because I grew up in India, English is often termed my ‘second language.’ I, however, describe English as my ‘first language’ because it is the language in which I posses the greatestContinue reading “Of First and Second Languages – I”
Reflections on Translations – III: The Pleasures of Iranian and German Movies
I like many products of contemporary Iranian cinema: for instance, the movies of Abbas Kiarostami, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, and Majid Majidi–to name only three of a long and distinguished line-up of directors. Theirs is a neorealism with a compellingly different grammar from that of other products of the genre. There is another, not-so-overt reason for theContinue reading “Reflections on Translations – III: The Pleasures of Iranian and German Movies”
Samir Chopra 