Cultural Changes: Keep communication alive and language usage intact

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           Myriad cultural changes have taken place in India within a decade and plus. With the advent of technology, life all over the world has changed drastically in every aspect. Everyone, young and old, has become techno savvy and is enthusiastic to adapt to new changes that the time demands. No doubt, it is a very positive sign to change oneself to the contemporary situation as life is governed by the technology these days. An awareness of cultural , social, political  shifts along with the pros and cons of technology enable one to deal with daily affairs with maturity and dignity. Social networking sites have brought people nearer across the world, and yet, at the same time they have distanced the immediate neighbors. These radical changes are really disturbing and need a sincere and honest thought. As a result, the charm of communication, human relations, and human values -- where physical presence matters, physical touch matters, eye contact matters, hearty smile matters—all are missing. Many times, to my utter surprise, I find  young boys and girls sitting indifferently engrossed in surfing their smart phones even at birthday parties and religious functions-- communications is on the decline.  Language, the essence of communication, too has been changing with the passage of time.  Nostalgically speaking, friends used to gather at somebody’s place or at a restaurant  in the evenings to chat and share their ideas, and to discuss. Now people have suddenly become busy and professional – No time to engage into a hearty communication – all these changes have been taking a toll on the usage of languages. In the present situation, visual language is taking precedence over verbal and written language. Visual language through visual images like photos, posters, hoardings is governing the whole cultural scenario. Social networking sites like FaceBook, Instagram, WhatsApp – all bombard with visual images. If some FaceBook friends try to engage friends with written message—without a visual -- these written messages  are surely going to be brushed aside.   Leave alone simple communications or discussions, my heartbeats become uneven suddenly when I read in the newspapers about closing down of the famous book stalls.  Treasure houses of knowledge, books stalls, and the famous ones in cosmopolitan cities too, have been disappearing one by one. It really makes me sad!  Earlier, books were the main source of gaining knowledge and to feel the diverse cultures of the world. By reading the book of different authors of different countries, one would get the perfect feel of  those diverse cultures. The authors would make us journey into those countries with such vivid descriptions that we never ever felt an alien while traversing those countries in to those pages. The writer’s elaborate description fused with reader’s fancy created a wonderful journey and a wonderful world for every growing child and an adult.  Those mental journeys in to abyss kept us busy, happy and well informed.

                                         Recently, when I visited printing press in a neighbouring small town, I saw a small poster pinned to the display board. The small poster was conveying a huge message, directly and indirectly. Take care of apostrophes and commas -- language is changing ! Since the technology has entered into our life, the usage of language has changed considerably. Specially,the language of messages in social sites has taken a new shape—it is conveniently shortened and without any punctuation marks.  We have already lost several languages and some are on the vanishing verge. It is time to think seriously about usage and saving of languages.