On Dec 26, 2007 12:13 AM, Hari Prasad Nadig <mail(a)hpnadig.net> wrote:
In Kannada context I can say that in cities, English words are
predominantly used in the spoken language. But as you go outside metros,
the usage of English words narrows down to only those that do not have
alternative Kannada words. For instance, "Bus", "CD",
"Cigarette" etc.
We should keep the larger audience in mind rather than just Urban users
when translating/transliterating since Internet penetration outside
cities is increasing by every passing day.
I agree, simply transliterating English words into Indian languages is
a bad idea. But, IMHO, it's even worse to coin new equivalents that do
not exist in the language already. For example, using "સંગણક"
("Sanganaka") for "Computer":
http://gu.wikipedia.org/wiki/વિકિપીડિયા:ગુજરાતી_અનુવાદની_યાદી
I've read the term "संगणक" (Sanganaka) in some Hindi-Marathi
textbooks, but even the people in the remote Hindi/Marathi rural areas
use the term "कम्प्यूटर" (Computer) to refer to the machine. In many
such cases, it's much better to use use the popular English words,
which have entered local languages.
Nobody in Hindi-Marathi speaking areas (including the remotest
villages) uses "दूरध्वनि" to describe a telephone, everybody calls it
a टेलिफोन (or टेलिफ़ोन, to be more accurate). Using newly-coined words
that'll remain limited to books or news broadcasts on government is of
little practical use.
--
Utkarshraj Atmaram
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Utcursch