Sorry for the delayed post. This was meant to be up last night, but unfortunately, the entire nation was without power last night. Yes, you read that right, the whole of Pakistan lost power at about 11:30 PM and came back up at around 4 AM. I hear most of Pakistan is still without power, but I have not been able to confirm with sources. I am sure it's another one of those fails that the Pakistani government probably doesn't want much said about. Anyway, thank goodness I am in Islamabad because even those five hours without power were intolerable and anxiety inducing. I have become used to the scheduled daily blackouts, but imagine a whole country without power. Unfathomable in today's day and age.
That is a topic for another time. I will at some point write about Pakistan's electricity problem. As soon as I better understand it.
UPDATE: Just heard the news after typing all of that. It was some sort of technical glitch that caused the power to go out. Power has been restored to the country and scheduled blackouts are back on.
The national language of Pakistan is Urdu. However, most Pakistanis avoid speaking Urdu as though if it were the plague (forget speaking provincial languages). There is a desire for everyone to either speak English or learn it. All of this is fine. I believe one should be at least bilingual if not multilingual. However avoidance of one's national tongue (to the point of speaking broken, nonsensical English) is absurd.
Just because a native English speaker learns French does not mean they avoid speaking English and only speak French. Well that happens to be the case here. Speaking English is a sort of status symbol it seems, because it indicates academic superiority (or allows one to feign academic superiority). There is nothing wrong with flaunting one's education, but there is everything wrong with forgetting one's identity.
Why are Pakistanis intent on denying their "Pakistaniness?" Where will this attitude get them? In the midst of these English-speaking Pakistanis, I cannot contain my laughter. They cannot get their grammar correct or use the correct proverbs, but for fear of their self created reputation, they will not defer to speaking in Urdu. I can provide a never ending list of examples, some I have heard myself and others have been relayed to me. Most of these bloopers are a cause for late night laughter among my siblings and I (all of who are living the American Pakistani in Pakistan life).
Yesterday evening I heard a woman saying her "heart goes out" when she sees all the children on stage during a rendition of "The Sound of Music," performed by a local school. I know she meant to say that her "heart melts," but she conveyed sympathy where she meant to convey admiration. You would be even more surprised to hear that this woman is the principal of a well reputed academic institution. Similarly, the founder of another school was reported to have said "the childrens" of his school. The list could go on for an eternity. I am not even going to open the Pandora's box of individuals trying to use American or British slang while using their practiced accents to speak English.
At the end of the day, I can overlook all of these flaws, but negation of one's heritage is unforgivable. Why are Pakistanis running away from being Pakistani?
I don't know either.
That is a topic for another time. I will at some point write about Pakistan's electricity problem. As soon as I better understand it.
UPDATE: Just heard the news after typing all of that. It was some sort of technical glitch that caused the power to go out. Power has been restored to the country and scheduled blackouts are back on.
The national language of Pakistan is Urdu. However, most Pakistanis avoid speaking Urdu as though if it were the plague (forget speaking provincial languages). There is a desire for everyone to either speak English or learn it. All of this is fine. I believe one should be at least bilingual if not multilingual. However avoidance of one's national tongue (to the point of speaking broken, nonsensical English) is absurd.
Just because a native English speaker learns French does not mean they avoid speaking English and only speak French. Well that happens to be the case here. Speaking English is a sort of status symbol it seems, because it indicates academic superiority (or allows one to feign academic superiority). There is nothing wrong with flaunting one's education, but there is everything wrong with forgetting one's identity.
Why are Pakistanis intent on denying their "Pakistaniness?" Where will this attitude get them? In the midst of these English-speaking Pakistanis, I cannot contain my laughter. They cannot get their grammar correct or use the correct proverbs, but for fear of their self created reputation, they will not defer to speaking in Urdu. I can provide a never ending list of examples, some I have heard myself and others have been relayed to me. Most of these bloopers are a cause for late night laughter among my siblings and I (all of who are living the American Pakistani in Pakistan life).
Yesterday evening I heard a woman saying her "heart goes out" when she sees all the children on stage during a rendition of "The Sound of Music," performed by a local school. I know she meant to say that her "heart melts," but she conveyed sympathy where she meant to convey admiration. You would be even more surprised to hear that this woman is the principal of a well reputed academic institution. Similarly, the founder of another school was reported to have said "the childrens" of his school. The list could go on for an eternity. I am not even going to open the Pandora's box of individuals trying to use American or British slang while using their practiced accents to speak English.
At the end of the day, I can overlook all of these flaws, but negation of one's heritage is unforgivable. Why are Pakistanis running away from being Pakistani?
I don't know either.
Khuda Hafiz from Islamabad City
X0X0
Why are Pakistanis running away from being Pakistani?
ReplyDeleteAsk your parents!