A WORD (OR TWO HUNDRED) FROM THE EDITOR

I asked a Ukrainian friend how I would wish her Merry Christmas in her language. And yes – Ukrainians celebrate Christmas in January! “Hrystos Narodyvsia!” she said. “Which means Christ is born.” Nar is man in Hindi, and divas means day. So a literal translation in Hindi could be the day Christ the man is born.

On the surface of things, Indians and Ukrainians couldn’t be more different but I found a fascinating connection. Sanskrit and Slavic languages share many similarities. Take numbers in Hindi (or Sanskrit) and Ukrainian: Two is do and dva. Three is teen and also tri in Hindi. In Ukrainian? Tri! Six is chhe or sasht in Hindi and sist in Ukrainian. And 10 is dus and desat.

I became aware of the startling similarities between Korean and Indian languages, mainly Tamil, while watching the delightful Kim’s Convenience a couple of years ago.

Amma, appa, anni are used in both languages for mother, father and sister-in-law. I is naan in Tamil, na in Korean. The number one is onnu in both and so is the word for come, va.

In his copy of Chamber’s Compact English Dictionary – purchased in 1961 according to the date on the flyleaf – my father listed many words that sounded similar in English and Hindi and had possible Sanskrit origins. These include end in English and anta in Sanskrit; door and dwar; committee and samitee; inter and antar.

He noted English words with Persian origins, too, such as daughter from dukhtar.

Words the British borrowed from Indian languages and made their own include cashmere, khaki and chintz, to name just three.

As Roderick Matthews wrote in Peace, Poverty and Betrayal, A New History of British India, “Familial resemblance between languages implied that Greek philosophy and religion may have shared roots with Vedic teachings”.

But this isn’t about which came first or even from where. It’s about the common bonds we share. We’ve been learning from each other for millennia. Why did we stop? Or worse, start pretending that we arrived on earth with fully-formed languages that needed no help from anyone?

Languages, after all, are a means of communicating with each other, of sharing our stories. Just learning a few simple words in another language can open doors to enriched experiences in another culture.

Back in the day, one had to resort to books like Teach Yourself Hindi in 30 Days, and was limited to what the esteemed publishers deemed useful phrases. A copy I picked up for a friend many years ago had the Hindi translation of “I am suffering from constipation”. Picture a visitor to India sharing such information with a stranger instead of just asking the way to a washroom! But now there are so many fun ways to learn phrases in a new language. Try it, and enjoy new connections!

Happy New Year! Or, Nav varsh ki shubh kaamnaaein!

Shagorika Easwar