Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Languages
I was watching a Mallu flick the other day and Mammooty said something to the effect of "Vizhuppalakkunathu pinneyaakaam" meaning that the dirty laundry could be washed at a later time.
Which set me thinking how the same proverbs and expressions exist in different languages. Did somebody translate them at some time in the past or is it a reflection of the fact that humans tend to think of the same things wherever they are? A kind of corroboration of the homogeneity of mankind, as it were.
In this instance, did somebody in Kerala come up with the "Vizhuppalakkal" expression when they read the English "washing one's dirty laundry" and thought that Malayalam could do with an equivalent?
Or more common proverbs like "Minnuthellam ponnalla", "Palathulli Peruvellam" and "Vithachathu Koyyum" meaning "All that gli(s)tters is not gold", "Many a drop makes big ocean" and "You reap what you sow"... Did these exist in the Malayalam of the 16th century before any English speakers came to India?
While on the subject, English could be enriched with expressions like
"What place has a cat in a (gold)smithy"
"When I see the dog, I have no stone, and when I have a stone, I see no dog"
"What knows a barren woman of labor pains"
"Is a pickle as good as salt?"
On second thoughts- nah. They are just not as effective!
Which set me thinking how the same proverbs and expressions exist in different languages. Did somebody translate them at some time in the past or is it a reflection of the fact that humans tend to think of the same things wherever they are? A kind of corroboration of the homogeneity of mankind, as it were.
In this instance, did somebody in Kerala come up with the "Vizhuppalakkal" expression when they read the English "washing one's dirty laundry" and thought that Malayalam could do with an equivalent?
Or more common proverbs like "Minnuthellam ponnalla", "Palathulli Peruvellam" and "Vithachathu Koyyum" meaning "All that gli(s)tters is not gold", "Many a drop makes big ocean" and "You reap what you sow"... Did these exist in the Malayalam of the 16th century before any English speakers came to India?
While on the subject, English could be enriched with expressions like
"What place has a cat in a (gold)smithy"
"When I see the dog, I have no stone, and when I have a stone, I see no dog"
"What knows a barren woman of labor pains"
"Is a pickle as good as salt?"
On second thoughts- nah. They are just not as effective!
