Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Satellite TV bridges language barrier

R. Ravikanth Reddy

Telugu channels beaming movies and serials ensure that our children pick up the language easily, says TANA coordinator

HYDERABAD: Technology has taken away the present generation from their cultural ethos is the argument of traditionalists. But the same technology is helping youngsters thousands of miles away bond with their language and culture.

The beaming of Telugu satellite channels right into the drawing rooms of United States and advent of Telugu newspapers on Internet has brought smiles to the worried faces of Telugu migrants who were alarmed over their wards' upbringing in an alien atmosphere.

"Telugus who migrated to US three decades ago were concerned about their children not picking up the language but not the parents who went there in the last one decade," says Udaykumar Chapalamadugu, Coordinator of Telugu Association of North America (TANA).

"Thanks to satellite TV, Telugu channels beaming movies and serials have ensured that children pick up the language easily," he says.

The increased flow of Telugus into the US, thanks to the IT boom that began a decade ago, also played a vital role. "Earlier, the numbers were very few and scattered but now in many cities even neighbours at home and office are Telugus creating a homely atmosphere," he points out.

Every neighbourhood has a grocery shop or a restaurant managed by an Andhraite.

Lack of study material

But Mr. Udayakumar says the absence of learning material is a barrier for youngsters to read and write Telugu. "Absence of study material is the biggest impediment."

However, with University of Michigan introducing an undergraduate programme in Telugu, youngsters can now pick up writing skills too.

Local Telugu associations including TANA have identified a Telugu teacher Kandala Srinivasa Chary, who designed Telugu teaching material to teach it as a foreign language to the second and third generation Telugus.

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