I'm sorry but Mr Murali's post on Autos seems to have diverted way beyond scope. Hence we now have two parallel topics running in the same post. Let us bring one here.
How important is to have Multi lingual Bus Boards? Can we do with just addressing the needs of the "local" population? How do we create a universal transport system.
Europe seems to have it easy here. They have the same script for all Langauges. hence in France a subway stop for Example in London "Piccadilly" or "Trafalgar Square" would be the same written in German., French Italian or Spanish! Unfortunately, we cannot have such a system here.
Look at it more than just Bus Signs, how about Street Signs? How about Government office boards?
The Pros of having Multilingual signs:
- Accessible to all
- Lets a new comer make use of Economical modes of transport
- Lets a new comer find his way around (As locals already have a good idea of the roads)
- Better traffic sense (as people know where to go)
The Cons (IMHO)
- Less prominence for one language (readability factor)- compromise legibility
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Comments
two languages should be enough.
Kannada and English is all we need.
So there should be no such problems with readability. And with electronic boards (the volvo types) coming there would also be no compromise on space sharing. As the boards can be programmed to display the two languages alternatively.
http://clean-and-green.bl...
since we are still on the kannada theme in an auto thread!!
A New Language learning is tough , but to get glimpses of a culture that appeals to the senses is not.
And one way to Man's /woman's heart is thro the stoamch.Used by tourist promotion and culture promotion organisations every where is the cuisine of the state /city/country.
Now picture this --
---right in CBD ( through a joint effort of the culture and tourism ministies is the greatest karnataka cuisine place.( hopefully run privatised )
--On the walls are our works of our local painters a mani or a vasudev, or something more folklorish or channapatna toys.
--also the menu has a kannada twang to it..which means , while there can be a pure kananda script ..there is also an romanised version.
--almost like learn your kannada menu.
--the waiters are bilingual( at least), and for a non kananda speaking customer will gently translate the customers english to learnalble Kannada. a quick tio get by kannada lesson.
--ambience of course of the state
and more and more and more..
maybe a chain across banglaore..maybe across india, maybe dare i say it the world!!
all of this ok , but I will only support it if outside theis magnificaent place I can take a comfortable ,clean public bus, well numbered, also bilingual and hopefully privatised!!
aahh!! for all the ideas which will never ever come to anything!!
note:admin..transfer ramblings to a promote kannada /karnataka thread??
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how does it hurt - explained
Need a Kannadapolitan culture
We've been told that it is best to do in Rome what Romans do. But in this age, Her Majesty's language obviously brings us more $$$ than others. This is a reality, whether we accept or not.
We need workforce for Bengaluru from all over the world. Even Amin-ul-Mulk Sir Mirza Ismail had Iranian roots and Sir M Visvesvaryya was a Telugu Brahmin. But what makes a difference between Sir Mirza and Sir MV was that they blended into the larger Kannadiga culture, becoming Kannadigas in the process.
So what we as Kannadigas need to do is to let space for expression of one's individual culture, i.e tolerate and even accept the presence of Tamil movies, Telugu movies, Hindi, Malayalam et al. Let people from all over the world come over and have personal space for their cultural expressions.
Slowly, they will realise that speaking / knowing Kannada is more an advantage and it will spur the market to invent products like "Learn Working Kannada in 7 days" et al.
Bengaluru and indeed the major cities of Karnataka need to play a role as gateways to the world, for influences of the world to come to Karnataka and as a launch pad for Kannada culture. When works by authors such as S L Bhyrappa can be translated and appreciated in other languages, then so should we let in other influences to enrich our culture.
But what irks me is the insane demand for "Hindi" to be spoken all over India since it is a "national" and "cosmopolitan" language. Why is Hindi "National" and "Cosmopolitan" and kannada is not?
Bottomline is that we need to create a more inclusive "Kannadapolitan" culture for Bengaluru.
Electronic Displays for all the buses
I would say for the buses within the city should have more and more electronic display like on the Volvos and route should be displayed both in Kannada and English. Even normal buses nowadays are having electronic display.
To keep it simple, I would say both Kannada and English needed.
Electronic Boards
User Interaction Designer
Bangalore