On Wed, Jun 4, 2014 at 9:33 AM, Sudhakar Chandra <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Wed Jun 04 2014 at 9:19:56 AM, Deepa Mohan <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > And on a related topic...I find that many north Indian language > newspapers > > and magazines stick to the numbers as written in that language, but > Tamizh > > (I don't know about other south Indian languages) magazines/newspapers > > have adopted Roman numerals for numbering the pages. Was this the > practice > > from the start? Were Tamizh numbers ever used in recent, living memory? > > > > > When I asked my parents about this recently, they said that while they were > taught the Tamil numerals in school, they never actually came across them > in day to day life going back to the 50's. > > Not having memorized the Devanagari numerals, I personally hated > encountering them on bus signs and license plates in North India. > > > Which brings me to the question, when is sticking to one's language "protecting the language and culture", and when is it being reactionary? When is adopting more commonly used conventions (eg Roman numerals) being "progressive and globalizing" and when is it "abandoning one's traditions"? Change may be a constant...but it is one of the most passion-stirring processes for human beings!
