I’m fascinated by learning languages, not only because they allow you communicate with people, but also because of how much cultural value is embedded within. Native speakers of languages often miss the implicit meanings within the sentences they say; but for the language student laboring over every grammatical construction, these cultural gems can make it all worth the effort.
One such curiosity of the Hindi language is in showing possession. In English, we use the verb “to have” for everything. In Hindi, the construction is different depending on the situation:
1. “Ko” indicating a state of being as in “I have a cold”
2. “Ke paas” is used for possession of portable, tangible objects (and time)
3. “Ka/Ki/Ke” are used to indicate relationships with people and ownership of large immovable structures (e.g., I own a house or I have a brother)
What is curious though is that “ke paas”, which is used for portable objects, also encompasses servants! For example, if I wanted to say that she has a driver, I would say, “Vah ke paas driver hai”. This would be the same construction applied to all portable possessions, from books to furniture. The implication of this particular grammar rule is that servants are considered portable possessions.
Of course, this rule is dated and certainly not necessarily an accurate reflection of how servants are treated today in India. However, it still shocks many of the Hindi speakers with whom I’ve discussed this point. They never realized that they were making an implicit value statement when they spoke. The fact is that servants are still very much a part of Indian society – my roommate and I have a live-in housekeeper who takes care of us. And while many maids and housekeepers are treated very well and are seen as part of the family, a class division still exists within the society which is greatly explained by the cultural values hidden within Hindi. Perhaps awareness of this issue is the first step towards bridging the spoken divide. Or perhaps it’s all just semantics.
