[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-492112-105":3,"doc-detail-492112-en":80,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":96},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","teaching-kannada-to-our-children-on-language-culture-challenges-and-solutions","Teaching Kannada To Our Children - On Language, Culture, Challenges, and Solutions","","Teaching Kannada to children argues that language is the most fundamental element of culture and a “window into a culture.” It explains why Kannada deserves dedicated attention, highlights its deep historical roots and strong literary tradition, and then examines practical obstacles for immigrant families in highly monolingual environments. The discussion proposes concrete solutions drawn from personal parenting experience, including early language exposure, motivational approaches tied to pride, bilingual-friendly word games, and structured reading materials to strengthen Kannada proficiency without undermining English skills.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/","Exam",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/teaching-kannada-to-our-children-on-language-culture-challenges-and-solutions/492112/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/teaching-kannada-to-our-children-on-language-culture-challenges-and-solutions/492112.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Rhys","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-10-01",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":30},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"Why does the author say language is the most important part of culture?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"Language is presented as the preeminent aspect of any culture, enabling other cultural elements—like literature and traditions—to have their full impact. Without language, children receive at best a diluted version of the culture.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"What challenges does the author identify for teaching Kannada to children in the U.S.?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"Children are surrounded by Anglo language and culture, often speaking English with friends and adopting mixed “Kanglish” speech patterns. Families also want strong English skills, and the author notes a lack of engaging, context-appropriate instructional materials for children.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"What solutions does the author describe from their personal experience?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"The author emphasizes starting very early, responding firmly when children reject the mother tongue, framing Kannada knowledge as a source of pride, using word games and English-free time periods, and creating simple reading materials by adapting story text and replacing English words with Kannada.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},492112,1792160058,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",{"doc_id":78,"user_id":83,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":84,"doc_module":4,"category_id":33,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":85,"file_id":86,"file_url":87,"file_type":88,"file_size":89,"view_count":30,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":26,"language":90,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":91,"faqs":92,"seo_title":93,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":94,"read_time":95,"preview_page_count":4},687207024643,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","Teaching Kannada To Our Children  \nC. Nataraj  \nFeedback is welcome! ([amble_nataraj@yahoo.com](amble_nataraj@yahoo.com))  \nDecember 8, 2001  \nWhat is culture?  \nThere are probably many ways to characterize a culture including music, food, customs, religion, and festivals. It is my belief however that, more than anything else, language is the preeminent aspect of any culture, and perhaps can be viewed as a window into a culture. If you agree with me, it is incumbent on us as emigrant Kannadigas to share the language with our children. As devoted parents we are constantly striving to influence our children with our values, our tastes in music, food and the arts, and so many other biases we might have, most of which would probably not be very important in the long run. Why is our language then any less important? In fact, many of the other aspects of culture cannot stand by themselves; without a sound understanding of the words, a Purandara Daasa krithi doesn’t really have the impact it deserves to have. Hence I argue that language is the basis of any culture, and if our children don’t get the language, they don’t get the culture either; at best, they might get a diluted version of it.  \nIs Kannada worth the attention we are giving to it?  \nKannada is an ancient language that predates many Indo-European derivatives such as English and Hindi. In fact, the current thinking is that proto-Dravidian from which Kannada is derived is probably related to the (as yet undeciphered) ancient language of the Indus Valley civilization. It has a rich literary history although much of its earlier creations have been lost in the volatile dust of history. In modern times, it has been enriched by illustrious writers who have together bagged more Jnanapeeth awards (the highest literary award in India) than writers in any other Indian language. Hence, once a child has picked up some proficiency in Kannada there is no dearth of literature from which a lifetime of enrichment and pleasure can be derived.  \nProblems  \nSo, let us say my arguments are very persuasive and we would all like to goad our kids into learning Kannada. As with everything else, there are problems. The problems are probably obvious but I will enunciate them anyway. In the highly monolingual United States, we are surrounded by the Anglo culture and language. Our children’s friends speak English all the time, whether they are white, black, or Indian. Our own speech has largely transmogrified into a Kanglish with English expressions occupying a significant percentage of our vocabulary. In fact, with all my interest in Kannada I have trouble expressing myself exclusively in Kannada. In addition, we would like our children to be very proficient in English, and would not want their Kannada proficiency to come at the expense of their command of the English language. Many of our friends are non-Kannada people, be they white or Indian. The biggest problem however seems to be this: although there is excellent literature in Kannada, the instructional material for educating children is woefully inadequate. Children’s books (we have picked up scores of them in India) are drab, uninteresting, poorly illustrated, and completely out of context, especially for our children growing up in American suburbia. Kannada script is incredibly complicated with myriad symbols, and as an adult, I now recognize it as the most complicated of the five languages I have learned to read and speak over my lifetime.  \nOur Solutions: A Personal Experience  \nLet me outline our own solutions to these problems and describe the (admittedly limited) success we have had.  \n• The first thing we did as parents is to start when our kids were very young. Frequently, I see Kannada parents cooing to their newborns in English and, since language in its early stages is primarily acquired from parents, I think this child has nary a chance to pick up even rudiments of Kannada. When they get to the critical age of 3 or 4, when they are","cbCaidBFu9ZFhg8z","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaidBFu9ZFhg8z","pdf",84951,"English","# What is culture?\n## Is Kannada worth the attention we are giving to it?\n# Problems\n# Our Solutions: A Personal Experience\n## Start when kids are very young\n## Portray it as pride\n## Play word games and run English-free periods\n## Develop reading materials","[{\"question\":\"Why does the author say language is the most important part of culture?\",\"answer\":\"Language is presented as the preeminent aspect of any culture, enabling other cultural elements—like literature and traditions—to have their full impact. 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