Bengaluru, India

The video of a German woman speaking to a local vendor in Kannada in the Indian city of Bengaluru has gone viral on the internet. This comes amid the ongoing controversy, “Bengaluru belongs to Kannadigas,” which implies that anyone who comes to the Indian city needs to make an effort to learn the local language and those who cannot keep up will be labelled as "outsiders". 

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“German citizen Jenifer, currently staying in Karnataka, learns Kannada and tries to converse in Kannada with locals. Look at the appreciation she gets for speaking in Kannada. If Germans can, why can’t Indians learn and speak Kannada with Kannadigas?” an X user commented. 

The video has garnered nearly 1.5 million views, with several netizens appreciating the German citizen's efforts to learn the language of the locals. However, many others raised questions about enforcing such expectations.

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Netizens’ reactions to the language barrier for non-Kannada speakers

One X user, agreeing to the need for learning the local language, said, “Yes, true. I lived in Karnataka some years ago. I did learn Kannada to speak with my friends, especially those who came from rural parts. Making an effort to learn the native language is respecting them and their culture. It’s basic decency. I still can speak it.”

“So as per the so-called logic, Kannadigas in Maharashtra must speak in Marathi. It should be fine if the Maharashtra government enforces the language on them. It takes a huge amount of time to learn one’s own mother tongue. Not knowing someone’s language does not mean disrespect,” said a second user.

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A third X user said, “Every Indian state has its own language, so in your point of view, everyone should learn multiple languages. This is basically not possible for everyone, so we need one official or maybe national language for that, and we should respect every culture and language as well.”

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'Bengaluru belongs to Kannadigas': What is the controversy about?

The video was posted amid the ongoing controversy where a recent post on X labelled all the non-Kannada speakers residing in Bengaluru "outsiders". The post has since sparked a long debate on social media. 

“To everyone coming to Bengaluru, you will be treated as OUTSIDERS in Bengaluru if you don’t speak Kannada or make an effort to speak Kannada. Write it down, share it around. We ain’t joking,” the post at the centre of the controversy read. 

(With inputs from agencies)