German Woman’s Kannada Video In Bengaluru Trip Sparks Language Debate

Bengaluru, once again, has found itself in the midst of a language controversy. For months, new residents of India’s Silicon Valley have been sharing their grievances on the Internet, citing struggles with language barriers in the city. This has reignited a long-standing debate about the importance of learning and speaking Kannada in Bengaluru. Amidst the debate, a YouTube video from a German citizen and language enthusiast, Jennifer, has brought attention to challenges faced by newcomers and stresses the need for non-Kannada speakers to adapt to the local language for a smoother experience in the city.

In the video, posted nearly a year ago, Jennifer attempts to speak Kannada during her time in Bengaluru. She explains her motivation, saying, “As I felt my language skills were suffering from constant travel, I decided to speak only Kannada for a day, and this is the outcome."

Jennifer’s attempt to speak exclusively in Kannada caught the attention of Internet users and a few of them started sharing it on X with their views attached to the posts. One of the netizens remarked, “German citizen Jennifer, 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?"

Others, with contrasting views on the language debate, also joined the bandwagon with one of them reacting, “She is speaking out of her own will, that’s different from forcing."

Another individual added, “If they are settling permanently then they have to learn Marathi. No wrong if govt brings law."

Earlier this week, another post went viral on X, escalating the debate in Bengaluru on language. Claiming that the city belongs to Kannadigas, the controversial post shared by a user named Manju read, “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."

Upon being shared, the post immediately prompted reaction with many bashing the user for forcing others to speak in the particular language and “dividing people based on language only fuels negativity."