This wholly original (formal/academic-journalistic) column argues that language technology is neither automatically destructive nor automatically liberating. Paired correlatives balance claims, सवाल यह है reframes the debate, and passives background software designers. Read the piece first; then trace how its pronouns and repeated frames carry the argument.
The complete original column
‘तकनीक भाषा को बिगाड़ रही है’—यह शिकायत जितनी पुरानी है, उतनी ही अधूरी भी। हर नया माध्यम कुछ अभिव्यक्तियों को हाशिए पर डालता है, पर वह नए प्रयोगों के लिए जगह भी बनाता है। जहाँ स्वतः-सुधार की सुविधा ग़लत वर्तनी रोक सकती है, वहीं वही सुविधा कम प्रचलित शब्दों को बार-बार बदलकर भाषाई विविधता घटा सकती है। इसलिए सवाल यह नहीं है कि मशीनें भाषा में हस्तक्षेप करेंगी या नहीं; सवाल यह है कि उनके निर्णयों में किनकी भाषा दिखाई देगी। यदि किसी प्रणाली को केवल औपचारिक लेखन पर प्रशिक्षित किया गया हो, तो वह बोलियों, मिश्रित भाषा और नए मुहावरों को त्रुटि मान सकती है। तकनीक का विरोध समाधान नहीं है। आवश्यकता ऐसे औज़ारों की है जो उपयोगकर्ता के लेखन को केवल सुधारें नहीं, बल्कि उसे विकल्प समझाएँ और अंतिम निर्णय उसी पर छोड़ें। भाषा तभी जीवित रहती है जब बोलने वाले उसे बदल भी सकें और उसमें अपने को पहचान भी सकें।
‘taknīk bhāṣā ko bigāṛ rahī hai’—yah śikāyat jitnī purānī hai, utnī hī adhūrī bhī. har nayā mādhyam kuch abhivyaktiyoṃ ko hāśie par ḍāltā hai, par vah nae prayogoṃ ke lie jagah bhī banātā hai. jahā̃ svataḥ-sudhār kī suvidhā ġalat vartanī rok saktī hai, vahīṃ vahī suvidhā kam pracalit śabdoṃ ko bār-bār badalkar bhāṣāī vividhatā ghaṭā saktī hai. islie savāl yah nahīṃ hai ki maśīneṃ bhāṣā meṃ hastakṣep kareṅgī yā nahīṃ; savāl yah hai ki unke nirṇayoṃ meṃ kinkī bhāṣā dikhāī degī. yadi kisī praṇālī ko keval aupacārik lekhan par praśikṣit kiyā gayā ho, to vah boliyoṃ, miśrit bhāṣā aur nae muhāvroṃ ko truṭi mān saktī hai. taknīk kā virodh samādhān nahīṃ hai. āvaśyaktā aise auzāroṃ kī hai jo upayogkartā ke lekhan ko keval sudhāreṃ nahīṃ, balki use vikalp samjhāẽ aur antim nirṇay usī par choṛeṃ. bhāṣā tabhī jīvit rahtī hai jab bolne vāle use badal bhī sakeṃ aur usmeṃ apne ko pahcān bhī sakeṃ.
‘Technology is ruining language’—that complaint is as old as it is incomplete. Every new medium pushes some expressions to the margins, but it also makes room for new uses. While autocorrect can prevent misspellings, that same feature can reduce linguistic diversity by repeatedly changing less common words. The question, then, is not whether machines will intervene in language; it is whose language will appear in their decisions. If a system has been trained only on formal writing, it may treat dialects, mixed language, and new idioms as errors. Opposing technology is not a solution. What is needed are tools that do not merely correct the user's writing, but explain alternatives and leave the final decision to the user. Language remains alive only when its speakers can both change it and recognize themselves in it.
Opening thesis: quotation as a topic
‘तकनीक भाषा को बिगाड़ रही है’—यह शिकायत जितनी पुरानी है, उतनी ही अधूरी भी।
‘taknīk bhāṣā ko bigāṛ rahī hai’—yah śikāyat jitnī purānī hai, utnī hī adhūrī bhī.
‘Technology is ruining language’—that complaint is as old as it is incomplete. (formal opinion prose)
The quotation is not endorsed. यह points to the whole proposition and classifies it as शिकायत, rather than referring to a nearby object.
The correlative frame जितनी…उतनी ही… balances two degrees. Feminine singular जितनी पुरानी / उतनी अधूरी agrees with शिकायत. ही tightens the equivalence (“just as”), and final भी adds the surprising second assessment (“also incomplete”). The author grants longevity while denying adequacy.
See the full agreement pattern on the जितना…उतना correlative page.
यह धारणा जितनी लोकप्रिय है, उतनी ही भ्रामक भी।
yah dhārṇā jitnī lokpriya hai, utnī hī bhrāmak bhī.
This idea is as popular as it is misleading. (formal rhetorical prose)
The second है can be omitted in balanced formal writing because the first supplies it. In ordinary speech, repeating it—उतनी ही भ्रामक भी है—is fully natural and clearer.
Concession without हालाँकि
हर नया माध्यम कुछ अभिव्यक्तियों को हाशिए पर डालता है, पर वह नए प्रयोगों के लिए जगह भी बनाता है।
har nayā mādhyam kuch abhivyaktiyoṃ ko hāśie par ḍāltā hai, par vah nae prayogoṃ ke lie jagah bhī banātā hai.
Every new medium pushes some expressions to the margins, but it also makes room for new uses. (formal-neutral argument)
Masculine singular वह…डालता/बनाता है refers back to माध्यम. The first predicate is metaphorical हाशिए पर डालना, literally “put at the margin”; the second is जगह बनाना, “make room.” Their parallel light-verb structures present loss and innovation as simultaneous effects.
Particle भी associates with जगह बनाता है: a medium does not only marginalize; it also enables. This compact पर…भी performs concession without explicit हालाँकि…फिर भी.
जहाँ…वहीं: two sides of one feature
जहाँ स्वतः-सुधार की सुविधा ग़लत वर्तनी रोक सकती है, वहीं वही सुविधा भाषाई विविधता घटा सकती है।
jahā̃ svataḥ-sudhār kī suvidhā ġalat vartanī rok saktī hai, vahīṃ vahī suvidhā bhāṣāī vividhatā ghaṭā saktī hai.
While autocorrect can prevent misspellings, that same feature can reduce linguistic diversity. (formal argument)
जहाँ…वहीं literally has locative origins (“where…there”), but here it balances contrasting propositions (formal): “on the one hand…on the other.” It does not refer to two physical places. Focused वहीं closes the correlation, while वही सुविधा uses demonstrative वही “that very/same feature.” Their identical sound does not make their grammar identical.
Feminine सकती है in both clauses agrees with सुविधा. The direct objects वर्तनी and विविधता do not control the modal because the subject remains overt and nominative.
वही सुविधा कम प्रचलित शब्दों को बार-बार बदलकर भाषाई विविधता घटा सकती है।
vahī suvidhā kam pracalit śabdoṃ ko bār-bār badalkar bhāṣāī vividhatā ghaṭā saktī hai.
That same feature can reduce linguistic diversity by repeatedly changing less common words. (formal explanation)
Conjunctive बदलकर supplies the mechanism. Its understood subject is वही सुविधा, the same as घटा सकती है. Reading “less common words” as the omitted subject would reverse cause and effect.
Reframing with सवाल यह नहीं…सवाल यह है
सवाल यह नहीं है कि मशीनें भाषा में हस्तक्षेप करेंगी या नहीं।
savāl yah nahīṃ hai ki maśīneṃ bhāṣā meṃ hastakṣep kareṅgī yā nahīṃ.
The question is not whether machines will intervene in language. (formal argument)
सवाल यह नहीं है कि… rejects a framing, not the embedded event by itself. The paired या नहीं completes the embedded alternative “whether or not.” Feminine plural करेंगी agrees with मशीनें.
सवाल यह है कि उनके निर्णयों में किनकी भाषा दिखाई देगी।
savāl yah hai ki unke nirṇayoṃ meṃ kinkī bhāṣā dikhāī degī.
The question is whose language will appear in their decisions. (formal argument)
उनके refers to the machines/systems as institutional decision-makers. Interrogative possessive किनकी agrees with feminine singular भाषा, not with the unknown people whose language is represented. English places whose before the noun too, but does not show this gender agreement.
Repeating सवाल यह… makes the turn explicit. The semicolon signals that the second clause replaces the first frame. This is assertive rhetorical architecture, not conversational redundancy.
Hypothetical training and possible bias
यदि किसी प्रणाली को केवल औपचारिक लेखन पर प्रशिक्षित किया गया हो, तो वह बोलियों, मिश्रित भाषा और नए मुहावरों को त्रुटि मान सकती है।
yadi kisī praṇālī ko keval aupacārik lekhan par praśikṣit kiyā gayā ho, to vah boliyoṃ, miśrit bhāṣā aur nae muhāvroṃ ko truṭi mān saktī hai.
If a system has been trained only on formal writing, it may treat dialects, mixed language, and new idioms as errors. (formal hypothetical)
यदि…तो is a formal conditional pair. The passive perfect प्रशिक्षित किया गया हो uses subjunctive हो because the writer posits a type of system rather than reporting one verified training history. प्रणाली को is the passive patient marked by को, a common choice for a specific/individuated entity.
In the result, वह refers to प्रणाली, so feminine सकती है follows. The objects form a three-part list, all governed by को, which appears once after the final item मुहावरों. त्रुटि मानना means “regard as an error”; it does not say those forms inherently are errors.
Rejecting opposition, defining need
तकनीक का विरोध समाधान नहीं है।
taknīk kā virodh samādhān nahīṃ hai.
Opposing technology is not a solution. (formal aphoristic prose)
This nominal equation is deliberately short after the long conditional. तकनीक का विरोध is the grammatical subject phrase; समाधान नहीं है is its negative nominal predicate. The sentence rejects one response without claiming that all technology is good.
आवश्यकता ऐसे औज़ारों की है जो उपयोगकर्ता के लेखन को केवल सुधारें नहीं, बल्कि उसे विकल्प समझाएँ और अंतिम निर्णय उसी पर छोड़ें।
āvaśyaktā aise auzāroṃ kī hai jo upayogkartā ke lekhan ko keval sudhāreṃ nahīṃ, balki use vikalp samjhāẽ aur antim nirṇay usī par choṛeṃ.
What is needed are tools that do not merely correct the user's writing, but explain alternatives and leave the final decision to the user. (formal prose)
The marked presentational order आवश्यकता X की है foregrounds “need” (formal). The relative जो refers to plural औज़ारों, and the three subjunctive plural verbs सुधारें, समझाएँ, छोड़ें characterize desired tools rather than report existing ones.
केवल…नहीं, बल्कि… rejects limitation: not only correction, but explanation and user control. The object of सुधारें is now explicitly उपयोगकर्ता के लेखन को, so the tools correct writing rather than “reform” a person. उसे and focused उसी पर refer to उपयोगकर्ता, not the tool. Masculine morphology does not settle the person's real-world gender here; generic उपयोगकर्ता is grammatically masculine (formal/technical).
Closing condition: who keeps language alive
भाषा तभी जीवित रहती है जब बोलने वाले उसे बदल भी सकें और उसमें अपने को पहचान भी सकें।
bhāṣā tabhī jīvit rahtī hai jab bolne vāle use badal bhī sakeṃ aur usmeṃ apne ko pahcān bhī sakeṃ.
Language remains alive only when its speakers can both change it and recognize themselves in it. (formal reflective prose)
Focused correlative तभी…जब means “only then/only when.” The main clause comes first to foreground the conclusion; the जब clause supplies its condition. Plural बोलने वाले means “those who speak / speakers.” It controls both सकें verbs.
The pronoun chain shifts carefully: उसे = language as something speakers change; उसमें = in that language as a space of representation; reflexive अपने को = the speakers themselves. Repeating भी…भी coordinates two equally necessary capacities. English both…and does similar work but places the pair differently.
Twelve instructive forms
| Form | Grammar | Argument effect |
|---|---|---|
| यह शिकायत | demonstrative referring to a quotation | turns a slogan into an object of evaluation |
| जितनी…उतनी ही | degree correlative | balances concession and criticism |
| पर…भी | contrast plus additive focus | holds harm and innovation together |
| जहाँ…वहीं | discourse correlative | sets two effects of one feature against each other |
| वही सुविधा | focused demonstrative | prevents the reader from imagining a different feature |
| बदलकर | same-subject converb | names the mechanism of reduction |
| सवाल यह नहीं… | negative framing clause | rejects a binary debate |
| किनकी भाषा | agreeing interrogative possessive | moves attention to representation and power |
| किया गया हो | subjunctive perfect passive | marks a hypothetical training condition |
| केवल…नहीं, बल्कि… | corrective coordination | replaces correction-only design with explanation and choice |
| उसी पर | focused anaphoric pronoun | returns authority to the user |
| तभी…जब | focused time/condition correlative | makes participation necessary for vitality |
Common Mistakes
Breaking agreement in जितनी…उतनी
❌ यह शिकायत जितना पुराना है, उतना अधूरा है।
Incorrect — feminine शिकायत requires जितनी पुरानी and उतनी अधूरी.
✅ यह शिकायत जितनी पुरानी है, उतनी ही अधूरी भी।
yah śikāyat jitnī purānī hai, utnī hī adhūrī bhī.
This complaint is as old as it is incomplete. (formal rhetorical prose)
Confusing locative वहीं with demonstrative वही
❌ जहाँ लाभ है, वही हानि भी है।
Wrong for ‘there/on the other hand’ — वही means ‘that same one’; the correlative locative is वहीं.
✅ जहाँ लाभ है, वहीं हानि भी हो सकती है।
jahā̃ lābh hai, vahīṃ hāni bhī ho saktī hai.
Where there is benefit, there can also be harm. (formal generalization)
Known fact versus hypothetical training condition
✅ प्रणाली को औपचारिक लेखन पर प्रशिक्षित किया गया है।
praṇālī ko aupacārik lekhan par praśikṣit kiyā gayā hai.
The system has been trained on formal writing. (known reported fact; formal)
✅ यदि प्रणाली को प्रशिक्षित किया गया हो, तो वह ऐसा कर सकती है।
yadi praṇālī ko praśikṣit kiyā gayā ho, to vah aisā kar saktī hai.
If the system has been trained [that way], it may do so. (formal hypothetical)
Losing the corrective pair केवल…नहीं, बल्कि…
❌ औज़ार केवल सुधारें, बल्कि विकल्प समझाएँ।
Incomplete pairing — केवल needs नहीं before the corrective बल्कि clause.
✅ औज़ार केवल सुधारें नहीं, बल्कि विकल्प भी समझाएँ।
auzār keval sudhāreṃ nahīṃ, balki vikalp bhī samjhāẽ.
Tools should not merely correct; they should also explain alternatives. (formal recommendation)
Key Takeaways
- Correlatives balance degrees, effects, and conditions across clauses.
- सवाल यह नहीं…सवाल यह है… rejects one frame and supplies a sharper one.
- Subjunctive passive किया गया हो marks a hypothetical training condition.
- Pronouns shift from language as object (उसे) to language as representational space (उसमें).
From opinion architecture to neutral exposition
भाषा-प्रौद्योगिकी से भाषा का प्रयोग बदलता है। स्वतः-सुधार जैसी सुविधाएँ वर्तनी की कुछ गलतियाँ रोकती हैं, लेकिन वे कम प्रचलित रूपों को भी बदल सकती हैं। औपचारिक लेखन पर प्रशिक्षित प्रणालियाँ बोलियों और मिश्रित भाषा को पहचानने में असफल हो सकती हैं। इसलिए इन प्रणालियों को कई प्रकार की भाषा पर प्रशिक्षित करना चाहिए और उपयोगकर्ता को सुझाए गए बदलाव स्वीकार या अस्वीकार करने का अधिकार देना चाहिए।
bhāṣā-praudyogikī se bhāṣā kā prayog badaltā hai. svataḥ-sudhār jaisī suvidhāẽ vartanī kī kuch galtiyā̃ roktī haiṃ, lekin ve kam pracalit rūpoṃ ko bhī badal saktī haiṃ. aupacārik lekhan par praśikṣit praṇāliyā̃ boliyoṃ aur miśrit bhāṣā ko pahcānne meṃ asaphal ho saktī haiṃ. islie in praṇāliyoṃ ko kaī prakār kī bhāṣā par praśikṣit karnā cāhie aur upayogkartā ko sujhāe gae badlāv svīkār yā asvīkār karne kā adhikār denā cāhie.
Language technology changes language use. Features such as autocorrect prevent some spelling errors, but they can also change less common forms. Systems trained on formal writing may fail to recognize dialects and mixed language. They should therefore be trained on many kinds of language, and users should have the right to accept or reject suggested changes. (neutral formal exposition)
The paraphrase states mechanism, risk, and recommendation in a linear order. The column instead begins with an opponent's slogan, concedes part of it, reframes the question, and ends with a definition of linguistic vitality. Correlatives and repeated frames make that argumentative movement audible: the grammar is part of the reasoning.
Related Topics
- जितना–उतना degree and quantityB2 — Correlate amounts, numbers, extents, and proportional change with agreeing जितना–उतना forms.
- जहाँ–वहाँ placeB2 — Link a place-setting clause with its matching location, source, destination, or spatial limit through जहाँ–वहाँ and its expanded forms.
- हालाँकि यद्यपि and फिर भी concessionB1 — Frame an acknowledged obstacle with neutral हालाँकि or formal यद्यपि, and mark the unexpected outcome with फिर भी or तथापि.
- Non-finite clauses in formal proseC1 — Read and write dense Hindi prose by choosing among nominalized events, participial modifiers, converbs, and detached frames while keeping control and agreement explicit.
- Formal written HindiB1 — Shape clear formal Hindi by coordinating audience, sentence architecture, address, and vocabulary instead of merely choosing longer words.