[INDOLOGY] another bit of Sanskrit language madness

[Robert Zydenbos]

Today's Deccan Herald reports on another bit of Sanskrit language
mystication / glorification / madness / whatever you wish to call it:

'Speaking Sanskrit keeps diabetes, cholesterol at
bay'(https://www.deccanherald.com/national/national-politics/speaking-sanskrit-keeps-diabetes-cholesterol-at-bay-785098.html).

There you can also read that “according to research by US space research
organisation NASA, if computer programming is done in Sanskrit, it will
be flawless.” (So says a BJP MP, of course. Presumably everything that
is said in Sanskrit will be flawless too?)

Furthermore, “More than 97 per cent of the languages in the world,
including few Islamic languages, is based on Sanskrit, Singh said.”
(Islamic languages. Presumably Sanskrit is a ‘Hindu language’, English a
‘Christian language’, Chinese a ‘communist language’?)

How nice it would be if such persons holding public office would first
learn the absolute basics of how computers work, and of linguistics,
before they make such statements. Sometimes one almost feels embarrassed
to admit one is an Indologist.

RZ


-- 
Prof. Dr. Robert J. Zydenbos
Institute of Indology and Tibetology
Department of Asian Studies
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (University of Munich – LMU)
Germany