Conversation is an art which develops and becomes refined with the process of civilisation and achieves perfection in the society which in turn produces creative literature, art and politics. Conversation indicates the richness of a language, the usage of appropriate words, humour and various expressions that would attract the attention of the audience. Miller Stefen in his book Conversation, a history of Declining Art gives an interesting history from the earliest time to the present day. According to him during the period of hunting and gathering when language was not fully developed, signs and symbols were applied to convey a message. Gradually as settlements appeared, the vocabulary of the language increased and epic poems and stories were composed. The earliest form of writing took the form of dialogue.

A specimen from the Sumerian period (5000 BC) is a dialogue between a servant and his master. The servant demanded that he should be treated on the basis of equality while the master responded that the servant was inferior and his property. Hence, the master even had the right to kill him. The servant’s reply was that since the master was dependent on his services, he would not be able to survive without him and would die within three days.

We find the dialogue form in the classical Indian as well as Greek literature. Socrates (d.399 BC) popularised it in Athens, when he questioned people on serious philosophical ideas in simple words, urging them to respond. This type of dialogue involved both Socrates and his audience to think and investigate moral values of the day. It was Greek tradition that in a symposium, participants debated, discussed and delivered speeches on various topics. Plato (c. 348 BC) also adopted the dialogue form in The Republic.

While we have more digital conversations than a real tête-à-tête over a real cup of tea, talk shows on TV are verbal brawls

The Romans inherited the Greek tradition of conversation in their cultural life. Cicero (d.44BC) in one of his letters written to his son advised him on how to express his views and take care of his conversation. In the medieval times, when religion dominated daily life, people were not allowed to speak on any subject openly except religion. This confined the art of conversation to the propagation of religious teachings and consequently reduced philosophical expression and literary creativity. During Renaissance, church domination ended, freedom of speech prevailed, the art of conversation flourished and a number of books were published in Europe to guide people on how to converse.

In Paris, salons were introduced as intellectual institutions. These were patronised by rich women and visited by writers, artists, politicians and musicians. Rousseau (d.1778), Denis Diderot (d.1784), Montesquieu (d.1755) and other famous intellectuals frequented the salons where they conversed with each other on art, literature, philosophy and politics. The English writers such as Edward Gibbon (d.1794) and Adam Smith (d.1790) also visited the salons in Paris which contributed greatly to the cultural life in the city.

On the other hand, in England, coffee houses became the centre of intellectual activities. The first coffee house was established in 1650 in Oxford, which became popular and subsequently hundreds of coffee houses opened in London, frequented enthusiastically by writers, artists and scientists including Dr Samuel Johnson (d.1784) and James Boswell (d.1795). After paying a penny for a cup of coffee, the customer would read newspapers in warm atmosphere and converse with his friends for hours.

Clubs were another institution to emerge as meeting places. There were different types of clubs for different groups of people and women were not allowed to become members. These clubs were spacious and men could meet, drink, dine and converse on varied topics of interest.

In the modern period, the art of conversation declined because of new technological inventions. When radio became a part of life, people preferred to stay at home and listen to radio broadcast which consisted of news, music, drama and political speeches. With the invention of TV, social life changed completely. It became customary to watch TV along with members of the family and not to go out to meet with friends and relatives. Presently, mobile phones and internet captivate people within a room. Finding no opportunity to sit together and converse greatly affects vocabulary and expression.

The art of conversation was influenced by other factors in countries dominated by dictators and ideological parties. In Stalin’s Russia and Hitler’s Germany, people were careful not to speak anything that could be reported against them by Secret Agencies. In an atmosphere of fear and terror, people’s conversations become dull and barren. We are experiencing the same rigidity in Pakistani society because of religious extremism where people’s emotions are charged on the slightest misunderstanding.

We experience the decline of conversation in TV talk shows, where participants instead of discussion and debate, fight with each other for their point of view to be accepted. There is a distortion of language by mixing English words and sentences with Urdu which completely transform the structure of Urdu language and makes it incomprehensible to common people. Generally, the motive of the conversation is to defeat the opponent by speaking loudly and not allowing him to speak up his views. Therefore instead of dialogue, it becomes the monologue. The lack of tolerance and refinement mars the beauty of the language as well as the art of conversation.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, November 1st, 2015

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