How to pronounce “mechanism”
Many Indians say the word “mechanism” as मेकानिसम, perhaps as an extension of “mechanic”. However, it is pronounced as मेकअनिसम with the emphasis on Mec.
Alphabets or letters?
The alphabet is a collection of letters, e.g.The English/Roman/Latin alphabet contains 26 letters. Incorrect: “Marathi uses the Devanagari script and contains 52 alphabets.” Correct: “The Marathi alphabet uses the Devanagari script and contains 52 letters.”
To revert back or to reply?
Indians are again the only people who “revert back” when they intend to “reply”. Why, oh why? To revert means to return to its previous state. Try as I might, I cannot revert back to being a baby, or a … Continue reading
Is absconding
Only in India are criminals still absconding; everywhere else, they have absconded. Confused? Google this phrase “is absconding” (in quotes). The writers are nearly always from India or in India. Here is a recent article that is guilty of using … Continue reading
Content or discontent?
Most Indians seem to pronounce content (as in the contents of this page) as कंटेंट . What’s wrong with that? In the rest of the world (except, perhaps the countries next to India), कंटेंट refers to contentment, as in “I … Continue reading
Like that only
Let’s look at instances of valid English that would not make sense outside India. Consider this dialogue in India: Q. Why did you do that? A. Like that only. A. Just like that. Even an Indian knows that the answer … Continue reading
Punjabi beer can lead to tears
At a function today, the emcee said, “Please bear with us while we wait for …” but it sounded like “Please beer with us …” I have heard a few Punjabis pronounce “wear” as “weir”, so it seems that some … Continue reading
Comment or कमेन्ट?
Another common mispronunciation (मिसप्रोंन्सीऐशन) Incorrect: कमेन्ट Correct: कॉमेन्ट (Emphasis in bold) The “co” has a कॉ sound, not क. Isn’t English confusing?
Develop, developer, development
This is a commonly mispronounced set of words among the IT community in India. Develop Incorrect: डेवलप डेवलोप (emphasis in bold) Correct: डिवेलप (all syllables with equal emphasis) Developer Incorrect: डेवलपर डेवलोपर (emphasis in bold) Correct: डिवेलपर (all syllables with … Continue reading
Upgradation – there is no such word
Finextra reported on a Reserve Bank of India document that says in part,: The working group further goes on to recommend that the RBI “consider moving over to chip based cards along with requiring upgradation of necessary infrastructure like ATMs/POS … Continue reading