I still hear Indians saying, “What is your good name, sir?” (Sometimes, it is “sirji”.) Stop translating from your Indian language, such as Hindi – “aap ka shubh naam kya hain?” Although you were brought up to be polite in … Continue reading
Despite attempts by the Times of India group to change the English language, there is no such word as “upto”. It is two words, “up to”. Don’t believe it? Grab your trusty dictionary (provided that it wasn’t published by the … Continue reading
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.
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.”
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
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
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
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
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
Another common mispronunciation (मिसप्रोंन्सीऐशन) Incorrect: कमेन्ट Correct: कॉमेन्ट (Emphasis in bold) The “co” has a कॉ sound, not क. Isn’t English confusing?