Indian English Peculiarisms

smallsquirrel · Oct 26th, 2006, 11:44

As a linguist, I am always fasicnated by language (duh!). Indian english has it's own interesting forms, that sometimes amuse me and sometimes confound me:

1. "off late"... as is "wow, you've been in a bad mood off late." Hmmm... I think this might come from 'of late' and now everyone just adds the extra 'f'. But still strange.

2. "I will also go, you will also go." People here will almost always use the 'also' in both positions, where americans and europeans will use just the second one.

3. The odd use of "only". I still have not narrowed down the correct usage. Like "he's coming this afternoon only" but not in the exclusive sense I would mean if I used it.

4. Puncher. This is what happens when you get a hole in your tire. You go to a puncher repair shop. Obviously from "puncture" but now well accepted.

5. Hot chips and CONDIMENTS. Hmmm... they do not seem to sell ketchup, mustard, chutney, etc. So what is an Indian condiment?

6. Axelator. In your car you have a clutch, a brake and an axelator. No one, and I mean no one, says "accelerator" although they do spell it that way.

7. "do the needful"... this is ubiquitous when asking someone in writing to take care of something for you... as in "please do the needful..."

anyone got any others?

(p.s. this is not meant to be critical of Indian English... I simply love language!

)

Digital Drifter · Oct 26th, 2006, 11:53

the addition of "no" to all questions as in

You are coming to the movie,no?

smallsquirrel · Oct 26th, 2006, 11:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Digital Drifter

the addition of "no" to all questions as in

You are coming to the movie,no?

I believe the word that follows is NAH, nah?

Nick-H · Oct 26th, 2006, 12:01

The use of 'one' instead of a/an. Only.

charles.crow · Oct 26th, 2006, 12:05

Hi Smallsquirrel, I was going to reply to this this afternoon, but I decided to prepone my response.

icetea · Oct 26th, 2006, 12:35

Oh my top 3 favorites would be:

1.BUT (placed at the end, very frequent in Indian and Pakistani English): "I wanted to tell you, but!"

2.ONLY placed at the end, to mark, as after the amount specified on cheques, that it is that much...only: "Arent you going to buy vegetables?" R: "I'm going there only" (I am going precisely there and nowhere else") or "I eat this much only", "I paid that much only", "We do it this way only", "I'm doing that only"

3.NO? instead of "aren't you", "isn't it" etc., as in "You already had lunch, no?"

I also ended up using the last 2...it's fun!

I even stretched the "No?" usage even further and I now say "Come for food, no?"

Oh and the pronounciation of equipped and deriving words..is simply hilarious. Or am I mistaking perhaps and that is acceptable? I heard several people, including on the radio, pronouncing it like "e-kyoopped"

Bigzero · Oct 26th, 2006, 12:45

Where you were?

why you went?

nomad · Oct 26th, 2006, 12:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by charles.crow

Hi Smallsquirrel, I was going to reply to this this afternoon, but I decided to prepone my response.

prepone is actually getting added to English vocabulary. some dictionaries already have this word

Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English - Cite This Source Main Entry: prepone
Part of Speech: verb
Definition: to place in front of, to schedule for an earlier time; cf. postpone
Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.6)
Copyright © 2003-2005 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC

pinkpixie · Oct 26th, 2006, 13:09

when my sister taught in Sri Lanka her favourite was 'Miss, I feel vomitish.'

i also like 'why are you tearing?' when my eyes start streaming from an overload of spices in my food.

i'm a juggler and often hear 'so, you do jugglery?'!

capt_mahajan · Oct 26th, 2006, 13:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigzero

Where you were?

why you went?

who you went with?
how much you spent?
why you didn't go earlier?
because the train came late?
indian trains are like that only
who said?
the coolie told me, naa.

smallsquirrel · Oct 26th, 2006, 14:30

OH YES, I forgot my favorite... the use of "isn't it"... like "we should do the grocery shopping today, isn't it?"

smallsquirrel · Oct 26th, 2006, 14:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by capt_mahajan

indian trains are like that only

THIS IS THE EXACT USE OF ONLY I WAS REFERRING TO.
When only is used where we would just end the sentence, I suppose it's used for emphasis.

Bigzero · Oct 26th, 2006, 14:35

I want to pass urine.

smallsquirrel · Oct 26th, 2006, 14:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by icetea

Oh and the pronounciation of equipped and deriving words..is simply hilarious. Or am I mistaking perhaps and that is acceptable? I heard several people, including on the radio, pronouncing it like "e-kyoopped"

Oh, well pronounciation is a whole different can of worms. Like misogynist as "miss-oh-GUY-nist". I guess axelator falls into that category too. OR do brits use the above pronounciation of misogynist?

Bigzero · Oct 26th, 2006, 14:38

whaaat man. ( mostly heard in chennai i guess )

Oct 26th, 2006, 11:44	#1
smallsquirrel squirrely member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bangalore, India Posts: 125	Indian English Peculiarisms As a linguist, I am always fasicnated by language (duh!). Indian english has it's own interesting forms, that sometimes amuse me and sometimes confound me: 1. "off late"... as is "wow, you've been in a bad mood off late." Hmmm... I think this might come from 'of late' and now everyone just adds the extra 'f'. But still strange. 2. "I will also go, you will also go." People here will almost always use the 'also' in both positions, where americans and europeans will use just the second one. 3. The odd use of "only". I still have not narrowed down the correct usage. Like "he's coming this afternoon only" but not in the exclusive sense I would mean if I used it. 4. Puncher. This is what happens when you get a hole in your tire. You go to a puncher repair shop. Obviously from "puncture" but now well accepted. 5. Hot chips and CONDIMENTS. Hmmm... they do not seem to sell ketchup, mustard, chutney, etc. So what is an Indian condiment? 6. Axelator. In your car you have a clutch, a brake and an axelator. No one, and I mean no one, says "accelerator" although they do spell it that way. 7. "do the needful"... this is ubiquitous when asking someone in writing to take care of something for you... as in "please do the needful..." anyone got any others? (p.s. this is not meant to be critical of Indian English... I simply love language! )

Oct 26th, 2006, 11:53	#2
Digital Drifter bang a whore? Bangalore Dammit! Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,878	the addition of "no" to all questions as in You are coming to the movie,no? __________________ Click here for the Indiamike train guide in PDF

Oct 26th, 2006, 12:01	#4
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 27,763	The use of 'one' instead of a/an. Only. __________________ . Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

Oct 26th, 2006, 12:45	#7
Bigzero back to my old ways Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 1,464	Where you were? why you went? __________________ miles to go.... Bigzero's Photo Gallery

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Oct 26th, 2006, 12:05	#5
charles.crow Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Karnataka Posts: 10	Hi Smallsquirrel, I was going to reply to this this afternoon, but I decided to prepone my response.

Oct 26th, 2006, 12:35	#6
icetea 'sort of hate India' club member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Chennai, via Romania Posts: 917	Oh my top 3 favorites would be: 1.BUT (placed at the end, very frequent in Indian and Pakistani English): "I wanted to tell you, but!" 2.ONLY placed at the end, to mark, as after the amount specified on cheques, that it is that much...only: "Arent you going to buy vegetables?" R: "I'm going there only" (I am going precisely there and nowhere else") or "I eat this much only", "I paid that much only", "We do it this way only", "I'm doing that only" 3.NO? instead of "aren't you", "isn't it" etc., as in "You already had lunch, no?" I also ended up using the last 2...it's fun! I even stretched the "No?" usage even further and I now say "Come for food, no?" Oh and the pronounciation of equipped and deriving words..is simply hilarious. Or am I mistaking perhaps and that is acceptable? I heard several people, including on the radio, pronouncing it like "e-kyoopped"

Oct 26th, 2006, 13:09	#9
pinkpixie Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Deepest Darkest Delhi Posts: 35	when my sister taught in Sri Lanka her favourite was 'Miss, I feel vomitish.' i also like 'why are you tearing?' when my eyes start streaming from an overload of spices in my food. i'm a juggler and often hear 'so, you do jugglery?'!

Oct 26th, 2006, 14:30	#11
smallsquirrel squirrely member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bangalore, India Posts: 125	OH YES, I forgot my favorite... the use of "isn't it"... like "we should do the grocery shopping today, isn't it?"

Oct 26th, 2006, 14:35	#13
Bigzero back to my old ways Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 1,464	I want to pass urine.

Oct 26th, 2006, 14:38	#15
Bigzero back to my old ways Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 1,464	whaaat man. ( mostly heard in chennai i guess )

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