Inglish or English?

[mcgillianaire]

Following on from an earlier post about the controversial speech by our PM, I present you a collection of classics about a 'phenomenon' which I, like many others, have christened 'Inglish' (or Indian English). In his speech he described how...


I quote: "Of all the legacies of the Raj, none is more important than the English language and the modern school system. That is, if you leave out cricket! Of course, people here may not recognise the language we speak, but let me assure you that it is English. In indigenising English, as so many people have done in so many nations across the world, we have made the language our own. Our choice of prepositions may not always be the Queen's English; we might occasionally split the infinitive; and we may drop an article here and add an extra one there. I am sure everyone will agree, however, that English has been enriched by Indian creativity as well and we have given you R.K. Narayan and Salman Rushdie. Today, English in India is seen as just another Indian language."

During the next few weeks or so I will be posting a series of Inglish "classics" which I hope you enjoy. Don't blame me if your English grades drop down a notch, or two.

----

You say restaurant, but we say hotel.

You say cinema, but we say theater.

You say cologne/perfume/deo, but we prefer scent.

You say sunglasses, but we say cooling glass.

You say battery, but we say cell.

You say photocopy, but we prefer xerox.

You say lunch box, but we say tiffin carrier.

You say movie, but we say picture.

You say pharmacy, but we say medicals.

You say curtain, but we say screen.

When you meet someone for the first time you ask simply for their name, but we go one step further and invariably feel compelled to ask for "what your good name is." Like as though there was something as a bad name?

Comments

[brinker.livejournal.com]

This is interesting... And so naturally I have to reply with a few comments...

You say cinema, but we say theater.
You say photocopy, but we prefer xerox.

These two are American, as well. (Down with the British!)

"what your good name is."

I did a double take the first time I heard this noe, but it also always struck me as more polite.

Anyhow, interesting post. I'll watch for others...

[pappubahry.livejournal.com]

"what your good name is."
I remember being a little suprised when I first heard that one.

And I have to comment on split infinitives. There is nothing wrong with splitting infinitives.

I can recall older generations saying "the pictures" instead of the cinema, but I don't think it was ever used in the singular.

[mcgillianaire.livejournal.com]

"what your good name is"
This happens to be a direct translation from various Indian languages. e.g. Aapke shubh naam kyaa hai?, where shubh means either good or auspicious in Hindi.

There is nothing wrong with splitting infinitives.
Indeed, but there is the Inglish habit to split the infinitive and add a few too many other words between the to and the verb.

[mcgillianaire.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you enjoyed it and thanks for sharing the bit about theater and xerox. You can check out my response below for the origin of the good name bit. It's something South Indians didn't normally say either but in the post-Independence pan-Indianness phase, it's entered the Inglish lexicon.

[brinker.livejournal.com]

Interesting explanation of the "what is your good name?" origin. Makes sense.

As for split infinitives, I have to agree with pappubahry. It's only wrong according to the grammar books... and not much else.

[(Anonymous)]

its me...yes me..and i dont quite buy the comparisons you re making .. maybe its a south indian thing.. i can assure u i ve never called a battery a cell.. tho i did call movies films (pronounced phillums)

[(Anonymous)]

This thread has probably died, but I only just checked it again now.

My grandmother says "fillum". I think this pronunciation goes back to the Irish (at least in this country, I don't know about India).

[mcgillianaire.livejournal.com]

Oh, who is this?