Our Experiments With English

It is true that every language has local overtones. English is an international language. It shows wonderful dynamism by accepting words from everywhere. But we Indians are even ahead. We coin words for the language and easily knock down even accepted spellings and syntax.

For example you will find this use aplenty in school ads ‘for more details contact XXX during school hours’… Actually the word detail already contains the sense of ‘more’. Another school specific usage is ‘ walk in interview between 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. It should rightly be ‘from xx to yy’ or ‘between xx and yy’ but certainly not the hybrid of both.

In social circles I have heard words such as ‘different-different’, ‘red-red’ and ‘jyada better’ and ‘rapo’ which should rightly be called as ‘different’, ‘reddish’, ‘better’ ( enough !, why make it jyada.) and ‘rapport’.

Two most bruised spellings even by the intellectuals are – ‘memento’(smriti chinha) and ‘dais’(manch) – often wrongly spelt as ‘Momento’ and ‘Dias’. Why and how – nobody knows !

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