Inglish (Indian English) and American English
By Thayumanasamy Somasundaram | Tallahassee, Florida, USA
In this section I will try to point some mannerisms, intonations, and gesticulations that are commonly seen when an Indian speaks English. Since English is not a native tongue to most Indians and both the Sanskrit derived languages of the North and Dravidian languages of the South India have different grammar and structure, it becomes second nature for Indians to incorporate their languages’ structures into English.
For example, in Tamil (a Dravidian language of South India) when one wants to ask whether the other person is going to work (interrogative), they simply add an extended vowel to the end of the regular expression (affirmative).
Affirmative: நான் (I) வேலைக்குப் (work) போறேன் (go).
Interrogative: நீ (you) வேலைக்குப் (work) போறியா (go)?
So, when an Indian speaks in English they invariably add the extended vowel to the end of the sentence to convert an affirmative into an interrogative sentence, rather than moving the verb to beginning of the sentence. This will completely confound a person whose native language is English.
Let us look at an example, where Person A asks Person B whether they are going to work. A native English speaker will expect hear the following:
Regular affirmative: I am going to work.
Regular interrogative: Are you going to work?
Interrogative natural to Indians: You are going to work, ha?
So, if you didn’t hear the ‘ha?’ at the end of sentence, you can’t distinguish an affirmative from an interrogative sentence. So, please pay attention to the ending.
Don’t get offended when an Indian asks you, “What is the time?” instead of the usual “Do you have the time?” Similarly, one should familiarize with these colorful terms Indians use to describe various colors (Indians relate to a familiar objects more often than the absolute name of the colors).
|
Usage in India |
Usage in the West |
|
She bought a rose-coloured dress |
She bought a pink dress |
|
Cement-coloured suitcase was lost |
Gray suitcase was lost |
|
The flower’s violet colour was attractive |
The flower’s purple color was attractive |
|
He has an ivory-coloured suit |
He has an off-white suit |
Table 3 List of colorful terms Indians use to refer to everyday colors
Last updated: Friday, August 31, 2010
Document name: Indian English (Inglish) and American English
Web name: inglish_american_part_2.html (Part 2) | inglish_american_part_1.html (Part 1)