English Matters

Discussion in 'Education & Personal Growth' started by Ansuya, Dec 20, 2008.

  1. Vidya21

    Vidya21 Senior IL'ite

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    I just remembered this gem of a poem - about the English language in India by Nissim Ezekiel! It is such a clever poem about the endearing random ways of Indians, and how English is used in India, I thought of posting it here for some fun.

    --
    The Patriot

    I am standing for peace and non-violence.
    Why world is fighting fighting
    Why all people of world
    Are not following Mahatma Gandhi,
    I am simply not understanding.

    Ancient Indian Wisdom is 100% correct,
    I should say even 200% correct,
    But modern generation is neglecting -
    Too much going for fashion and foreign thing.

    Other day I'm reading newspaper
    (Every day I'm reading Times of India
    To improve my English Language)
    How one goonda fellow
    Threw stone at Indirabehn.
    Must be student unrest fellow, I am thinking.

    Friends, Romans, Countrymen, I am saying (to myself)
    Lend me the ears.
    Everything is coming -
    Regeneration, Remuneration, Contraception.
    Be patiently, brothers and sisters.

    You want one glass lassi?
    Very good for digestion.
    With little salt, lovely drink,
    Better than wine;
    Not that I am ever tasting the wine.
    I'm the total teetotaller, completely total,
    But I say
    Wine is for the drunkards only.

    What you think of prospects of world peace?
    Pakistan behaving like this,
    China behaving like that,
    It is making me really sad, I am telling you.
    Really, most harassing me.

    All men are brothers, no?

    In India also
    Gujaratis, Maharashtrians, Hindiwallahs
    All brothers -
    Though some are having funny habits.
    Still, you tolerate me,
    I tolerate you,
    One day Ram Rajya is surely coming.

    You are going?
    But you will visit again
    Any time, any day,
    I am not believing in ceremony
    Always I am enjoying your company.

    - Nissim Ezekiel


    --

    P.S. It is best enjoyed with the thick Indian accent and prosody.

    :rotfl
     
    Last edited: Jun 19, 2010
    1 person likes this.
  2. Pankajini

    Pankajini Senior IL'ite

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  3. rose25

    rose25 New IL'ite

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    vidya21,i enjoyed your poem

    we still use lot of words in different meaning, situation it's a confusing thing. I wonder what people want to say? If i know the difference i might be able to understand.

    anyway i satisfied with your answer and explanation about the punctuation.

    =======================

    Rose
     
  4. knot2share

    knot2share Gold IL'ite

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    Hey Vidya
    The link for serial commas was quite interesting to read. Although most of us have been taught British way of writing, I find the American way of adding a comma before AND a lot more convincing in removing any sort of confusion in conveying the meaning. I quite like that!

    The poem was funny indeed. I liked Rosary's question on "husband's friends" too. It is quite tricky honestly (and funny too! ). I feel "personality" is another loosely used word like how we still use " I need to xerox a few pages " instead of " I need to photocopy a few pages ". The brand/company XEROX monopolised the copying/printing technology all over that it found a place in our day to day vocabulary, substituting the word that describes one of the machine's top features which is photocopying. I think that is cool!

    I was just surfing the net and found an interesting link that lists how one can say "Do you speak English?" in over 215 languages! That set me thinking. It will be the majority of the population who can speak English (in other languages), but possibly only a small percentage who can actually SPEAK IN ENGLISH! :).

    Hope all of you are keeping well.
     
  5. Pankajini

    Pankajini Senior IL'ite

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    Dear Knoty, the topic u mentioned was worth reading…it quotes the sentence “Do you speak English?” clearly in all 215 languages. I can refer the link whenever I want to be an exhibitionist :goodidea:
     
  6. sethu_m_s

    sethu_m_s Senior IL'ite

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    Congrats to all those who contribute to this wonderful and informative thread.This is one thread that I check every day.Keep up the good work Ansuya.
     
  7. knot2share

    knot2share Gold IL'ite

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    Hello beautiful people around the globe!!!

    Wassup?...........I hate this usage. I got introduced to this when I started chatting online. I still do not know what some of the most common abbreviations used on chats mean.

    I noticed a job advertisement this morning with a title in bold that said - Imagine a sky with no limits!.........mmmmm.......I thought sky never had a limit and that is why the expression SKY IS THE LIMIT. I suppose what they are trying to convey is that the advertised position has limitless opportunities to climb up the ladder, for the right candidate. Tempting, they are.

    Vidya, just thinking about that poem once again, it struck me that when I am in the company of my friends (who are Indians of course) and also when the setting is back home in India and not outside India, I do tend to talk a bit like that. It just feels ok and more appropriate in that situation :). Has anybody felt that way too?

    I am reviving an old link that was provided by Ansuya on this thread. It is an interesting game and for those who have not seen this, please give it a try AT LEISURE ONLY. I scored just 23 :-(. I would have felt totally miserable if I had not got two of them right - Australia and New Zealand. But I did and thank heavens for that!

    Have fun. Here is the link:

    Language Trainers Group : LT Accent Game
     
  8. knot2share

    knot2share Gold IL'ite

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    Hello Sethu, I am with you too. I feel this thread is one of the best things that happened in IL. Full marks surely to Ansuya.
     
  9. Confused211

    Confused211 Gold IL'ite

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    Another such company name-turned-verb - google. I heard that it is in a new dictionary edition too, can't remember which one.
     
  10. Vidya21

    Vidya21 Senior IL'ite

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    Knotty,

    Sure, I think we all do that. The funny thing is, having been here for a while now, the American accent is starting to sound more natural to my ears. I was on vacation in India earlier, and while listening to the news, I registered the news reader's accent. It actually seemed unnatural to my ears for the first time ever... and I considered my own as an accent. Ha ha!

    We all get used to a certain prosody and rhythm in languages we converse in everyday. There is so much meaning, mood and texture that comes with it.

    I loved the link you provided about guessing the accents. I didn't do too well... :\

    Count me in on that. I've often wondered why there wasn't a google in real life on misplacing the keys the n-th time and wishing I could google the house for keys! :)
     
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2010

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