English in India

In India, English means more income, smart living, higher status in society…Well, all the good things in life. Sadly, today, if you don’t speak or understand English, you are a doormat, a gutter rat. So, you find more and more people rushing to learn English after they’ve graduated from the school or college. Very sad, indeed, because, my experience has revealed that these people who have graduated from Indian language schools (derogatorily called the ‘vernacular’ schools) have a greater grasping capacity, and a greater sense of right and wrong. They are also more practical than the English medium school grads—sorry folks, but I’m also one of you!

But let’s look at some points of interest here.

First off, there is the point of the word order. They translate from their first language. But then this is true of everybody learning a foreign language. They need to learn the SVO word order. The fact is they feel very embarrassed, and laugh at themselves. I can almost read their helpless discomfiture and total loss of composure. And then I get that parental instinct of wanting to hug them and tell them it’s okay to make mistakes.

Another point is pronunciation. There are a few sounds in English, both vowel and consonant, that aren’t there in most of the Indian languages, for instance, /ae/, /z/, /t/, /zh/, and so forth. This takes a lot of working on. And while you’re at it, it becomes extremely important not to hurt the sensibilities of your student. I haven’t found this to be as great a problem among other (non-Indian) students. I wonder why.

Then there is the issue of translating Indian proverbs while speaking with the natives. With Indians, the comprehensibility is never an issue, but with the outsiders, the stare couldn’t be blanker!

I wish to add another one here: ‘manufacturing’ words and expressions. This is similar to the previous point. So, we have weird words and phrases belted out by people trying to prove they know English.

I’ve found this last group beyond redemption! They are the toughest nuts to crack!