This was a wonderful read! I never though about 'good name' being a direct translation of 'shubh naam'.
The insecurity about getting our English right, in the way it should be as the English people speak it - whether in pronunciations or the usage of certain words- is a remnant of colonial shame. Like you said it, that flinch is the last colony. One we have to give up ourselves.
But it is a thing if we make it a thing. I have now been living in the US for a few years, and I have come to realize that nobody cares about your accent. Sometimes people might ask me to repeat a line if they didn't get it, just like I ask them to (because I have been so used to subtitles). We almost always have a good laugh about it. Besides there are people with thick accents who come from other parts of the world - east asian, east european. I haven't come across anyone who is as apologetic about their accent as we can be.
To your experience with the colleague- what if their concern was genuinely about the videos? Maybe the accent was only a part of the issue, if at all? Sometimes our insecurities make us less curious, because we assume that it is the whole of the problem :) . I could be totally wrong, but just food for thought.
The linguist John McWhorter says something to the effect of "dialects are all there is", and I think that's a useful way to frame what you're talking about. There is no such thing as "the English language", just a collection of more-or-less related dialects of English. The one spoken where I grew up in Scotland is one, the ones used in various parts of India are others.
The difference between them is political - "a language is a dialect with an army and navy".
Just last week I met up with a friend of mine who happens to be married to an American. He was saying he is painfully conscious of his pronunciation given how his wife constantly corrects him. If he pushes back saying this is the alternative British or Indian pronunciation, she says that this is America and this is how it's said here. Funnily enough, he's not my only friend who has had this experience. Also, I will note here that Indian Americans are more prone to correcting Indians in how they say or do things. We probably make them look bad hahaha
This was a wonderful read! I never though about 'good name' being a direct translation of 'shubh naam'.
The insecurity about getting our English right, in the way it should be as the English people speak it - whether in pronunciations or the usage of certain words- is a remnant of colonial shame. Like you said it, that flinch is the last colony. One we have to give up ourselves.
But it is a thing if we make it a thing. I have now been living in the US for a few years, and I have come to realize that nobody cares about your accent. Sometimes people might ask me to repeat a line if they didn't get it, just like I ask them to (because I have been so used to subtitles). We almost always have a good laugh about it. Besides there are people with thick accents who come from other parts of the world - east asian, east european. I haven't come across anyone who is as apologetic about their accent as we can be.
To your experience with the colleague- what if their concern was genuinely about the videos? Maybe the accent was only a part of the issue, if at all? Sometimes our insecurities make us less curious, because we assume that it is the whole of the problem :) . I could be totally wrong, but just food for thought.
That’s so pleasantly refreshing to read, and yes, you might be right about the last part. Food for thought
The linguist John McWhorter says something to the effect of "dialects are all there is", and I think that's a useful way to frame what you're talking about. There is no such thing as "the English language", just a collection of more-or-less related dialects of English. The one spoken where I grew up in Scotland is one, the ones used in various parts of India are others.
The difference between them is political - "a language is a dialect with an army and navy".
this is so bang on i will never forget this - "a language is a dialect with an army and navy".
WOW
It's so good it has its own Wikipedia article!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_language_is_a_dialect_with_an_army_and_navy
What about pronunciations, like aks for ask or joo for zoo?
And spellings, english vs american?
I get corrected often, but correct when annoyed.
A lot of it remains, but we are slowly getting out of the whitewashing.
Language like anything human made, evolves.
Such a wonderful read! I always wait for a native place drop. Keep at it ♥️
Thank you, you’re too kind!
Just last week I met up with a friend of mine who happens to be married to an American. He was saying he is painfully conscious of his pronunciation given how his wife constantly corrects him. If he pushes back saying this is the alternative British or Indian pronunciation, she says that this is America and this is how it's said here. Funnily enough, he's not my only friend who has had this experience. Also, I will note here that Indian Americans are more prone to correcting Indians in how they say or do things. We probably make them look bad hahaha
Interesting! Thanks for shaking, also love the last line 😬
"the last colony" is SUCH POWERFUL prose.
also "who does the laughing" and on learning the hierarchy so well we nearly mimic our colonisers - pow pow pow.
SUCH. AN. INCREDIBLE. READ. I need every diasporic kid to read this!!
Thank you for this comment! I am glad it could resonate
Always wondered and here you are having woven it nicely!
https://youtu.be/kL1PDqzqhM4?si=JK3mhYPUHDcF36w9 - something you would like!
Oh and waiting for an equivalent to jugaad!
Thanks for sharing! This is exactly the content I am into (also nice to see a friend here)
this is something that i’ve also been thinking a lot about lately! so well put, and yes i’ve done the needful :)
Hahahaha I am glad
This is so well written!
this is so well written and about something that no one talks about but has faced at least once in their lifetime.
I was thinking of other such examples, and had missed this one!
These are a type of unpaired word called an orphaned negative. Disgruntled / gruntled is another good one.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unpaired_word