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I used to work in a medical group where nearly all the doctors and many of the other employees were from India or Pakistan. Most of them did the "W"/"V" substitute, along with other substitutions that we quickly learned to recognize.
It could be difficult for them to call in prescriptions to the pharmacy because the pharmacist had problems understanding them.
A few of them spoke nearly perfect English, with excellent enunciation. In fact their enunciation was much better than the average American. I got into a discussion with one of them about learning English, and he told me that English was taught in every first grade class in India and Pakistan, so the words are familiar but they don't pick up the pronunciation until they move to America. He told me that he actually took English classes for several years after moving here because he was determined to speak properly. He said that many don't go to that extreme, they are satisfied with being able to speak well enough to communicate.
One of the Indians in my office was very difficult to understand when he first started working for us about ten years ago. As a matter of fact, I worked in a different department, and he was the "help desk" guy to call for a new system we were using, and no one could understand him on the phone. Now I work in the same office as he does (he's no longer a help desk guy) and his English is much better.
A couple of months ago, I hear the guy who sits next to me cursing and swearing while listen to a voicemail. He's saying "I can't understand a &^%$#@( word this guy is saying!" An hour later or so, I was in his office talking about something when the Indian guy mentioned earlier walks by and "Joe" yells "Hey, can you come here and tell me what this guy on my voicemail is saying? He has the same accent as you." Putting aside the fact that this exchange made me cringe a little inside, it was interesting because the Indian guy listened to the message (which, by the way, I could understand despite the heavy accent) and he said, "This is someone who has only recently come here from India." He went on to explain pretty much what you said above, plus that they are taught to use certain formal words that we don't use in everyday American speech, such as "Please do the needful."
Sometimes with people from India speaking English it also has to do with emphasis on the syllables. My sister is in IT, and she works with a lot of Indian people. She said she was in one meeting where the woman speaking kept using the term "NOHN-a-shoes". She couldn't figure out what "NOHN-a-shoes" were supposed to be, but then the woman handed out a draft report outlining what she had been talking about, and my sister found out the phrase was "known issues".
Well, I heard some... uhhh... illogical person use it again today. Irregardless. Just writing it makes my blood pressure soar. Why the "ir-" when the "-less" already does the job? So we have a double negative which basically turns the word that I'm sure the speaker used to sound like Mr. Sophisticated into simply saying, "regarding," or, "with regard to." Which of course is just the opposite of what he meant.
I propose, since the word is already an exercise in stupidity, that we build it back to its proper meaning. I propose, "anirregardless." As pathetic as it is, at least it would retain the intended meaning. Anirregardless. All together now.
(note: yeah, I know I've mentioned this one a time or two before. But every time I hear it, old wounds are ripped open and salt is poured into them)
The last time that I took my car in for service, the invoice noted, "loner car for customer".
The dealership's car that I used while my car was being serviced seemed to be about as socially-oriented as cars usually are , and I was unable to determine whether or not it was a, "loner".
Something I often see on the forum... Just (as) a FYI.
What does "just (as) a for your information" mean? Shouldn't it just be FYI?
Last edited by Sudcaro; 02-28-2013 at 01:03 PM..
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In the Africa forum--
, and I was unable to determine whether or not it was a, "loner".
