Showing posts with label Creative Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Creative Writing. Show all posts

Monday 14 September 2015

Seven ‘Indianisms’ Every Writer Should Avoid

Did you know India ranks second in the list of countries by English-speaking population after the United States? Still we are the ones who are criticized for incorrect use of English, or maybe that’s why.

According to
dictionary, the word ‘Indianism’ has two meanings:
1. A word or phrase characteristic of English as spoken in India.
2. Devotion to or preference for the people and culture of India.

Well, I wanted to tilt this article over the latter meaning but there is a lot to explore in former. So let’s focus more on linguistic Indianism instead of preferential one.


The most common linguistic error that I’ve come across among Indian writers’ work is usage of word ‘ONLY’. Consider these three sentences:

·        We only are like this
·        We are only like this
·        We are like this only

In each sentence, meaning is getting changed with the placement of word ‘ONLY’.

Now let’s do one thing. Oh, did you see what I just did there? I showed Indianism by writing ‘let’s do one thing’ while there is no such phrase. We either say ‘let’s do something’ or directly refer to what is to be done.

Let’s get to seven ‘Indianisms’ every writer should avoid to deliver better content.

1.     Use of ‘the’ almost everywhere
“The overuse of the word ‘the’ is the basic problem among the Indians”- This sentence highlights how extra use of this word hampers continuity and irritates the reader.

2.     Explaining the obvious
Have you ever heard someone say ‘both my parents are working’? Well, ‘parents’ is already plural. You don’t need to mention ‘both’ there. I had a good laugh when a friend of mine said, ‘I have two daughters and both are girls.’ Oh, I thought your daughters are guys. :D

3.     Introduction Blunder- ‘Myself’
Another common mistake that even I made once while introducing myself is- ‘Hi, myself Ankita’. Instead I should have said, ‘My name is Ankita’ or ‘I am Ankita’.
If you want to be known as ‘Grammar Pervert’, please ignore the correction.

4.     Putting full-stop in bullets
Bullet points must always be short, specific and targeted, that is why they are BULLETS. Putting full-stop at the end of bullets is like playing with the authenticity of English language. Never ever do that!

5.     Actualizing’ everything
‘Actually’ is the most futile word that Indian writers use. We are actually using it so much!

6.     Writing number instead of putting it in words
‘She has 2 kids’- Writing numbers in the middle of a sentence to represent stats is a total NO! If  any number has to be used, it should be put in words. Though for larger numbers, you can use numbers.

7.     Relevant Heading, Bullshit explanation
This has become a generalized understanding that most people read only headings or points and don’t pay attention on explanations. Here comes the tendency to beat around the bush. Content under a heading must be as relevant as the heading itself.

Grammar is important and so is the correct use of words. Avoid these mistakes and make your content more appealing and meaningful. Keep writing, keep rocking! :)