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:
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! :)
