Sunday, November 07, 2021

What kind of English do you speak?

Languages are fascinating. I was thinking about my own mastery of English and here are my thoughts.

  • Growing up in India, you could be either one of these 3 groups
    • Government schools 
    • Private schools 
    • Convent schools
  • If you spoke English you were higher up in the hierarchy ( Ranked by convent first, Private second, and government third) 
  • In some states like New Delhi, government officials asked you to talk to them in Hindi, and in Tamil Nadu, English was more acceptable than Hindi (This is my experience) Luckily I spoke 6 Indian languages.
  • Now I am in the US and I have my own version of English which depending on the area of the US people may understand
  • I think people who come to the US and learn English are better off as they learn the accent here quicker than English speakers who migrate here.
  • Sometimes depending on the audience, you may need to change your accent 
  • There will be people who will insist they do not understand you despite your efforts only because you have an accent that they are not used to hearing
What English do you speak? 
  

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