Mind Your Language

Indian English has a rhythm all its own and Crystal says, “We encountered hundreds of distinctive usages on our travels: phone numbers for calling friends and family are called ‘near and dear numbers.’ Something that’s free of charge is said to be free of cost.’ A work surface in a kitchen is called a ‘kitchen platform.’ And words are also broken in different ways. In New Delhi the signs warn of an approaching ’round about,’ the two words are separated by a space. Above a store we read ‘super market.’ A housing ad offers ‘pent houses.’ Outside the University in Mumbai is the greeting ‘wel-come,’ with the two elements separated by a hyphen. A roadside warning reads ‘land slide prone area.’ And another one says ‘over-size vehicles keep left.’ I was continually being surprised by distinctive uses of space or hyphens.”