I would like to introduce to the Myths and Reality of the way people speak the English language in India.
Myths-
- Every person who speaks fluent English is either intelligent or well educated.
- English is difficult because each word has a different pronunciation that is hard to remember.
- Tenses are hard to memorize.
- You can impress native English speakers by imitating their accents.
- You can learn English by reading books
Reality-
- English is a language and not a skill.
- English words have spoken beauty and written beauty. This is the reason words are written and spoken differently.
- Many beginners try to translate in the mind from their native language to English. In this phase, they find it difficult to speak let alone expressing their views.
I would like you to read the following topics to understand it in a simpler way-
- No English No Disaster
- Over obsessed English speakers
- How to exactly learn the English language
- Is accent important?
- How to avoid shortcuts in social media chats
- Not to Fear the world if your English is poor
No English No Disaster
It is imperative that most of the Educational content, conventional or digital are in the English language. However having the equivalent level of command on the native language is equally fruitful.
People in countries like,
- Japan
- China
- France
- Russia
use their native language in almost every stuff so much so, that a requirement of interpreter has become a must have at international platforms. Nonetheless this has not stopped them in any sector.
Therefore the takeaway is , English is not must when you are able to express in your language confidently.
In Russia, Engineering is taught in Russian.
France has given birth to many renowned mathematicians and physicists.
Japan is a world leader in quality electronic goods and motor vehicles.
China has evolved as a global manufacturing hub.
India has contributed a lot in science and technology in the ancient times because it was written in our then native language Sanskrit. India has felt the need for provision of technical education in regional languages and taken a good step towards achieving it.
To know more, Click the link below
Therefore, it is better to express in native language with confidence and clarity.
Mind that when you speak in a language you are not comfortable with, it lowers your confidence because your whole focus would be on speaking correctly rather than the actual content.
Over obsessed English speakers
Slowly but gradually, English literally has eaten some of the words in our native languages.
- People tend to use more English words most often while speaking just to show that they know it.
- There are people who speak the same sentence in the conversation twice, once in native language, followed by the same in English. This is like fu**ing your language upside down.
- There are few other people who say 'bahar ka khana, unhygenic' in India and pose for an instagram pic on London street with a caption such as 'Amazing street food, Exploring wonders'. You may wonder what street food has to do with English. These are the same people who answer in English while question is asked in Hindi.
It is understandable how difficult is it to speak in native language without using necessary English words but we have to preserve the essence of the regional languages for generations to come.
How to exactly learn the English language
In schools, the typical approach of teaching spoken English is
words -> grammar/tenses -> paragraph reading
This approach doesn't really help because no one ever remembers the tenses properly and grammatical terminology throughout their life. It is sad to learn that English at many places is taught as a maths formula. You remember the past participle, third person singular, add good prepositions and here you go speak out the sentence.
How to really learn English language?
Babies learn language just by listening it.
When the baby listens his mom saying everyday 'I am going to boil the milk' he doesn't understand it but he realizes that after saying these words, mom is placing vessel on fire and adding some liquid. This is how English is learnt. Now the baby grows and says the same sentence even before going to school. At school he comes to know why mom uses only those words to say that. The problem is we are doing it vice-versa.
The hack is just watching movies, youtube videos in English language without subtitles from the beginning itself.
I learnt the same way accidentally though when Discovery TV Channel used to be available at the local cable network in only English language.
Personally I think that Grammar has come later and the language has originated first in English.
The reason can be noticed from below:
- This is a umbrella.
- This is an umbrella.
Leave aside grammar for a moment.
First sentence is incorrect because you find a speed breaker while speaking it. You can speak smoothly the second sentence. Infact I have experimented with this and it works almost every time. This might be the reason why there are so many grammar rules that have no origin or logic.
I have cut the lemon in half and put it on the table
You find it difficult to write the first sentence because pat is reserved for a different word. The second sentence is difficult to speak in a flow.
I have cut the lemon in half and pat it on the table
I have coot the lemon in half and put it on the table
This is a reason why English has a spoken beauty and a written beauty.
Some letters have no meaning in words but they are for the eye delight such as below
I recommend you to use Grammarly Chrome extension while writing.
Is accent important?
Accent is like a street vendor making samosa. It develops on it's own. Accent is not important while speaking.
Every American guy can understand Indian English Accent. Therefore we should be able to understand what they speak in american accent because they can't change easily to Indian accent as they speak it everyday.
At this point, accent is important not for speaking but listening.
How to avoid shortcuts in social media chats
Wishing a happy birthday on phone call is much appreciated rather than receving a 3 letter text message HBD.
In my college friends' group, there was this person whom we called by his nickname. Literally none of us knew his original name. You got it right.
Feelings should be less expressed in abbreviations.
Life is not so fast enough that you fear of missing out and use word FOMO often.
Not to Fear the world if your English is poor
If you do not know speaking in a particular language that means you are good in some other language.
Do remember you can learn English easily when you think it as a language and not a skill.
Thank you for giving your time.
I appreciate your comments and suggestions.
Signing Off.
Yours Sincerely,
Kieron Elkunchwar
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