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Subject:RE: They must be tough over there From:"Jayaseelan Pannirselvam" <jayaseelan -dot- pannirselvam -at- ite -dot- com -dot- au> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 15 Sep 2005 02:00:01 +1000
The Wikipedia link on Indian English
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_English), which Rachna pointed to,
savvily captures almost all of the sometimes amusing nuances of Indian
English, which I'd like to think I've weeded out of my written and
verbal communication. (I write for audiences outside of India, so my
company expects that of me for sure). But there's one thing in there in
that link that does bother me though. Listed under "Anomalous Usage" is
this: The word "cloth" usually refers only to any clothes or fabrics
that are not wearable, like "waste cloth": "Use that cloth for
cleaning."
While I don't ever say I wear a "dress" to work (because I don't), I do
ask whoever is close by to pass me that "cloth" that I'm unable to reach
when I've spilled stuff, say coffee, on my table.
Would any of you native English speakers pass out, overcome with the
hilarity of this quaint expression, if I were to ask you to "hand me
that *cloth* there"? Or would you say that you are cut off a different
cloth (not sure if that expression is legit either), and hence say such
things differently?
Jayaseelan
(who, based in Chennai with Tamil as his mother tongue, is not so good
at clothing his thoughts with the appropriate English words or phrases)
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