Indian Talent, Global Content
|
Indian Talent, Global Content |
August 2008: What's in the breeze |
Book Review - 'Indlish' The Book for Every English-Speaking Indian by Jyoti Sanyal
Western visitors to India, or English-speaking expatriates living in the country for any length of time, quickly realize that the brand of English commonly found in the country can be decidedly different from the language they've known all their lives. Whether it's reading the morning newspaper, going through emails at the office or deciphering a notice on the gym equipment, native English speakers in India are often mystified by what they hear and read. It may look and smell like English, but on closer inspection it's often something different altogether. In his book Indlish - The Book for Every English-Speaking Indian, Jyoti Sanyal, former assistant editor and columnist for The Statesman and the founder of Clear English India, takes a humorous yet very critical look at the state of English writing in India. Essentially a collection of Sanyal's language columns from The Statesman, Indlish focuses on the key factors that have shaped Indian English writing, particularly the writing of newspaper reporters, editorial columnists and other members of the English-language press. A key theme of the book is that English writing in India is characterized by fussiness and convoluted language, which has been perpetuated by the country's educational system. Sprinkling the book with sarcasm that occasionally borders on despair, Sanyal notes that schoolchildren are made to "memorize and regurgitate such mantra as 'The cow is a four-footed, herbivorous domesticated animal.'" He laments that "No child perceives a cow in such hideous terms; they can occur only to some fossil-brained adult." Indians have still not shaken off the "commercialese" that was adopted by clerks of the East India Company. The author points to various aspects of British English to explain the stilted quality and lack of clarity in much current English writing in India. Specifically, he suggests that Indians have not shaken off the commercialese that was adopted and spread by the clerks of the British East India Company. This is compounded by the continued veneration of Victorian English, which many writers in India fail to recognize was ultimately rejected by Victorians themselves! Lastly, the officialese spawned in the days of the British Raj remains alive and well in India, doing further damage to the language. But Sanyal does not lay the entire blame on Indians' tendency to cling to the influences of outdated British English. Equally important is the fact that for most Indians, English is not their mother tongue. The language came to the subcontinent far later than the hundreds of other languages that are spoken in the country. On the whole, Indians are much more multilingual than people from either the US or UK, each of which are generally considered to be monolingual countries. Writers try to translate their thoughts and expressions directly from their mother tongue into English, often with disastrous results. Sanyal praises the sharpness and compelling quality of the Indian-language press, be it Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam or others. The problem, he says, comes when writers try to translate their thoughts, expressions and idioms directly from their mother tongue into English, which more often than not has disastrous results. Throughout the book, Sanyal presents editorials and news articles taken from the English press in India, dissecting them and often offering his own suggested rewrites of the same material. Without exception, these are far clearer and more direct, stripped of their original vagueness, cliché and clutter. While the full title of the book is Indlish - The Book for Every English-Speaking Indian, don't be fooled into thinking that it's for Indians only. Sanyal offers up some revealing historical and cultural insights into why many Indians write (and speak) English the way they do. For anyone who wants a better understanding of Indian culture in general, this alone makes the book a worthwhile purchase. In addition, alongside the many jarring examples of how not to write, the book provides some useful suggestions on how anyone - not just Indians - can improve their written English. I found myself, in the weeks after I finished reading Indlish, questioning my own writing. Here and there I noticed some of the writing "sins" which the author so painstakingly details - fussiness, too-long sentences, passive voice, and so on. Still, the book will not be for everyone, and in the end it will appeal most to those interested in writing and language. And a familiarity with English grammar and Indian languages, each of which are referenced throughout the text, helps improve the overall accessibility of the material. Indlish weaves together India's colonial history with the beginnings of English in India to explain the current state of English writing in the country. Sanyal draws on his experiences as journalist (and trainer of journalists), newspaper columnist, and Plain English campaigner, to present his case. The result is a caustic but entertaining look at English in India, which will no doubt have more than a few writers nervously double-checking their copy for problems… It seems some issues are there with my writing, and my style may benefit from some upgradations. I will do my level best to achieve the required proficiencies! Indlish
Chillibreeze's disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article.
>> Read more articles written by our chillibreeze staff and writers network:1. Chillibreeze Top Rated Articles
|
Services Content Development FAQ Expat eBooks India Centric Reports e-publishing
|
Copyright 2004 - 2008 Chillibreeze Solutions Pvt. Ltd. |
.gif)
Developing content for a new women's portal - delivering 400 articles per month 
