Indianisms

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Indianisms

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Infosys Foundation Program

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Indianisms

Contents

Context ........................................................................................................................................................ 3
Indianisms .................................................................................................................................................... 3
1.1

Frequently made mistakes and Why ....................................................................................... 5

Exercises ...................................................................................................................................................... 6

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Infosys Foundation Program

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Indianisms

Context
This document contains exercises to be completed as a part of the module- Indianisms.

Indianisms
Indianisms are certain grammatical errors that creep in when an Indian speaks English by transliterating
i.e. the speaker thinks in his native language and translates the same into English while communicating.
When this is done, often grammatical errors and improper sentence construct creep in.
For e.g.It was getting very dark in the afternoon as my daddy returned to home from work. As he entered the
bedroom he tried to switch the light on, but there was some problem. And then my daddy said, "Why is
light not oning?" (ing form of on)

Words such as these are often used without much conscious awareness of its unique local flavor and can
create confusion for a native speaker who is listening to such a conversation.
Let us look at some of the commonly used Indianisms in our everyday life1. Use of progressive tense in Stative verbs :
For example, the famous McDonalds line-I am loving it. When using Stative words such as like,
love, have, feel etc. do not use progressive tense.
More examples

I am having a brother-wrong
I have a brother-correct

2. Wrong usage of Prepositions :

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Let us discuss about this-wrong

Let us discuss this-correct
She has so much of time to do it-wrong
She has plenty of time to do it-correct

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Indianisms

3. Use of incorrect Tag questions :

Wrong-Raj did it, no? / Dev is here, isnt it? / Sheila closed the door, did she?
Correct-Raj did it, didnt he? / Dev is here, isnt he? / Sheila closed the door, didnt she?

4. Variations in Word order :

My all pockets are empty. Wrong

My pockets are all empty. Correct
She is late always. Wrong
She is always late. Correct

5. Answers to a question :

Didnt you take Rita to school?

o Yes, I didnt. Correct
o No, I didnt. Wrong

6. Inappropriate usage :

Ram was not available but. Wrong

But Ram was not unavailable. Correct
I only told her to do that. Wrong
I told her to do that. Correct

7. Use of of :

Jane had so much of time at hand hence -wrong

Jane had so much time at hand hence -correct

8. Use of rhyming words :

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Lets have some chai- vai/coffee-shoffee.

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Indianisms

1.1 Frequently made mistakes and Why

a. I passed out from my college last year:
Why- You graduate from that college; pass out refers to losing consciousness. You do
not "pass out" from that institution.
b. Kindly revert if you have any further questions.
Why- Revert means "to return to a former state."
c. I saw that movie years back.
Why- use years ago, not years back.
d. Please refer to the mail below and kindly do the needful.
Why- obsolete phrase, not used anymore.
e. I need to discuss about the budget with you.
Why- discuss means to "talk about", hence about becomes redundant.
f.

I want to order for a strong coffee.

Why- we "order" something and not "order for" it.

g. Do one thing- take the stairs and then turn right.

Why- using a stem such as do one thing before giving information, does not make sense.
h. Sorry he is out of station, come back next week.
Why- it is again an obsolete phrase and complete Indianism.
i.

Why are you awake? Sleep is not coming?"

Why- Sleep is not an individual!

j.

The meeting has been preponed to Monday.

Why- although the opposite of postpone is prepone, it is used only in India. Instead use
advance.

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Infosys Foundation Program

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Indianisms

Exercises
Objective: To understand the commonly made mistakes while speaking in English.
Problem Description:
a) Rewrite the following Indianism with proper grammatical construct.
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Im having two sisters.

They had gone there yesterday.
I didnt knew that.
I am listening music.
Im telling to you.
I cannot discuss you that.
My cousin brother.
My sister is in 12th std.
My sister is reading in Class 1.
Transportation facility is not available.
I got a phone on my phone today.
My house is at the backside of the school.
Mother in laws.
On the light.
You people.
I am putting up at.
I think so that.
I told to you.
I am wanting.
Meet at 6 am in the morning.
I am agree/disagree.
Have a seat.
I am having long hair
Your dressing sense is pathetic
How did you find the place?
Enclosed within
When I was small
Cook myself
Give an exam
Give me a ring
Press my clothes
Drinking Soup
Today morning
Yesterday evening
I and my brother
This is more preferable
I am understanding it know
I am ABC this side
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Indianisms

39.
40.
41.
42.
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49.

Regarding to
I dont think so that your phone is working
What is your good name?
Please hold the line
She is more taller than John
I am looking for job
Myself Krishna
Can you tell me what time is it?
This scissor is not working
He gave me all information
One of my friend

Summary of this assignment:

By the end of this assignment, the learner will be able to:

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Avoid using Indianisms in their conversations.

Infosys Foundation Program