June 10, 2010

This Queen's English


Sue began this and here are my pet ones:

Anyways - I loathe this usage though it is permitted under American English.  I dislike it even more when used while writing.

Onion- It is pronounced "Un" not"On"- English is funny that way- so I do not mind this one much except when an adult corrected Anush for saying it right!!

Photo, Photographer, Photographic, Photography- all come with different syllables to stress on

Trains have tiers( pronounced tears as in weeping)
You apply pressure if you must but you cannot put pressure
You turn on the switch not on the switch
You do not open fans unless you wish to repair them
You cannot remove money from a bank, you withdraw
You don't by heart but you learn by heart
And remember you cannot catch a seat or  hand or even a bag
You do not return back - you either come back or you return.
It's wrong to write its mine when you mean it's mine
You can have a lot of hair not hairs

Here is a good link I learnt a bit from-
"Let's face it, English can be confusing. A lot of words are similar but with different meanings. It is almost impossible to avoid making mistakes in English, but you might be able to avoid making these ones..."

Hopefully you work hard and not hardly at this tag.And so it goes on.

I am not an expert but am willing to learn.And do pardon my typos ...

*********

And here is some monkeying around of a different & acceptable kind.

The tail was courtesy a tightly twisted newspaper, self made by Anush.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

English is ,indeed, confusing. And really , how do you explain it to a 5-year old who insists Generator must start with J and not G.

And if I correct "put" (he says "putt") , he replies "C-U-T is Cut, B-U-M is Bum aaaaand so P-U-T is Putt". Pardon me while I tear my hair out.

apu said...

I am particular about spellings, but quite open with pronunciation - after all, even if it is the Queen's English, she isn't our Queen, is she! Also, some Indian English usage actually makes a lot of sense - like the word pre-pone for example - intuitively, everyone can understand it as the opposite of postpone.

Artnavy said...

Anon- I have to agree

apu- that is why it is "This" Queen's English- very humble am I not??

to add

I am amused by loose and lose- it is one of the first things we learn in school right?

co-brother in law- i wonder if this term even exists??

English is inadequate in that sense

Itchingtowrite said...

And neither do u catch water!! except prolly in madras where u realy have to catch teh water else it will be gone

Sue said...

Wow, lovely hair.

Thanks Art, that was neat and clear list. Why don't you list the ways of pronouncing the different 'photo' words?

Minka said...

Art,

How on earth did you find a rented apt in Bangalore which mirrors your love of color on the walls ? or did you really transplant your home from Chennai with its wonderful colors to Blore ?

Minka

Sands said...

very cute and creative :)

Kowsalya Subramanian said...

wow art - how did you find a rented apartment which resembles your home here. the colors and the corners resemble your chennai home

Anonymous said...

Header pic is too gud.. Aditi is very cute..

-Kokila

Unknown said...

LOL. the lil monkey is cuteeee!! :)