The Other Side Of A Language

The author's profile in an all-time best-seller novel reads, 'He married his wife in 1951...." Marrying X, Y or Z, or even someone else's wife is possible, but how does anyone marry his 'own' wife? An error in reasoning? Well, let us gloss over this as acne on the face of a beautiful language!

Years ago, defending the 'Act of Union' in the House of Commons, Joseph Addison spoke: 'Mr. Speaker, I conceive...' An uproar cut him short. Addison started again, 'Mr. Speaker, I conceive...' For some reason he repeated, 'Mr. Speaker, I conceive...' A member in the opposition interjected: 'Mr Speaker, the honourable member conceived thrice, but brought forth nothing!' Well, thoughts are more viscous than words...!

In a play by William Shakespeare, Desdemona tells Othello: 'I understand the fury in your words, but not the words.'

Reminding us of this quote, are some of the English speaking anchors on India's TV channels. We 'see' them talking at smoking speeds, seldom 'hear' them! Their eagerness to impress, pains us! We struggle to catch up with them as if on a 'pothole-filled road'!

They believe it is style that matters, not clarity or accuracy. They greet us with 'Very good morning,' never 'Very goodnight'! Comparisons sound profound when they say 'More better' and 'Much more better'! They make us believe that 'At this point of time' is more precise than 'Now', 'Put an end to' has a finality that doesn't come with 'End', and 'Return back' guarantees a reassuring 'Return'! They seldom 'take a break' for commercials, but surreptitiously 'slip into a break'! 'Anyways'...

'Anyways'? Yes, because to most of them, the good old 'Anyway' sounds boringly stiff and staid! Who said only nouns can be plural? Trash the grammar! And stop drawing parallels with 'Anyone', 'Anybody', 'Anything', 'Anyhow' or 'Anywhere'.

Isn't changing a language 'much more easier' than spending years learning it?

'When the English language gets in my way,

I walk over it.'

— Billy Sunday

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Five years of silence! The world around me kept shouting, shrieking and screaming. In the mad race to be heard, decency and dignity gracefully withdrew; I too. If you find me back, thank the 15,000 odd visitors who viewed my blog, even when I wasn't updating it. During this period (COVID-19 included), I never felt fed up, forlorn or forsaken. Keeping me confident and cheerful was music. Every genre, irrespective of its land or language, engaged me. There was much to explore; much more to learn and experience. An incident of over 25 years, comes to mind. I was at a trade show in Delhi. Hearing a Ghazal on the public address system, I asked the hostess in my company’s stall about that album. She turned to her friend and quipped: ''Hey look.... Who's talking about Ghazals?'' The sarcasm was evident, but not surprising. India being incredibly diverse, such perceptions based on ignorance do exist. Few people know, fewer even b...

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