Friday, June 27, 2014

Indian English - Common Errors


It’s hard to adopt a second language. In India, most of us have learned English later in our lives – and the transition from the mother tongue to the world’s tongue is never fully complete. India is known for its language diversity – and many languages mean many versions of English. Though the Mother Tongue Influence (MTI) gives a unique flavor to the English spoken in the sub-continent – yet in professional environments too much of this influence may leave a not-so-polished impression. Even the people who have learned English for many years tend to make these errors – mostly because,

1. This is how they’ve seen others speaking, hence adopted as is – now out of habit find it hard to change.

2. They make a word to word translation from their mother-tongue, which skews the sentence structure.

Here I found some common errors made by Indian English speakers from various sites. I hope these are very useful for you.

1.    I am from Chennai only.(I am from Chennai (or) I’m originally from Chennai.)

2.    It’s like this only.(That’s how it is)

3.    I am living in Chennai ( I live in Chennai)

4.    Myself, Raj ( My name is Raj)

5.    He’s having a car (He has a car)

6.    He came back in India. (He came back to India.)

7.    I'd like to study in abroad/overseas.(I'd like to study abroad/overseas.)

8.    He drives his bike so fast.(He rides his bike so fast.)

9.    I don't know to drive a car.(I don't know how to drive a car.)

10. They entered into the hall. (They entered the hall.)

11. I understood her the question.(I made her understand the question.)

12. He teaches very well, isn't it? (He teaches very well, DOESN'T he?)

13. You are hiding something, isn't it?(You are hiding something, aren't you?)

14. I would like to make a doctor.(I would like to be/become a doctor.)

15. We had talked to him yesterday.(We talked to him yesterday.)

16. We bought some furnitures.(We bought some furniture).

17. I cut my hair yesterday.(I got my hair cut yesterday.)

18. If I am you, I will never do so.)(If I were you, I would never do so.)

19. I love listening music. (I love listening to music.)

20. I missed my keys.(I lost my keys.)



 ....To be continued