the importance of ENGLISH and the tramp who knows them!
By scorpius
@scorpius (1792)
India
March 1, 2007 11:26am CST
as many of you know the british empire did thier best to propagate the english language to such an extent that business for the next three centuries will at the least be english centric.today i was shocked to hear a tramp speak in perfect english.anyway i was going out for my morining cup of cofee and i came across this tramp.
he saw the way i was dressed and immediately started saying "good morninig sir","how are you,today","would you want a cup of tea and paper".i was shocked.this happend in chennai,india.
what was so surreal for me was that in front of me was this tramp,unshaven,beard one foot long,torn and dirty clothes speaking to me in the queen's english with such precise clipped tones.
on enquiry at the cofee shop where this tramp hangs out i found out that he only had the very basic of education[3rd grade or so] and is mentally retarded.whats more he learnt english by watching all those english programmes including the bbc at the cofee shop.
what is so surreal for me is that here is a man with the very basic of education whose native language is not english and he speaks in very precise clipped tones.if one were to travel to england i guess the tramp would sound even better than most of the british with thier cockney accents and welsh and irish nuances.this gives me a whole new respect for the english class of india.i guess if a foreigner travels to india,were he to go to the north,probably the people there may not speak to him in english but they would be able to understand him perfectly.but were he to travel to the south even the tramp would speak to him in the queens english.and thats sayinga lot for a country whose native language is not english.i hope that india does use this edge over other countries effectively as far as business goes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/
http://www.languageinindia.com/may2003/annika.html
2 people like this
2 responses
@dorypanda (1601)
•
3 Mar 07
That is rather odd, it's amazing though, that someone can learn to speak 'The Queens English' from just watching TV. I would still try to learn the language of whichever country I am visiting, just the basics, but obviously it would be helpful. I don't agree with some English people who feel that it's a good idea to shout in English at people in other countries, and just hope they can understand. I wonder if the tramp gets more money than the others, because of his English language skills?
@scorpius (1792)
• India
4 Mar 07
first of all i would like to thank you for your fantastic comments that said i have to say that the tramp does not get anything for talking the way he does.i also agree that foreigners shoul not shout to each other in engish esp in a foreign country as that only heightens tensions.thanks.
1 person likes this
@moonflowerpixy (536)
• United States
6 Mar 07
I think that wherever you may travel or live or whatever you should learn the language of that area. At least enough to communicate the basic needs and thanks. Here, I have come across many people who I can't even help because I can not communicate with them. If i were to go to India I would feel responsible to learn their customs and thier language out of respect that I have come to thier homes. Have you ever tried to guess what is going on with a vehichle or what a person needs when you speak a totally different language? Thank goodness for hands,... they can gesture almost anything!:)
1 person likes this
