Mind your language
G.I. PRASAD
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English as we know it is changing — and how!
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K. Ramesh Babu
Do you speak American or British English?
Whatever happened to the Queen's English as we knew it in India? It seems increasingly apparent that in both spoken and written English, that American English is more in use. The English print media seems to have held out so far while advertising which feeds off popular culture seem to be shaking a leg to a kitschy rock-bhangra beat.
American foreign policy is not just about geo-politics; it has always had a tacit cultural face of which Hollywood was the primary driving force. It was the first wave that softened up seemingly intractable attitudes towards America elsewhere in the world using glorious colour and the 70mm screen as its weapons. The second wave which saw the advent of satellite television carried this process forward into millions of drawing rooms with its images of an Americanised world and way of life. The third wave is the advent of the personal computer. Why the personal computer?
That is no ordinary document or mail you have just written; Bill's English is the final arbiter of all that is contained in your work! Woe upon you if you chose `colour' rather than `color'; `emphasise' rather than `emphasize'. The software will insist that its version is correct and if you disagree, your computer screen will be awash with a sea of red squiggly strokes beneath the offending words.
The world of business in particular is hastening towards an American-defined globalised world. India's software and BPO industries look U.S.-ward and while they may occasionally genuflect to other regions, they cannot ignore the cultural demands of the U.S. market.
Companies today issue "guidance" where earlier they may have talked about forecasts or projections; "going forward", they expect to "gain traction" from their business development or other initiatives. Change may be touted as the Great American Constant, yet "at the end of the day", there is little or grudging acceptance of the foreign and exotic.
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