Indian English expressions – part 2

Today’s English
May 22nd, 2017

This is the continuation of Indian English posted on May 11th, 2017.  The first one in each of the following is Indian usage:

6.I did my graduation in history – I graduated in history.
Graduation generally refers to the special ceremony on which students dress up in gown and wear a cap to collect their degree certificates. But Indians use the term to refer to their three years study.  So “I did my graduation” is typically Indian and is scarcely heard in other countries.

Correct usage:
1.I took all my friends to my graduation.
2.I graduated from Bharathiar University in English.
3.He is an undergraduate in Commerce/ he is a post graduate./ he is a graduate.
4.She did/took/completed a degree in Computer Science.
5.He earned /received/held/ was awarded a bachelor’s /master's degree/a PhD in Information Technology.

Similarly Indians say “he passed out of a school or college” that is also considered to be incorrect because the phrase “pass out" means “to become unconscious”. Passed out students would therefore refer to those students who became unconscious. In stead of passed out, we may try “successful /qualified/graduated students or diploma holders/degree holders.

7.Myself Ramya from Coimbatore– I’m Ramya from Coimbatore
Indians use myself to introduce themselves though the usage is entirely wrong. Myself is a reflexive pronoun that is used to emphasise the speaker’s action or how he is affected by it. It is not equal to I.

Correct usage:
A.I myself prepared this breakfast.
B.I asked myself why I did this.
C.Meera and I went there. (Not: Meera and myself went there.)

8.Where is your Mrs working? – where is your spouse/wife/better half /other half working?
Mrs is a title used before a married woman and it is the abbreviation of mistress. It’s not equal to wife. But the words “missis” and “missus” are English words which are now considered to be old-fashioned. (Where is your missis working?)  Missus is at present an informal term in British English referring to one’s girlfriend. (Where is your missus studying? = where is your girlfriend studying.)

9.Few minutes back = few minutes ago/ few minutes before/ few minutes earlier

Back is not synonymous with “ago". It’s a typical Indian usage but an incorrect one. The alternatives are given above. We use back to refer to a particular time in the past as follows:

The religious practice dates back to 17th century. (=since a particular time)
Back in the day, we owned a jewellery shop in Coimbatore. (=sometimes in the past)

10.Cousin-brother = a female cousin

Cousin-brother and cousin sister are typical Indian usages which are now accepted terms and have got an entry in Cambridge Dictionary. In India, there is a problem in using term “cousin" that refers to the son or daughter of your aunt who may be your father’s sister or mother’s sister. The daughter of your father’s sister can be loved and married but the daughter of mother’s sister can’t be. If you just use the standard term “cousin", the listener may not know whether it’s the daughter of father’s sister or mother’s sister. But the term “cousin sister" makes it clear that it’s the daughter of your mother's sister and you should treat her strictly as your sister.

“India shaped my mind, anchored my identity, influenced my beliefs, and made me who I am. ... India matters to me and I would like to matter to India.”
-Shashi Tharoor