Individual Blogs
Stressing the language:
- Abhinav Vashishtha
Date of publishing: 06/09/2021
Greetings reader, my name is Abhinav and I feel excited to be your guide /today/ on a journey about speaking English around the world.
English is the global language that links people from different cultures, countries, and even people from different regions within the same country. The way people from different regions speak English is different too. Even amongst the native speakers, the way certain English syllables are pronounced varies from region to region.
American English, British English, and Australian accents are all very different from each other, different enough that two people from any of these countries may find it difficult to understand each other.
For example, the word day in the Australian accent is pronounced as /daai/ which sounds very similar to die and the word game as /gaaim/.
The word Anti as in anti-Romeo squad is pronounced as /aentaai/ in American English while /aenti/ in a British accent.
On the other hand, multi-dimensional (as we speak it) is pronounced as /maaltai di’mensional/ in American English while it is spoken as /malti daaimensional/ in British English, Strange huh!
Certain objects are called by different names too that further broadens the creek between these accents. English in the current state of the world, is spoken by a much larger number of non-native speakers than native speakers. Non-native speakers like us tend to speak English in an accent that is closely tied to our mother tongue.
For example in India, people from north and eastern states often find it difficult to pronounce /ship/ and /sip/ differently. The word /d’ivelop/ suffers the most though. If you are from north India and haven’t met a person who pronounces the word as /debhalap/ or /dewlap/ it’s either because you don’t talk to many people or people don’t talk to you, especially on the topic of development.
There are many other examples too like its a commonplace to hear words like istation, iskill, filim that are mispronunciations of words station, skill and film.
We Indians though are some of the best speakers of English. East-Asian countries like Korea and Japan are on the flip side of the coin.
In Japan, English gets an equal amount of attention to what Sharmaji ka ladka gets from Indian Parents that is only twice a year during exams and results.
People from Japan and locals from some parts of Bihar and south India often do not differentiate between the /l/ and /r/ sound.
Usually, both are spoken as /rh/ sound. So instead of hearing I love you from a Japanese person, there is a higher probability that you will get to hear /I rhuv you/. I mean…. it still means the same though.
Now, allow me to wake you up from this sweet dream of yours, and let’s proceed to a more serious discussion.
These different pronunciations that are a result of cultural and regional influences do not create a problem while talking to a person of the same cultural identity but may become a source of confusion when talking to an outsider. English just like any other language is bound by certain rules, some of which are strictly fixed while others are tangible. These rules ensure that there stays a sense of understanding between two speakers of English.
The problem with pronunciation among non-native speakers usually arises because of a lack of knowledge about word stress. In simple terms, they are unaware as to what syllable of the word needs to be kept intact to at least keep the pronunciation of the word more understandable in an international setting.
Say like the word /d’ivelop/, it is fine to pronounce the word as /develop/ but saying the word as /debhalap/ or /dewlap/ is not encouraged. Here the syllable /ve/ has to be stressed not /de/.
Sound knowledge about word stress can help in preserving all our regional dialectal features except the ones which are core features of standard accents of English.
As written by Prof.Shreesh Choudhary about this in his book and I quote,” This will help us to keep our cultural identity and yet help us to acquire international intelligibility.”
So next time you ask for a guide in Australia, and a man with a cowboy hat comes up and says “I am your guide to die (/daai/)”, he is probably not there to have you rest in peace but is politely telling you that he is your guide for today.
Teacher's Day:
- Steven Robert
Date of publishing: 06/09/2021
"Instead of celebrating my birthday, it would be my privilege if September 5 is observed as Teachers' Day," the words of a man who firmly believed that Education is the assimilation of values and ideas for character building and preparing to face life's challenges. India was privileged to have him, an accomplished author, a great philosopher and most importantly, an exemplary teacher at its helm.
Dr S Radhakrishnan always said that Education is way beyond academic and professional learnings; it is, in fact, the enlightenment of the soul that illuminates the individual. Apart from the pronounced privileges that one could get out of it, it is also essential for the socio-economic benefits that our country could reap if we had a well-educated society. His revolutionary thoughts on Education and Teaching pedagogy, for instance, were known for their inclusive and progressive approach.
Possibly the most outstanding educationist India has seen post-independence, he continues to be the symbol of educational reforms that he believed would achieve his vision of an Autonomous India.
From times immemorial, teachers have meant the world to us. The task of being a beacon of knowledge that shapes the future of our country is 'difficult' would be a complete understatement. Here at Gir House, we are incredibly grateful to have you among us, and we would like to wish all our Professors and Instructors a very Happy Teacher's Day!