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> it's considered less pretentious to use the English equivalent than to use the ten-dollar Hindi word. Why is that? Reverse snobism towards the upper or more
by dorfsmay 8y ago
> it's considered less pretentious to use the English equivalent than to use the ten-dollar Hindi word.
Why is that?
Reverse snobism towards the upper or more educated classes?
As an outsider who knows very little about Indian culture, it feels wrong and sad.
- kranner 8y agoNo it's not anti-intellectualism of any kind. If anything, Indians have a high regard for education. It just comes across as artificial because usage of those words is now mostly limited to literary contexts. These days using a difficult Hindi word (especially one derived from Sanskrit, or one that sounds Sanskrit-ish) in place of a common English term also signals that the speaker supports the political right wing.