5 ms·
Most of the time, the non-native speakers learn English from the books instead of absorbing the local dialects/nuances since they don't hear people around them
by noisy_boy 5y ago
Most of the time, the non-native speakers learn English from the books instead of absorbing the local dialects/nuances since they don't hear people around them speaking English. However, depending on the quality of books / teachers, this means they pick-up a weird/artificial view of English (speaking is still difficult because you don't get to do it everyday - this is changing though). Then when one lands a job requiring English communication, they pick-up the "do the needful" type of oddities by observation/convention. So when they communicate with a native speaker, what comes across is a unique edition.
Interestingly, I can speak four languages (three fluently and one semi-fluently) and there is no equivalent of "do the needful" that is actually used in any of them - you just specify what is required - the closest non-specific equivalent I can think of is "take a look at it"/"take care of it"/"resolve it". God knows where that came from.
- airhead969 5y agoMy next door Danish neighbors learned English in the late 70's and early 80's by watching TV. The guy worked at Spectra-Physics and drove a Wankel Mazda RX-7 that he backed-in to their garage.
- WalterBright 5y agoAh, Gilligan's Island English :-) I've heard many people tell me they learned English from GI.
- airhead969 5y agoLol. Probably. And MASH.
- lovelearning 5y ago"do the needful" is found in British English books from the 19th century.[1] I suspect it's officialese that never went out of usage in bureaucratic and judicial circles in former colonies. [1] : https://www.google.com/search?q=%22do%20the%20needful%22&tbm=bks&tbs=cdr:1,cd_min:1800,cd_max:1819&lr=lang_en https://www.google.com/search?q=%22do%20the%20needful%22&tbm...