3 ms·
Interestingly India got "do the needful" from Britain, but then it dropped out of use there, while India kept it. There are things like that idea though. I hea
by delecti 2y ago
Interestingly India got "do the needful" from Britain, but then it dropped out of use there, while India kept it.
There are things like that idea though. I hear "different different" from Indian coworkers pretty regularly, which is apparently a direct translation of a common Hindi expression.
- OJFord 2y agoI'm not familiar with that one but I believe it - there's a lot of repetition for emphasis like that, and for example 'same same' or 'slowly slowly' (धीरे-धीरे) leaks into Indian English for sure. (And to be honest, my own if I'm talking to people I attempt to speak Hindi (or Hinglish) with - once you're aware of it it seems pretty natural and effective, all of these things do, which is what I find so fascinating really. I've grown up speaking BrE completely without it, but then you hear it and it makes sense. Even head movements other than nodding-yes and shaking-no: couldn't reproduce them, but somehow they immediately make sense, and are so much more expressive than I know how to be with words, certainly to be so succinct anyway.)