Using correct English on our Blogs & Pronunciation
This thread is for a carry over discussion from this thread which was on a different topic » http://www.indiblogger.in/forum/topic.php?action=replied&id=17346
A lot of times, I have been questioned by clients for usage of some terms that are more of an Indian-ised version of English or form of usage. I am listing a few, and am looking to learn more of such usage. It could be either Pronunciation or Grammar, or just usage of the term at the wrong place. In some places, we Indians are inventing terminologies and they are accepted overseas too.
The intention is to share and learn from others about the wrong usage of English words. Some of them may make sense even for our Indian Usage.
1) re·vert /riˈvərt/ Verb
Return to (a previous state, condition, practice, etc.).
Return to (a previous topic).
As highlighted by The Sorcerer and Purnendu on the other thread, meaning of this term is to reset / return to a previous setting / state.
An example usage of this term - Due to significant problems in the version 3.2, Microsoft reverted the popular Microsoft Excel software to version 3.1
However we have often been using Revert instead of Reply, sadly thinking that Revert means a formal way of asking for a reply - which it is not.
Also, Revert back is a wrong usage as Revert itself means you step back / go back.
2) in·ti·mate / (nt-mt) / Adjective
1. Marked by close acquaintance, association, or familiarity.
2. Relating to or indicative of one's deepest nature: intimate prayers.
3. Essential; innermost: the intimate structure of matter.
4. Marked by informality and privacy: an intimate nightclub.
5. Very personal; private: an intimate letter.
6. Of or involved in a sexual relationship.
Intimate also is an accepted form of usage for “inform”, however not all countries around the world use Intimate as inform.
I stopped using Intimate after my client asked me over a call, what Intimate do I mean when I mentioned that on email. He never heard the usage of Intimate to mean inform.
An example of correct usage – I was in an intimate affair / Their connection was intimate
3) post·pone (post-pon, pos-pon)
1. To delay until a future time; put off.
2. To place after in importance; subordinate.
The usage is again sporadically accepted. For most of formal, business communication, rescheduling is used (especially in US). This word was invented by some one based on the usage of prepone, which means to advance.
4) re·dun·dant /riˈdəndənt/Adjective
No longer needed or useful; superfluous.
(Of words or data) Able to be omitted without loss of meaning or function.
This is perhaps one of the most wrongly used term. Redundant does not mean repetitive as we think. Instead, you should use the word Repetitive which is the correct form of English usage.
The confusion arises from the term Redundancy, which is an Engineering term and is used as a form of activities, rather than content. Redundancy is the duplication of critical components or functions of a system with the intention of increasing reliability of the system, usually in the case of a backup or fail-safe.
5) Content and Content
con·tent 1 / kon-tent / noun
a. Something contained, as in a receptacle. Often used in the plural: “The contents of my desk drawer; the content of an aerosol can”
b. The individual items or topics that are dealt with in a publication or document. Often used in the plural: “a table of contents”
c. The material, including text and images that constitutes a publication or document.
con·tent 2 / kənˈtent /
adj.
1. Desiring no more than what one has; satisfied.
2. Ready to accept or acquiesce; willing: She was content to step down after four years as chief executive.
This one is about pronunciation and is always commonly mistaken in usage. There are two uses of Content, one to say I am “Satisfied”, other is to say “Contains”.
For those who do not understand the phonetics language, the first is pronounced “Kontent” and second one is pronounced “Kantent”
6) pro·nun·ci·a·tion /prəˌnənsēˈāSHən/
It is very funny that the word Pronunciation itself does not get pronounced well. The correct pronunciation of the word is (for those who do not understand phonetics) “pra-nun-ciation”
What else do you think are wrong usage of English vocabulary?
Reason: Updated title to include pronunciation
LOL...I feel like rolling around after reading this 
gamma n puncture is the topic..not spel chek
A matter of information - the usage is "Many a time" and not "Many a times" - the 'a' in-between indicates that what follows is singular and not plural. You could simply say "Many times" otherwise. Similarly, the usage is "One of my friends" and not "One of my friend" - That phrase indicates that you are talking of one out of many and, therefore, the usage needs to be plural and not singular (Like you would say "Give me one of your books" and not "Give me one of your book")
These are commonly misused. And, yes, if you feel that since the meaning is communicated it needs no correction, I'll bow to that argument :)
I agree with you Suresh! these two too aare used incorrectly.. I myself use the " Many a times " and only realized it now :P :P
Great work Hemal Shah. I am not that good in English. In fact, my grammar is bad. In order to improve myself, I joined a Forum to relearn English from scratch. And it works for me. I am sharing this (collection of articles from the forum) hoping to help people like me.
DASHES
Simply, dashes are used to separate lists or parenthetical expressions from the rest of a sentence in the same way as colons, semi-colons, or brackets.
Example:
School is based on the three R’s – reading, writing, and ‘rithemtic.
This could also be written using a colon:
School is based on the three R’s: reading, writing, and ‘rithemtic.
Example:
Our holiday in Transylvania was terrible – too many vampires.
This could also be written using brackets:
Our holiday in Transylvania was terrible (too many vampires).
Example:
Against all odds, Pete – the unluckiest man alive – won the lottery.
This could also be written using brackets:
Against all odds, Pete (the unluckiest man alive) won the lottery.
Dashes can be used to indicate ranges.
Example:
This book is aimed at children 4-6 years of age.
Dashes can also be used to indicate relationships or connections between words:
Examples:
Despite fears, the Rangers-Celtic game went off without incident.
The score of the Flyers-Bruins game was 3-0.
The father-son bond was strong from the beginning.
En-dashes and Em-dashes
It would be wonderful if a dash was a dash, and that was all there was to it, but there are two distinct types of dash, the en dash and the em dash.
En Dash
The en dash, also sometimes called the n dash or n-rule, is so-called because it is approximately the width of the typewritten letter ‘n’.
It is the dash that you would use to indicate ranges. It’s also the one used to indicate relationships or connections between words. (See examples above.)
Occasionally, en dashes are also used for parenthetical comments, instead of em dashes, particularly in cases where the em dash would look odd, at the end of a justified line for example.
The en dash is written with a space before and after it – as in this example - separating it from the rest of the text.
Em Dash
The em dash, also sometimes called the m dash or m-rule, is so-called because it is approximately the width of the typewritten letter ‘m’.
Em dashes are commonly used for separating parenthetical expressions—which might indicate an abrupt change in one’s train of thought, a sudden recollection, or the insertion of some related, but non-essential, information—from the rest of a sentence. The previous sentence contains an example of a parenthetical expression.
The em dash can also be used in dialogue to denote that a speaker has been interrupted; or for an aposiopesis, a device used to show that a speaker is unwilling or unable to continue.
Generally, the em dash is written without any spaces between it and the words that precede and follow (as shown in the example above).
The practice of joining the em dash to the text is recommended by both the Chicago Manual of Style, and the Oxford Guide to Style. Some guides, however, such as the New York Times Manual of Style and Usage, prefer leaving a hair space (a space narrower than the one normally left between words.
A double dash used to indicate a break in thought or sentence structure, an interruption, or to emphasize a group of words.
He thought—no, he knew—she wasn't the one for the job.(break in sentence structure)
“But I don't know how to—” (interruption)
He had those things—lobsters and other crustaceans—in his collection. (emphasis)
An emdash can also be used to set off a beat within dialogue:
“Here”—he handed her some gloves—“you aren't finished yet.” (break in speech)
APOSTROPHE
The apostrophe has several uses. It can be used to signify possession, missing letters (in contractions), and it used for special plurals.
We’ll look at possessives first.
The toy belongs to Alfie.
It is Alfie's toy.
The eyes of the boy are blue.
The boy's eyes are blue.
In each of these cases, the second sentence uses the possessive case. The noun (toy/eyes) are connected to someone (Alfie/the boy). The apostrophe is telling us that the subject of the sentence (toy/eyes) belong to someone.
Possessive pronouns (ie his, hers, theirs, its, yours) do not take apostrophes.
So we would say:
This book is yours.
This wallet is hers.
and not:
This book is your’s.
This book is her’s.
Some possessives can cause confusion, such as its, but we’ll discuss this is a bit. Right now, we’ll look at another use of apostrophes.
Apostrophes can also be used to show that a letter is missing, so we use them for contractions.
I do not want lunch.
I don't want lunch.
In the second sentence, we have contracted the two words, do and not, into a single word, don't. Because we have removed the o from not, we put an apostrophe in place of it, to show that a letter is missing.
The word its/it's is a humdinger for tripping people up because sometimes it has an apostrophe, and sometimes it doesn't. The possessive case does not have the apostrophe, but the contraction of it is does.
The dog is in its kennel.
It's at the end of the garden.
In the first sentence, the its is a possessive, telling us that the kennel belongs to the dog. Although possessives usually take an apostrophe - this is the exception to that rule.
In the second sentence, we are saying the kennel is at the end of the garden, but using the pronoun it instead of The kennel. In effect, we are saying The kennel is at the end of the garden, but instead we have chosen to say It's (or It is) at the end of the garden.
If you are uncertain which one to use, try substituting it is to see if the sentence still makes sense.
It is raining outside.
It’s raining outside.
This makes sense both ways. That means we are using it’s as a contraction of it is, so we use the apostrophe to represent the missing letter.
Every dog has its day.
Every dog has it is day.
The second sentence does not make sense, so here we are using its as a possessive. No apostrophe.
Similarly, watch out for whose and who’s. They are not interchangeable. When we want to ask a question regarding possession, we use whose.
Whose bag is that?
When we want to ask a question about a person, we use who’s. Remember that the apostrophe here is used for a contraction of who is.
Who’s at the door?
If you are uncertain which one to use, try substituting who is for whose/who’s to see if the sentence still makes sense.
Who is bag is this?
The above doesn’t make sense, so we know we need the possessive whose.
Who is at the door?
The above makes sense, so we can use the contracted version who’s.
The third use of apostrophes is for special plurals. Usually, when we want to create the plural of a noun, we simple add a s. There are exceptions, such as mouse and mice, child and children, but the standard plural in English is to add an s.
Apostrophes are used for the plural of letters, numbers, and abbreviations. For example:
You had better mind your p’s and q’s.
He writes m’s instead of n’s.
He was born in the 1960’s.
She has a huge pile of 45’s.
Note: It is becoming increasingly common to drop the apostrophe for the plural of numbers, so the above sentences could also be written:
He was born in the 1960s.
She has a huge pile of 45s.
Our constituency has two MP’s.
This area is reserved for VIP’s.
Again, however, the use of apostrophes here is becoming less common, so you can also write:
Our constituency has two MPs.
This area is reserved for VIPs.
But do remember that apostrophes are not used for normal plurals. So you would write:
Records for sale.
and not:
Record’s for sale.
SiS! Seeing you here after long back (or it may just be me :P)
I want to appreciate the fact that you are willing to upgrade yourself and are working towards it... And the information you shared makes sense too.. thank you.
Hemal :) I do not participate in forums. That's why I am being missed here. But I am always a contributor to IB :)
SEMICOLONS
Once upon a time, back when writing was new, commas and such were used mainly as cues to tell people when to pause for breath. (Ever see those medieval libraries with cubicles everywhere? I imagine that's because everyone was muttering aloud as they read! Silent reading developed with education.) However, as writing began to be used for more than just reading aloud, punctuation began to fulfill grammatical functions as well. The most important of these is delineating clauses, and this is where the semicolon comes in.
(If you know your clauses, you can skip to the bottom.) There are two types of clauses: Independent Clauses (IC), and Dependent Clauses (DC).
An IC has a subject and a predicate (verb + optional object), and can "stand alone". "Stand alone" means that if you walked into a room and said it, people wouldn't look at you like you were too crazy. (I suppose that depends on the content as well, but ignore content for a second!)
Examples:
"I went to the store." = IC
The subject is "I", and the verb is "went".
"Went to the store" is NOT AN IC! There's no subject.
A DC depends on the IC for it's meaning.
Examples:
"She bewailed her fate, crying on his shoulder."
"She bewailed her fate" = IC
"crying on his shoulder" = DC
If you just walked into a room and said "Crying on his shoulder," people would be very confused. It's dependent on the rest of the sentence for meaning.
End Preamble... On to semicolons! A semicolon comes between two IC's in one sentence.
Examples:
"She bewailed her fate." + "Life was so cruel." =
"She bewailed her fate; life was so cruel."
"I've always loved this company; I hope I can work here."
"Thank you for your hospitality; I really appreciate it."
NOTE: Because a semicolon implies a relationship between ideas, it's best to use it when they are clearly related. So "I have a dog; he's a Labrador retriever" is good, but "I have a dog; the grass is green" is bad.
There is another use for semicolons, but it's quite rare. If you have a list of items, and each item has a comma or two in it, you can use semicolons to avoid confusion:
"I asked for three things: the ability to choose my own hours, regardless of the convenience of the company; the right to dictate my own benefits plan, including life insurance and dental; and the right to dress casual, even at company-wide meetings. They decided not to hire me."
ELLIPSIS POINTS
These indicate omission to denote a trailing off of thought. If the thought is complete and the character still trails off, a period needs to precede the ellipses; four dots in all.
“I tasted the cake, but . . .” (incomplete thought)
“I wonder if the cook forgot to put in the baking powder. . . .” (complete thought)
Yes Seeta, you are right - I guess I mentioned that somewhere too.
Online Dictionaries are also being manupulative - they want to serve all who search for terms on Google it seems. This works as long as people understand, but there is also group of people who do like to follow the correct english and may discard you just because you use something freqently that does not fall in their dictionary.
Having said that, grammatical errors change the meaning - words will always be invented. The day that stops, probably languge stops development. It is controversial, but it is how it is.
This topic seems to consist primarily of three things: diction, pronunciation and punctuation. Regarding the vagaries of the first two in India, there is an excellent wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_English. Regarding that of punctuation, there is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punctuation_in_English.
This topic also mentions grammar. I was virtually brought up on Strunk & White, and it is now available on .pdf http://www.cs.vu.nl/~jms/doc/elos.pdf
I am responding to this topic because today I saw a newspaper article that used the word tears--pronounce it one way and you get one meaning, pronounce it another way and you get another meaning.
This whole thread was so informative, Thanks Hemal I learnt so much about my everyday english mistakes and i was fun reading all the comments and insights provided. I hope my english improves to the British standards very soon!
Sign in to reply to this thread
