Mind Your Language

Like most desis, the Queen's English has always been mine.

When I moved to North America, one of the I things I strangely missed was English, the language as I knew it. The accent and rhythms of speech. I utterly loved and still do, the English brand of humor - witty, wry, born of understatement, or sometimes totally wacky. American English, on the other hand, had mostly been the voice of entertainment, and not a whole lot more.

But living here has made it my reality - of sorts. To every man his own English, I say. America speaks differently, accent and all. And that's just for starters.

On the outside - or so I thought - one has adapted. I now stand 'in line', eat cookies at tea-time, go on 'vacations', have even dropped the letter 'u' to spell my 'colors'. I no longer end my missives with 'yours sincerely'. New syntax, new slang, I've embraced it all.

And yet feel the inevitable pang when I hear the crisp words on BBC or Brit movies. Despite having taken much razzing on this, I stand firm in my preference. Accent-wise and more, somehow American comes in only a second for me. As it turns out, not just me. Malcolm Muggeridge, the English journalist and wit once joked - the last Englishman would be an Indian!

When I got a chance to visit Britain, on a 'holiday', mind you, I was in lingual heaven.

I went, I heard...

And realized with a hint of chagrin, that like me, my language too had gone to a new place. It took me a second to figure the words 'please get into the queue', and at least a couple before I could give my 'surname' to the hotel clerk, and then had to take a 'lift' to get to our hotel room. Taxis, not cabs were hailed in London. The Tube or Underground I managed as the only Subways in the UK are the kind that are eaten.

Plus there is a whole lot of slang unique to modern Britain that isn't lingua franca for us desis. We got a real kick out of ending our sentences with the ubiquitous 'yah' or 'innit'. As in 'We can go to Buckimgham Palace, yah?' Or 'A lovely day, innit?' So yes, hearing English in England was fun. But all through our trip, one question kept popping up.

Could the English language possibly be relocating, so to speak?

The Boston Tea Party is old hat, folks; Americans are well on their way to conquer this last British stronghold, or redefine it at the very least. Because as it happens, not just in India, but even in Britain the popular English TV channels are mostly from the US. In its home country, Wimbledon was anchored by McEnroe & Austin, and Mamma Mia seemed to be the most awaited movie. The castle guides may have dressed medievally but they sure knew their Yankees from their Red Sox; their Padres from the Predators.

But even so, our trip had endless lively moments, thanks to newspapers, tour guides, train conductors, co-passengers, hotel clerks - basically the English and their english.

Among the more flavorful - do excuse the pun - experiences was a sign on an English farm. It said - Horse manure for sale. Help yourself.