ENGLISH THE LANGUAGE I ADORE

All of us are a confused lot over 'correct' vocabulary , pronunciation grammar etc let us examine the word 'psychiatry" now how is this pronunced 'sai kia a tree or 'sai kee at ree ' and the sentences we use daily - is it wrong to say ' i will revert back" or should I say " I will revert" as revert means coming back. We are confused every time we use a sentence for the fear of grammatical error but all the same we need to communicate to make people understand what we think and what we need others to think and act - all is COMMUNICATION

Let me pull a few leaves from my own life:

The first thing - thinking laterally - on the language started at my school - the St Garbriel's Matriculation School Broadway - where there was one Rev Father Vadachery - credit goes to him for the good language we his students are cherished with - who used to teach us with a Latin transcript on the one hand and Wren & Martin - do guys remember the very popular blue and red book we used during school days - on the other. Yes we were only able to catch a few tips out of his bag at that time - thinking back I felt bored then but today I am grateful I was blessed with a person like Rev Father Vadacherry - I am few of my classmates who has a chance to read my blog will agree without an iota of hesitation - HATS OFF TO HIM AND THE SCHOOL WE WERE IN AS WHATEVER WE ARE TODAY IT IS BECAUSE OF YOU AND THE SCHOOL.

The next thing which happened to me was way back in the 1970s when i was privileged to work with a person Mr S S Rajan by name used to tell me that communication being a powerful tool should be used very simple he always used to say that we should communicate thinking the receiver of your communication is a fool - he never meant it mind you - but said that your language should b e simple, firm and good. I was a stenographer then and I always used to admire for the flow the language English that too dictating for numerous pages on simple sentences without usage of any 'conjunction' is an art and I have yet to see another person of that calibre today. I had always wanted to copy his style of simple non-conjunction sentences but I would confess that I had miserably failed - LONG LIVE SIR
I would fail in duty if I do not mention yet another personality in Mr N Sankar the MD of Chemplast with whom I have had the privilege to work too. A meticulous time conscious man - one should get taught on adoption of time and motion from this great personality - and a person who attaches more importance to language right from addressing a person. It is here I was made to learn - which I practice too to a great extent - that nick names should not be addressed with the prefix "Mr". GOD BLESS YOU WITH GOOD HEALTH SIR

I cant NEVER forget these personalities and remain ever grateful to them through out my life for excellent education on the language that we use in our daily routines and how we should communicate to make people understand what we want to convey in a clear and concise manner.

Let us examine a few tips:

1. Increasing exposure to English language print and audiovisual media is a good
place to start with. English being a language with more than 2 lakhs words
and is rapidly expanding hence stumbling upon a new word is common. To fully
know a word - besides searching its meaning in dictionaries - we should. as
linguists suggest, to use it at least for a period of seven days, so don't be
afraid to experiment.

2. Pronunciation is a complex area to improve. Good dictionary may
suggest 'stress' on certain syllables while on line dictionaries may include
sound files to listen to. However, beware of words such as 'conflict' that are
pronunced differently according to whether they are verbs [con con-FLICT] or
noun [CON flict].

3 Fluency is often confused with speed but they are not the same. Indeed, slowing
the pace of your speaking may improve clarity. Recording yourself speaking in a
discussion and then listening back to it, will help identify areas of
improvement . Involve friends In this exercise if possible.

English is an excellent language with amazingly only 26 alphabets in it. It can be shaped and customised as you would like to without in any way destroying the sanctity of the language - a language which is the on;y means of communicating globally.

LONG LIVE ENGLISH!!!!!!!