Oh Language – a changing Scenario -5
Under this caption, we have been trying to spot certain incongruities in
our approach while writing or speaking –be it one’s mother tongue or something
else. Much of this gets into our habit more by imitating or by accepting what
another person said on an occasion. Either of them is not infallible in the
sense that a language ought to be used in the way that the natives of that
language typically employ it. Our mere perception of a word need not mean what
it seems to suggest. An example that can simply destroy our ‘perceived’ meaning
is “INTELLIGIBLE”. I request our readers to mention as to what they understand
as its meaning. The meaning I seek from our readers is what they feel and not
what Dictionaries suggest. I would wait till the next posting due for
Sunday next.
Not that only Indians fail to use appropriate terms but settle for
convenience even at the risk of being erroneous. The very language has word coinages
that mean something not easy to infer from component segments of a word.
Look at the terms - DRESSED CHICKEN, DRESSED STONE
Either of them has one thing in common. The two are ‘stripped off ’ their
natural surface possessions and named Dressed Chicken/Dressed stone; honestly
they are undressed having been stripped off their natural possessions.
SANCTIONS
The term ‘Sanction’ has two different and opposed meanings –as permitting
or preventing/blocking .
We are quite familiar with this term referring to some stringent measure
of preventing financial assistance to a specific development effort. There is a
‘stoppage’ of help but named ‘Sanction’ though the event prevents what had
already been sanctioned. How often we-[Indians] look to our higher authority
for sanctioning of ‘leave’ or ‘loan’ to celebrate a domestic function. When the
authority says “sanctioned” there is glee around. Both forms of sanction are
used in official contexts though carrying far opposed meanings. How US
authorities use ‘sanctions’ is perplexing because the word sanction has
synonyms – Approval, permission, Ratification, Endorsement all of which mean a positive acceptance or nod. I may look odd
in my perception, but am I too wrong?
The following usages are confined to specific geographic territories like
TN or parts of the state
DIFFERENT LEVEL
This is a frequent expression liberally prevalent among Chennaiites who
admire taste of eatables as of a ‘different level’. They imply the quality of
the stuff being higher. But, there is nothing to suggest anything higher or
lower; still it is meant as a positive adoration, though even something
‘substandard’ could be cryptically commented for being at a ‘different level’
MASS
Another state-wide [TN] exclamation is ‘mass’. I don’t get it right
because it lacks clarity of any aspect related to the expression. The term
refers to a large group of people or something in terms of volume or number.
But, the youth in TN choose to call somebody –a mass which inadvertently,
suggests the reference to a large unwieldy [obese] looks of the person
NO CHANCE
This is another Chennai patent to declare on and off ‘no chance’ [uttered in vernacular chaansey kidaiyaadhu [சான்ஸே கிடையாது ]. It is a funny substitute for ‘impossible’. Why I call it funny is, chance comes as an unforeseen opportunity and none has the freedom to cast a spell on someone else’s opportunity to succeed.
SUPER
It is another expression devoid of “head and tail”. Simply “super” is let
out in near ecstasy with no -prefix or suffix.
Anything is rated ‘super’ more as a habitual mannerism than with any
specific reason. When, one person says yesterday the train reached Chennai on
dot [7.30 pm] the other man says “super”. What is super about it? At times language too turns an act of reflex.
It is not my mission to keep picking holes; but, a sense of caution in
choice of words would do a world of good in upkeep of one’s image.
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