'Also add some capsicum please!' said I, a while ago in a Subway outlet in Oregon state to a lady preparing my sub. 'You mean...the bell peppers????' said she, pausing, stretching her words slowly, with wide eyes, as if she has heard of some freaking new vegetable! 'Ummm yes, bell peppers', I said now pointing to the chopped green vegetable, & silently cursing my primary school English teachers for not having taught me the international 'angrezi' synonym for 'shimla mirch'!!! Since then, whenever I see a Subway outlet, 'bell peppers' flash for a moment in my head!
When it comes to 'Angrezi' (English), Americans have fixed words for things. Such deep is the fixation in their vocabulary that they are amusingly baffled even if they hear a synonym of those fixed words! Its typical of them to take a while to understand what has been referred to. Its different from India in the sense that, of course desi people follow British English, but we also tend to use a 'range' of words for identifying a thing. This may be attributed to the fact 'Angrezi' is our second language and that we refer to a thing by the very first word that sprouts up for it in our minds that moment.
For example, if we want to refer to a 3 bedroom-hall-kitchen home in a high rise, we may use a variety of words like 'flat' or 'apartment' or even '2-bhk'/'3-bhk'. But people here simply call it an apartment or a condo. So if one did not use these two words here, he/she has a high chance of landing up in a question loop - 'Flat? what is flat? why do you call an apartment flat? Isn't a surface flat!', forget mentioning how many 'bhk' it is!
This international 'you mean...??' confusion in the still-not-standardized international language sometimes leads to hilarious or embarrassing consequences. So don't worry if landing up in one when in US because, 'Bura na mano, English hai'!
I have been noting down such discrepancies which I have encountered and here they are:
Format: Indian noun/phrase - American noun/phrase.(+extra notes)
When it comes to 'Angrezi' (English), Americans have fixed words for things. Such deep is the fixation in their vocabulary that they are amusingly baffled even if they hear a synonym of those fixed words! Its typical of them to take a while to understand what has been referred to. Its different from India in the sense that, of course desi people follow British English, but we also tend to use a 'range' of words for identifying a thing. This may be attributed to the fact 'Angrezi' is our second language and that we refer to a thing by the very first word that sprouts up for it in our minds that moment.
For example, if we want to refer to a 3 bedroom-hall-kitchen home in a high rise, we may use a variety of words like 'flat' or 'apartment' or even '2-bhk'/'3-bhk'. But people here simply call it an apartment or a condo. So if one did not use these two words here, he/she has a high chance of landing up in a question loop - 'Flat? what is flat? why do you call an apartment flat? Isn't a surface flat!', forget mentioning how many 'bhk' it is!
This international 'you mean...??' confusion in the still-not-standardized international language sometimes leads to hilarious or embarrassing consequences. So don't worry if landing up in one when in US because, 'Bura na mano, English hai'!
I have been noting down such discrepancies which I have encountered and here they are:
Format: Indian noun/phrase - American noun/phrase.(+extra notes)
- Capsicum - Bell peppers. (Any color)
- Brinjal - Eggplant. (Any size)
- Lady Finger - Okra.
- Green chillies - Thai green chillies. (The typical small ones. Green chillies of different sizes have different names here unlike in India where anything which looks like a green chilly no matter how big or small is well, a green chilly for us!)
- Coriander leaves - Cilantro leaves.
- Pulses - Lentils.
- Curd - Yogurt.
- Tomato sauce - Ketchup.
- Toffee - Candy.
- Biscuits - Biscotti/ Cookies.
- Flat - Apartment/Condo.
- Balcony - Patio.
- Almirah - Closet.
- Tap - Faucet.
- Letter box - Mail box.
- Queue - Line. (yup, even such a basic one is an eyebrow raiser!)
- Polythene bag - Plastic bag.
- Bus stand - Bus terminal.
- Petrol - Gas.
- Challan - Ticket.
- Can you drive a manual car? - Can you drive a stick?
- Take away - To go.
- Stall(cloth piece worn around neck) - Scarf.
- Blanket - Comforter.
- Center table - Coffee table.
- Settee - Ottoman.
Some more (added later):
- Bill (in restaurants) - Cheque.
- Ground floor - First floor! (yup, there are no ground floors hereee!)
- Lift - Elevator.
