- Joined
- Mar 24, 2005
- Messages
- 352
- Reaction score
- 0
One of the most important factors in being successful is communication. When you are in a country other than your own, its most essential to know the local lingo for the common things.
Lets all make a list of the American way of putting things that we do differently,regardless of which country each one of us comes from:
In India,
1) I would say "I gave the exam" while here it is said "I took the exam"
2) I would say "I passed out in 2003", here its "I graduated in 2003"
3) I would say "I have a prostho practical", here its "I have lab" while practical implies "test"
4) I would say "Where do I trash the plate", while here its "Where is the trash" I believe "I thrased the plate" means "I dirtied the plate"
5) I would say "He cribs a lot" for some one who is always negative and complains about everything. Here crib is a noun for baby's crib or even your own den/room(Correct me if I am wrong)
6) I would say "Click on this link", while here its "You want to click on this link"
7) I would say "Thank you very much", while here its "I appreciate that very much." I think the senior dentists in India would have got mad at me if I would have told them "I appreciate the fact that you are letting me observe" I guess there,the senior generation "appreciates" what the juniors do, while here generation does not matter. In fact, its almost essential to say "I appreciate...." to express your gratitude.
8) Dicky/trunk= boot
9) Stepney=spare
10) Petrol would almost always be called gas but a lot of people also use the term Petrol here.
11) Staff in India implied the treachers, while here the teaching people are called "faculty" and the administrative people are called "staff". A lot of people would stare at me when I would say "Dr. XYZ is a staff member at ABC school". They could never understand why some one who is a Dr is a staff and not faculty.
12) Waiters are called "servers/helpers" here
13) The people who are called "Servants" in state run schools in India are called "Clinical Assistants" here. I personally hated the term "Servants" in India and always called them "mama" or "sister/madam"
14) Post-graduate students are called Residents since they are doing their Residency and not Post graduation.
15) And last but not the least, no one wants to use the word "rubber" for eraser here. If you want to see what happens, watch "American Desi". My all-time favourite movie along with Dil Chahta Hai.
Any one else care to contribute? Corrections are most welcome.
I am sure this will benefit all of us a lot.
Incidentally, I don't know what you all feel about talking in an accent but I think the funniest thing for me is to hear an Indian talk in an American accent. What is the funniest part of that is when he/she forgets to use the accent and goes back to the "Indian accent", then realizes after 5 mins and comes back to the US accent.
Incidentally, I am a proud Indian,so no one needs to get offended by any statement I make.
Lets all make a list of the American way of putting things that we do differently,regardless of which country each one of us comes from:
In India,
1) I would say "I gave the exam" while here it is said "I took the exam"
2) I would say "I passed out in 2003", here its "I graduated in 2003"
3) I would say "I have a prostho practical", here its "I have lab" while practical implies "test"
4) I would say "Where do I trash the plate", while here its "Where is the trash" I believe "I thrased the plate" means "I dirtied the plate"
5) I would say "He cribs a lot" for some one who is always negative and complains about everything. Here crib is a noun for baby's crib or even your own den/room(Correct me if I am wrong)
6) I would say "Click on this link", while here its "You want to click on this link"
7) I would say "Thank you very much", while here its "I appreciate that very much." I think the senior dentists in India would have got mad at me if I would have told them "I appreciate the fact that you are letting me observe" I guess there,the senior generation "appreciates" what the juniors do, while here generation does not matter. In fact, its almost essential to say "I appreciate...." to express your gratitude.
8) Dicky/trunk= boot
9) Stepney=spare
10) Petrol would almost always be called gas but a lot of people also use the term Petrol here.
11) Staff in India implied the treachers, while here the teaching people are called "faculty" and the administrative people are called "staff". A lot of people would stare at me when I would say "Dr. XYZ is a staff member at ABC school". They could never understand why some one who is a Dr is a staff and not faculty.
12) Waiters are called "servers/helpers" here
13) The people who are called "Servants" in state run schools in India are called "Clinical Assistants" here. I personally hated the term "Servants" in India and always called them "mama" or "sister/madam"
14) Post-graduate students are called Residents since they are doing their Residency and not Post graduation.
15) And last but not the least, no one wants to use the word "rubber" for eraser here. If you want to see what happens, watch "American Desi". My all-time favourite movie along with Dil Chahta Hai.
Any one else care to contribute? Corrections are most welcome.
I am sure this will benefit all of us a lot.
Incidentally, I don't know what you all feel about talking in an accent but I think the funniest thing for me is to hear an Indian talk in an American accent. What is the funniest part of that is when he/she forgets to use the accent and goes back to the "Indian accent", then realizes after 5 mins and comes back to the US accent.
Incidentally, I am a proud Indian,so no one needs to get offended by any statement I make.
