Today morning I read an article in a Marathi daily about the mistakes that we Indians do while writing and speaking English. Among other mistakes, the author had pointed out how we tend to use "concerned people" when we actually mean "people concerned". But there was one mistake that she had left out - the confusion between 'lose' and 'loose'. Another such pair is 'quite' and 'quiet'.

The article mentioned how Lord Macaulay's books were banned in India by the British so as to keep the Indians from learning the correct use of their language. When I read this, I wondered if I could read these books now to improve my knowledge of the language. I don't particularly relish the thought of negotiating again through the maze of gerunds, infinitives, prepositions and tenses - which are a hazy memory from school days. Some might also say that there is no need to speak the language as the British do. After all, aren't the Americans getting by just fine without speaking British English? :-)

I remember an incident that happened just last week. I was speaking with a customer representative in a bank branch. While we were waiting for the photocopies ('xerox' in Indian parlance!) of some documents which I had just signed, she asked me what I do for a living. I told her that I am a software consultant. She remarked that computers were like white elephants to her. For a moment, I was stumped. 'White elephant', according to me, means something which is too expensive to maintain and not particularly useful. I am sure that in this day and age, computers don't fit that description. What she probably meant was that computers are like Greek and Latin to her!

Years ago, while working in the US, I once used the word "crib" as verb while speaking with my American boss. He got confused. Tongue-in-cheek, he remarked that crib is a noun and used to denote a thing where babies are kept. I enlightened him and said that in India 'crib' can also be a verb and mean 'to complain'.

I wonder what Lord Macaulay would have said to this! :-)