February 2022

Regional Translation Errors India is a land where almost 60% of the population speaks English. However, the quality of English spoken here isn’t the best. And one of the primary reasons for this is, that most Indians tend to think in their native language and attempt a direct translation into English. More often than not, this leads to some hilarious instances of communication. The grammatical format of our native languages is unique, and no matter what you do, it’s impossible to have a correct, direct translation into English. And yet people continue to make the same mistakes over & over. Here are two common (and funny) examples: 1. “I woke up morning morning” – (I woke up early in the morning). 2. “I has a lot many questions” – (I have a lot of questions). Considering the fact that India is known to be the Information & Technology hub of the world, it means we are in conversation with people globally. Various cultures, different accents, multiple styles of speaking, so on and so forth. Hence, it is imperative that we are excellent at our communication, articulation and styles of expressing what we intend to say. One of the most effective ways of improving on regional translation errors is to read. Pick up the newspaper every morning, pick up a book that isn’t too heavy on language, read it to yourself in front of a mirror. And while you are doing this, make notes. This helps in achieving a few goals at the same time. You are understanding and strengthening your vocabulary, you are focusing on how words are articulated while using them, and you are learning the correct way to string words into meaningful sentences.