The zigzagged red under-lines in a Word document is as annoying as any
that one can imagine. And, specially, for us Indians, who’ve, from the time the
English have been here, followed the English way of English, enamoured (now,
there’s one!) with their style of spelling and pronunciation.
Licence is license , authorise is authorize, enamour is enamor, colour
is color (now, there are as many!); though the pronunciation is the same,
accent may not be very dissimilar. Now, for the boys and girls from the BPOs,
KPOs, etc., schedule is skedule, who look at us weirdly when we stick to our
shedule, as if we’re from another world!
An English language teacher is ardently remembered, and my father’s
critiques are often recalled – one who described the language as a funny
language, and rightly so; the other anecdotally demonstrated teachers are
always right – a lesson to take the funny statements seriously!
Cat and cricket while having a creaky vocal beginning, circus weirdly
has both a hissing sound and a creaky one, too! Gigantic is both jigantic in
the UK and jijantic in the US! Weird? No. There’s more.
Weigh is wei, tough is tuf. U is pronounced differently in cut and put.
Why the f in twelfth, whereas there isn’t in any other numbers?
Whereas, love is actually luf, and oven is actually ufun.
Can’t, don’t, won’t may be an established wont, but ain’t is not, yet
you get a red zigzag! Don’t know is dunno. Going to is gonna. Want to is wanna.
And all those slangs get red-marked!
Spelled is spelt also. And learned is learnt as well! But, this, only
the learned people know, thus learnt the people!
And so is cheque check; chequered checkered!
Spell
cheque? Or check?
