I enjoy hearing new words, and old words in new contexts -- India has one of the largest populations in the world of English speakers, so naturally they have developed some unique characteristics. When we lived in India, my favorite new word was "preponed" -- the opposite of postponed. And our family's favorite saying was "it is just coming", typically expressed by a vendor who wants to keep his customer happy, regardless of the actual whereabouts of the package. Here in Qatar we hear more as well: Yesterday on the telephone I was making an appointment to have the car checked, and reported the current mileage as one-one-four-thousand. He responded "one lakh fourteen thousand, yes?". I didn't miss a beat. "Yes: one lakh four thousand" . (yes, technically, "lakh" is Hindi for the hundred-thousand unit; but it is viewed as universal in India) And today I receive this tweet from a colleague in my church choir: AVOI...
Thoughts on education, technology, and culture, during an international career.