Defence Colony?

Name of a neighborhood (a locality) 

Its simple- Try google earth in your phone & type -" defence colony delhi india"


Elsewhere when you wrote to someone that if she learns English in India then only Indians will be able to understand her english, I thought you would be having "Correct" English in your grasp to be able to come & make that advisory comment with authority...



But to see you wrote "neighbor" above instead of "neighborhood" shows that the comment was just making fun of little educated Indians who try to pickup the language while working abroad in countries like gulf in low paid jobs...

Once you come to Delhi, you will know where your English language skills stand vis-a-vis a a proper educated in 2nd or 3rd language skill of an Indian in English.

Staying in gulf with many of my countrymen in large numbers doing low paid or low skill jobs fills many expats there with a funny contempt towards things Indian...


Hope you take above in right spirit & enjoy your Delhi stay.

(& no I'm not an expert in this language, just learned some of it by default as a compulsory subject in school)

Have a nice day

Re "Defence Colony," of course it's a neighborhood  and of course I have used Google Earth for years.  What I really wanted to know is is it more than that?  It's a strange name for a residential area; I thought it might be more of a governmental area.


Moving on, 'neighbor' (leaving off the 'hood') was simply a typo--I usually reread my posts but I didn't this time and there was an error.  Boo hoo  

So, your knickers are apparently in quite a twist.  For you to say I am making fun of 'little educated' Indians is waaaaaaaaay out of line.  I know plenty of HIGHLY educated Indians  both in Saudi Arabia and in the USA and it's a very difficult accent.  If you want to deny this, go ahead.

But let me give you an example you might understand and not distort.  What if the woman had asked about taking a Hindi course any place other than India and with someone other than a native speaker?  If I said she needed to go to the source of the language to get the right accent and pronunciation, would it be ridiculing the 'little educated' to give this advice?

Think about it.

You are silly and idiot, Alliecat

keanu wrote:

You are silly and idiot, Alliecat

You are stupid and a fool,keanu

Alliecat wrote:

I know plenty of HIGHLY educated Indians  both in Saudi Arabia and in the USA and it's a very difficult accent.  If you want to deny this, go ahead.

I would differ a bit, its not Difficult, its Different. And you would find people from each and every country has a DIFFERENT accent about any language.

Language should be correct, Accent can be anything !!

keanu wrote:

You are silly and idiot, Alliecat

C'mon Buddy Show some Respect !! We are here to share opinions and if you found any of her comment offensive, do let her know !!

saimans wrote:

Alliecat wrote:

I know plenty of HIGHLY educated Indians  both in Saudi Arabia and in the USA and it's a very difficult accent.  If you want to deny this, go ahead.

I would differ a bit, its not Difficult, its Different. And you would find people from each and every country has a DIFFERENT accent about any language.

Language should be correct, Accent can be anything !!

The purpose of language is to communicate!  If people can't understand what you are saying due to your accent/pronunciation, you are NOT communicating.

Now let me say this, something I have always complimented Saudis for is they have a very clear accent and good pronunciation, even complete beginners.  Only issue they have is the 'p' and 'b' thing   But they KNOW it and laugh about it.  Certainly nothing to deny or be ashamed of.

That said, there are sounds in Arabic I just can't make so I know MY pronunciation can be terrible.  I'm not defensive.  There's just no need to be.

saimans wrote:

keanu wrote:

You are silly and idiot, Alliecat

C'mon Buddy Show some Respect !! We are here to share opinions and if you found any of her comment offensive, do let her know !!

Denial is a river in Egypt

Alliecat wrote:

The purpose of language is to communicate!  If people can't understand what you are saying due to your accent/pronunciation, you are NOT communicating.

From you comment it feel that PEOPLE are only Americans !!

So Exactly my whole point is, If an Indian is going to America, he/she should practice American Accent or try to understand that accent and if an American is going to India, he/she should practice Indian Accent.. In order that the people of that local area can understand you and communicate freely.

Now if you say an American is on a visit to India and wants that everyone should have an American accent or for that matter any other place, then That's not a game !!

saimans wrote:

Alliecat wrote:

The purpose of language is to communicate!  If people can't understand what you are saying due to your accent/pronunciation, you are NOT communicating.

From you comment it feel that PEOPLE are only Americans !!

So Exactly my whole point is, If an Indian is going to America, he/she should practice American Accent or try to understand that accent and if an American is going to India, he/she should practice Indian Accent.. In order that the people of that local area can understand you and communicate freely.

Now if you say an American is on a visit to India and wants that everyone should have an American accent or for that matter any other place, then That's not a game !!

Plenty of Brits have problems, too .. and Saudi's complain they can't understand.. and, in fact, my Pakistani friend gets lost with the Indian accent too, at times.

I don't understand why this is such a *sensitive* issue.  Undoubtedly I will learn a bit of Hindi and undoubtedly my pronunciation will be terrible!  I'll try hard to do it right but many (most? lol) people probably won't understand me.  Should I be defensive?  Should I claim my accent is perfect and only *Dehli* people don't understand me?   Nope!  I'll just try my best and when people laugh at me, I'll laugh along with them

One time, I was referring to Saudi guy I know.  But somehow I misprounced his last name, and instead of saying it correctly I called him Abdullah the thief !!!!!  Was I angry that people laughed?  Hell no.  Was he angry that I screwed up and called him a thief?  Hell no.  What happened then?  We all had a good laugh!

Alliecat wrote:

I'll just try my best and when people laugh at me, I'll laugh along with them

saimans wrote:

Alliecat wrote:

I'll just try my best and when people laugh at me, I'll laugh along with them

YES!  You see, nothing to get upset and defensive about

Welcome to India Allie Cat........you are leaving the land of the "P's" and "B's" and coming to the land of "V's" and "W's" and I am not referring to Volkawagen.

Like Saudi......there is a language "thing" here in India with "W" beging pronounced as "V" and vice-versa.

As for Defence Colony, many "neighbor" "hoods" in Delhi are named after the "occupation" of the inhabitants.......some are governmental housing areas......etc.

Your question was reasonable......I have been in India for 4 years now and have managed not to offend anyone as much as you unintentionally managed to do with a simple "typo".

If you are arriving before November you will be able to experience your first "Diwali"....the festival of lights......pronounced DiVali".......

Welcome......or perhaps I should type "VELCOME".

Cheers

llauland wrote:

Welcome to India Allie Cat........you are leaving the land of the "P's" and "B's" and coming to the land of "V's" and "W's" and I am not referring to Volkawagen.

Like Saudi......there is a language "thing" here in India with "W" beging pronounced as "V" and vice-versa.

As for Defence Colony, many "neighbor" "hoods" in Delhi are named after the "occupation" of the inhabitants.......some are governmental housing areas......etc.

Your question was reasonable......I have been in India for 4 years now and have managed not to offend anyone as much as you unintentionally managed to do with a simple "typo".

If you are arriving before November you will be able to experience your first "Diwali"....the festival of lights......pronounced DiVali".......

Welcome......or perhaps I should type "VELCOME".Cheers

Hey there, llaulandd,  thanks for the welcome!

Speaking of v's and w's, this is quite common in Eastern Europe, too, so no big deal. The problem many of us have with understanding Indian pronunciation is with the stress, rhythm and intonation.  Something as simple as "b for p" or "v for w" isn't an issue for me.

As for offending thin-skinned people, hell, I don't care.  It's their problem, not mine (and why he would think omitting 'hood' has anything to do with my pronunciation?  Well, your guess is as good as mine!).

Thanks for the info on the Defence Colony--you answered my question

And actually, my yoga class celebrated Diwali last year.  It was enjoyable but I'm sure the 'real thing' in the 'real place' is much, much better.

I must say one thing.. Allie Aka Cat.. you did manage to stir up the hornets nest..

I guess a Visit to India will help.. and as for my Indian friends.. a visit to europe will help...

Been places where they would not speak any of the languages.. I know... but have still managed to secure food and a decent place to sleep.

heck .. I was just trying to find a decent place to drink up ...and where did I land up,.. And then me being me.. I had to  poke me nose in this fight..

But keep it up.. looks *phun*

DecIImaL aka me ..