Voice of Vin Sinners | Vinyl, Coffee & Cigars | Defense Contractor | Former F1 Radio show host | Patriot
Jun 20 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
My thread on the English language issue. Make what you want of it. But...
There’s an unspoken pressure that still hangs heavy over India—an outdated colonial hangover that equates fluency in English with intelligence, class, and success. While English remains a key tool in diplomacy, business, and global integration, it's time we questioned the pedestal on which it’s been placed in Indian society.
The Power of Speaking in One’s Own Tongue
Take a look at the world stage. China’s Xi Jinping almost exclusively speaks Mandarin. Russia’s Vladimir Putin speaks in Russian. France’s Emmanuel Macron prefers French. Even Japan’s Shinzo Abe, throughout his leadership, stuck to Japanese. Their refusal to default to English hasn't limited their influence—it has enhanced it. Speaking in their native tongues is not an act of defiance—it is a declaration of pride in identity.
contd...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a living example. His speeches are often delivered in Hindi, sometimes translated live in real time at global summits. Yet, few can argue that he's failed to build global rapport. From cozying up with U.S. Presidents to leading the Global South discourse, Modi has shown that it’s not your vocabulary, but your vision, that earns respect.
The Accent Anxiety
One of the most troubling manifestations of India’s English obsession is the internalized mockery of the Indian accent. Ironically, we ridicule ourselves for not sounding “British” or “American,” even though the English language itself wears many coats.
Consider the Scottish accent—thick, musical, and to many, indecipherable. Even native English speakers often struggle to follow Glaswegian dialects. Then there’s the American South, where the Southern drawl is miles apart from a New Yorker’s clipped delivery. Add to that the rich, expressive speech patterns of African American Vernacular English (AAVE)—a dialect with roots in resilience and culture that is, sadly, still judged unfairly.
Do the Scots mock each other for their accent? Does a Texan ridicule another for not sounding like someone from Boston? Absolutely not. Then why do so many Indians scoff at a Malayalam- or Bengali-tinged English?
Am I the only one who thinks that social media has further amplified negative sentiments more than anything positive. Am gonna go out on a limb and say that it's not far when some nonsense on Twitter actually kicks off a war! Is that really what we've come down to?... #Thread#RT
Where is the objectivity in any of it? Where's the tolerance that we could so do with at this point? Whatever happened to 'Live & Let Live'... These battles, these rants that cause counter rants, these sanctimonious tirades that measure up to nothing... #Thread#RT
