It has now been over 50 years since the British left our part of the world, their language stayed behind. The Americans and the Australians in the course of time have developed their version of English, the Americans have also changed the spellings and even the pronounciations of many words. So there is no reason why English as it is spoken in the streets be not accepted as the English of our country. Schools teach English - but it is a standard which does not conform to the way the language is actually spoken and written. Latin died as a spoken language because it was too rigid with its rules, only those languages survive which change, adapt and are flexible.
The standards of English set in Britain, USA are not the same as those in Pakistan. English can only survive if it adjusts to local conditions. There are so many words and phrases, which would make no sense 'proper English' for instance - "Don't eat my ears" and "Don't eat my brain" these are said regularly make perfect sense in Urdu and what the mean is 'stop nagging' or something to that effect. Words are repeated for instance 'Going, going", "Flying,flying" all these again make perfect sense in Urdu - but people do speak English this way here. What may be considered spelling mistakes are not really so, it is the way people pronounce the words which decide how the word is to be spelt.
What could pass as bad grammar, terrible spelling is not really so - I doubt very much if English literature would have developed if people had stuck to 16th Century English. The English dictionary would not have so many words if the language was stuck 400 years in the past. Every famous dramatist and novelist has invented words and grammatical styles to suit the stories they have told. So being a perfectionist in a language dooms it.
Pakistani English defective to those abroad, is a completely different language - it is not what is spoken Britain. The language the British speak today is not the same what they spoke fifty years ago. The meaning of words have changed over time, usage and even grammar to a certain extent. Spellings have also altered. So Pakistani English regardless of what the world may think about it, is a completely different language and it is high time people recognise it as bonafide language.
I wonder if anyone understood what I have just written.
The standards of English set in Britain, USA are not the same as those in Pakistan. English can only survive if it adjusts to local conditions. There are so many words and phrases, which would make no sense 'proper English' for instance - "Don't eat my ears" and "Don't eat my brain" these are said regularly make perfect sense in Urdu and what the mean is 'stop nagging' or something to that effect. Words are repeated for instance 'Going, going", "Flying,flying" all these again make perfect sense in Urdu - but people do speak English this way here. What may be considered spelling mistakes are not really so, it is the way people pronounce the words which decide how the word is to be spelt.
What could pass as bad grammar, terrible spelling is not really so - I doubt very much if English literature would have developed if people had stuck to 16th Century English. The English dictionary would not have so many words if the language was stuck 400 years in the past. Every famous dramatist and novelist has invented words and grammatical styles to suit the stories they have told. So being a perfectionist in a language dooms it.
Pakistani English defective to those abroad, is a completely different language - it is not what is spoken Britain. The language the British speak today is not the same what they spoke fifty years ago. The meaning of words have changed over time, usage and even grammar to a certain extent. Spellings have also altered. So Pakistani English regardless of what the world may think about it, is a completely different language and it is high time people recognise it as bonafide language.
I wonder if anyone understood what I have just written.
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