October 13, 2011
ANGLOSPHERISM IS OFFICIAL:
Hinglish is official (Times of India, Oct 14, 2011)The home ministry's decision to let bureaucrats use English words in the Devnagari script while making notes, instead of reaching for overly formal Hindi equivalents, is an excellent one. It liberates the bureaucracy from the pressures of undue Sanskritisation, letting it absorb and respond to far more normal, everyday language. Hopefully, it will also help our bureaucrats liberate themselves from the high priest-like status that accompanies a stiffly ceremonial vocabulary.The move saves work-time too, babus previously searching high and low for Hindi translations of terms like 'rainwater harvesting' and 'deforestation'. Few people are likely to have words like 'varsha-jal sanrakshan' or 'nirvanikaran' trembling on the tips of their rhetorical tongues. Babus shouldn't have to spend a good proportion of their time trawling through dictionaries for precise translations - ironically, incomprehensible to most recipients.
The home ministry's move is also a nod of recognition to the freedom and fun of language itself.
Posted by oj at October 13, 2011 4:10 PM
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