South Asian English phrasebook Voyage Tips and guide

South Asian English or Indian English is a group of English dialects spoken in South Asia, especially Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Despite being derived from British English, South Asian English differs from both British and American English not only in pronunciation but also in numbering system and vocabulary.

Perhaps the most common jibe about South Asian dialects is their use of "improper" grammar, which can sound strange to English speakers from other countries. It is often spoken with a strong accent, which varies depending on the speaker's native language, and incorporates several words from the local languages that are not used in other English dialects, which can make it tricky for non-native English speakers from elsewhere to understand. However, if spoken slowly, educated speakers of South Asian and non-South Asian varieties can understand each other.

South Asian accents vary depending on the prevailing native language spoken there, and many native English speakers may find them tricky to understand unless spoken slowly. There are some rules of thumb to notice.

"a" in "make"

Like a monophthong without the short "i" sound (IPA: eː).

"aw" in "dawn"

Like "o" in "not" (IPA: ɔ), similar to many American dialects. In some casual speech, both may be like "a" in "father" (IPA: aː), thus "nonsense" becoming "naansense".

"o" in "open"

Like a monophthong without the short "u" sound (IPA: oː).

"u" in "button"

Like "a" in "agenda" (IPA: ə). In Assam, Bengal and Odisha, both like "a" in "father" (IPA: aː).

"d" in "day"

Pronounced with the tongue tip curled back (IPA: ɖ).

"f" in "far"

In casual speech, like the "ph" in "uphill" (IPA: pʰ).

"f" in "of"

Takes the usual "f" sound instead of "v".

"gh" in "ghost"

May be pronounced with a puff of air (IPA: ɡʱ).

"h" in "hotel"

Voiced, like "h" in "behind" (IPA: ɦ).

"k" in "keep"

Like "k" in "skip" without the puff of air (IPA: k).

"p" in "pen"

Like "p" in "spin" without the puff of air (IPA: p).

"r" in "urgent"

May be silent like in British English (non-rhotic), although it's not universal.

"s" in "treasure"

Like "z" in "zoo" (IPA: z), "j" in "jar" (IPA: d͡ʒ), or in southern accents, like "sh" in "shore" (IPA: ʃ).

"t" in "top"

Like "t" in "stop" without the puff of air and the tongue tip curled back (IPA: ʈ).

"th" in "this

Like "d" in "day" with the tongue touching the teeth (IPA: d̪).

"th" in "thing

Like "t" in "top" with the tongue touching the teeth (IPA: t̪). In northern accents, it's pronounced with a puff of air (IPA: t̪ʰ).

"v" in "behave"

Like Spanish "vaca" without the lip rounding of "w" (IPA: ʋ), or in eastern accents, like "bh" in "abhor" (IPA: bʱ).

"w" in "water"

Like Spanish "vaca" without the lip rounding of "w" (IPA: ʋ).

"wh" in "where"

May be like "vh" in "have had" (IPA: ʋʱ).

"z" in "zoo"

In casual speech, may be like "j" in "jar" (IPA: d͡ʒ), or in deep southern accents, like "s" in "see" (IPA: s).

The phrase list only covers the words and phrases unique to South Asian English, though many of the native-English equivalents are also understood among South Asians.

Hello.

Namaste (nuh-muh-STAY) or Namaskar (nuh-muh-SKAHR).

What is your (formal) name? (as opposed to a nickname or a word of address)

What is your good name? (WHOT iz yohr GUD naym?)

Goodbye (informal).

Ta ta (tuh-TAH).

do what is necessary

do the needful (du dhuh NEED-full)

Police!

Police! (PU-lihss! or poh-LEESS!)

electric shock

current shock (cuh-REHNT shock)

Many South Asians don't use "million", "billion" or "trillion" to express numbers larger than a thousand, except in foreign currencies. Instead, they use their own numbering system, which can be a bit more confusing for numbers more than hundred million (ten crore), as the comma separation of larger numbers may or may not correspond to their names.

1,00,000 (hundred thousand)

lakh (LAHCK^H)

10,00,000 (million)

ten lakh (tehn LAHCK^H)

1,00,00,000 (ten million)

crore (KROHR)

10,00,00,000 (hundred million)

ten crore (tehn KROHR)

1,00,00,00,000 (billion)

hundred crore (HUHN-druhd krohr) or arab (UH-ruhb)

10,00,00,00,000 (ten billion)

thousand crore (THOW-zuhnd krohr) or ten arab (tehn UH-ruhb)

1,00,00,00,00,000 (hundred billion)

ten thousand crore (tehn THOW-zuhnd krohr) or kharab (K^HUH-ruhb)

10,00,00,00,00,000 (trillion)

lakh crore (LAHCK^H krohr) or ten kharab (tehn K^HUH-ruhb)

Sunday

Sunday (SUHN-day)

Monday

Monday (MUHN-day)

Tuesday

Tuesday (TYUZ-day)

Wednesday

Wednesday (WEHD-nuhz-day or WEHNZ-day)

Thursday

Thursday (THUHRZ-day)

Friday

Friday (FRIGH-day)

Saturday

Saturday (SAT-uhr-day)

January

January (JUHN-(yu-)wuh-ree)

February

February (FEHB-ruh-(wuh-)ree or FUHR-wuh-ree)

March

March (MAHRCH)

April

April (AYP-rihl or UHP-rihl)

May

May (MAY or MIGH)

June

June (JOON)

July

July (joo-LIGH or JOO-ligh)

August

August (AW-guhst or UH-guhst)

September

September (SEHP-tuhm-buhr or SIH-tuhm-buhr)

October

October (ok-TOH-buhr or uhk-TOO-buhr)

November

November (nuh-VUHM-buhr)

December

December (DIH-suhm-buhr)

train station

railway station (RAYL-way (ih-)STAY-shuhn) or just "station" ((ih-)STAY-shuhn)

bus station

bus stand (buhss (ih-)STAND)

footbridge

foot overbridge (foot OH-vuhr-brij) or FOB (ef-OH-bee)

Menus in South Asian restaurants are often written in English, but using Hindi-Urdu or other local names for dishes.

restaurant

hotel (HOH-tuhl or hoh-TEHL) or restaurant (REHS-to-ruhnt or REHS-tuh-ront)

lacto-ovo-vegetarian (vegetarian who accepts egg and milk)

eggetarian (eh-gih-tay-rih-uhn)

lunch

tiffin (TIH-fihn)

tea (meal)

tiffin (TIH-fihn)

aubergine or eggplant

brinjal (BRIHN-joll or BRIHN-juhll)

cardamom

elaichi (ih-LIGH-chee)

cauliflower

gob(h)i (GOH-b(^h)ee)

chicken

murgh (MURGH or MURG)

cottage cheese

paneer (puh-NEER)

goat meat

mutton (MUH-tuhn)

(green) vegetable

sabzi (suhb-ZEE)

okra

lady's finger (LAY-deez FIHNG-guhr) or bhindi (b^hihn-DEE)

potato

aloo (AH-loo)

sheep meat

lamb (lamb)

spice

masala (muh-SAH-lah)

yog(h)urt

curd (kuhrd) or dahi (duh-HEE)

lunchbox

tiffin carrier (TIH-fihn KUH-rih-yuhr) or dabba (DUHB-bah)

cabinet

almirah (uhl-MIGH-ruh)

fluorescent tube

tubelight (TYUB-light)

local beer (not imported)

country beer (KUHN-tree beer) or Desi beer (DAY-see beer)

gas (petrol) station

petrol pump (peht-ROHLL puhmp)

boot or trunk

dick(e)y (DIH-kee)

spare wheel

stepney (STEHP-nee)

invoice

challan (chah-LAHN)

redress

redressal (rih-DREHSS-uhl)

police

police (PU-lihss or poh-LEESS)

baton charge (to disperse the crowd)

lathicharge (lah-T^HEE-chahrj)

bullying

ragging (RAG-ing)

dormitory

hostel (HOSS-tuhl or hoss-TEHL)

graduate

pass out (PAHSS owt)

member of the same school class as another

batchmate (bach-MAYT)

film or movie

cinema (SIHN-uh-mah)

(movie) theater

cinema hall (SIHN-uh-mah holl)

conventional medicine

allopathy (uh-LOH-puh-thee)

dead

expired (ehck-SPIGHRD)

diarrh(o)ea

loose motion (looz MOH-shuhn)

(labour) strike

bandh (buhnd^h) or hartal (huhr-TAHLL)

(legislative) assembly

Vidhan Sabha (vih-D^HAHN suh-B^HAH) or assembly (uh-SEHMB-lee)

voting bloc

vote bank (voht BANCK)