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Hi Faldage, I did a search in google and look what i came up with:
<url>http://www.route79.com/journal/archives/000084.html</url>
Now, if only there were people named Aloo Gobi.
I could help you, if you have specific Indian names in mind.
>Somehow I don't think they have a Ll in Hindi.
I do not know how the Welsh Ll is pronounced, but we have different L sounds in different Indian languages; only one L sound Hindi, though.
>How many Indian villages have Jones the Baker or Jones the Taxi?
:) Hi, Capf.
>shtosh - I'll take the Welsh "Ll" over Hindi's flapped aspirated retroflex consonants any day.
Hi, Mr. Traitor Max.
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(Thankyou for your help over at the grammar post, TEd)
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Carpal Tunnel
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>Mr. Traitor Max Nothing personal, Avy. It's just that Sri Rama will marry Ravana before my poor tongue gets the hang of these 3: http://snipurl.com/dkqr-mq42
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Carpal Tunnel
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Thanks Avy.
We do have some names in particular but we're in a situation where they're going to be coming at us faster and faster. Two that I can think of right off hand are Vishruth (who I spoke to on the phone just yesterday so I know how it's pronounced) and Verma. Another question, if an Indian man refers to himself as, say, Vishruth, do I call him Vishruth or is there some honorific that I would use when talking to him? In Japanese, for example, I would call myself Faldage but others would call me Faldage-san. I would never refer to myself as Faldage-san, however.
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> I would never refer to myself as Faldage-san Glad to hear it, we'd think you were clean round the bend. http://www.deosan.co.nz/
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we'd think you were clean round the bend. We don't?
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Ahem!
I might be around the bend but I don't think I'm clean.
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old hand
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Vishruth: "V" as in Victory; "Vish" as in "Fish", "Ruth" as in the name, only the vowel sound is not long - the vowel sound in "ruth" would be similar to the vowel sound in "put".
Verma: This is a common North Indian Surname. "V" as in Victory. "erm" as in the "orm" of worm - except you HAVE to roll your R when you pronounce "erm". The final "a" as in "far". The name would sound like "Vurrmaa"
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Regarding the honorific: Yes, Indians do have an honorific, but it is almost never used when the language of conversation is English. In the Indian corporate circles (where the language of communication is largely Indian English), the mode of address is Mr. Faldage's Surname or if on a first name basis, Faldage. If you refer to the man as Vishruth-ji, while speaking English, it would sound affected and odd. On the other hand, if you are speaking in Hindi and you refer to him as Vishruth, it would sound rude. Then you would use Vishruth-ji (for a more or less equal status) or Vishruth-saab (if the man worthy of more respect than "ji" offers). "Saab" is the short form of Saheb or Sahib.
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So, Faldage Saab, I do not mind being your consultant, and helping you with Indian names and customs, as and when you need it - except my services would, of course, come with a price: help with English grammar as and when I need it? :). It is very "win-win" offer.
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If you do want to use "ji", you can attach it to either the surname or the first name as per the formality of the relationship. Firstnameji is slightly less formal than Surnameji.
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The use of "ji", being Hindi, is more prevalent in North India. India is so large and diverse that if you miss out, it does not matter, because what is custom in one part of the country might not be a custom in the other part.
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I hope this helps.
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Thank you, Avy. One question about Vishruth, however. I spoke to him on the phone after posing the question here and the 'th' didn't sound like the 'th' in Ruth, the English name, just like a plain 't'. My understanding is that, except in the strings 'ch' and 'sh', the 'h' indicates aspiration.
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There are four t's in Hindi and other Devanagri languages.
1. T- as in tea (tip of the tongue to back of the teeth. This is the plain English "T" as in "team".)
2. Th - The same as above, pronounced with an explosion - produced with the tip of the tongue to the teeth ridge but letting out a lot of trapped air - I cannot think of an English analogy for this sound. Just pronounce "tea" letting out all your anger on the T sound. Yes, I know - I didn't get the phonetics prize.
3. Th - place mid tongue to the back of the teeth. I cannot think of an analogy for this, but it is the th in think but without an aspirative/explosive sound.
4. Th - place mid tongue on the teeth ridge and produce an explosive sound: as in "Think" or "thought".
The "h" does indicate aspiration but not excluisively. In in Devanagri there are diferent kinds of aspiration, depending upon which part of the tongue you place on which part of the palate. In Indian names, "th" is used for all, but the first T sound. Also "t" is not used exclusively for the 1st category. For rxample in the name "Vasant" the "t" is of the third category.
In Vishruth, the "Th" sound is of the third category (so maybe the Ruth analogy was wrong. Sorry, I am finding out that I am not too good at this.)
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I searched for aspiration+phonetics and came across this site: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/a/as/aspiration_(phonetics).htm
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Sorry, I am finding out that I am not too good at this.
Sometimes, the hardest language to explain is one's own.
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