Spell-check

Dedicated to all those people whose spellings I have corrected at least once in the past. ;)

Okay, I admit it… I have a big pet peeve when people intentionally misspell words because they're lazy. I understand the concept when it’s a text message or some email to a friend but otherwise, I just find it plain irritating even though it’s none of my business. And this isn't about the "u" or "yr" as much as it is about the "frenz" or "4get". But that’s not what this post is about. Let me brutally honest and shamelessly self-congratulatory about myself. In everyday life, I am as good a speller as anyone out there. I don’t have to think for a split second to spell a word.. I can just rattle it instantly. And if this works verbally, it works even better while writing/typing it. And I am sure there are tonnes of you out there just like me (unless you are one of those people who spells wierd in place of weird). However there are times when I am zoned out thinking about something else while typing  or writing (yes, yes I multi-task regularly), that I find myself completely lost. And no, I don't mean it an ordinary sense.I mean that I would've written a word as plain as "noble" and be staring at it for an entire half-a-minute wondering if the spelling was really right or if it seemed right because I was staring so hard at it. Ever happen to you? For the simplest and least complicated of words. Truly weird. And I attribute it entirely to the fact even the best multi-taskers have to pause for a second on each of their tasks to make sure aal izz well (courtesy: 3 Idiots). :D

Read my mind

I figure everyone thinks in a different language, a language that may not be your thai-mozhi (mother tongue). I know I do. I think in English... Even when I pray to God or am mentally hoping for something, it's all in English. I think I saw it in Dasavatharam, where one of Kamal Hassan's dialogues says that he thinks in English. I totally identify with that. But that does not affect the delivery or the continuum of my speech or writing in any of the other languages that I am fluent in... But it does play a big role in French. Maybe part of the reason is that the sentence formations in the two languages are very similar. And do I find that I form a sentence completely in English and translate it word for word to French. And I realized that just today when I had a conversation in excess of 5 exchanges each with a colleague. I think for like a second before responding to the question. And in that second, there is a substitution process going on in my head. I don't know if I'll ever fluently think in French. It's unlikely. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I am learning a new language after eons and I never really paid any attention to techniques when learning the other languages as a kid. And now I know that's why some other people's English sounds funny. They are translating it from their own languages... I bet that's what my French is to them as well. Funny. So what language do you think in?

The understandable English

I don't know how many of you do this, but I've noticed I do this ever since I realized that it makes it easier for non-English speakers to understand - I alter my English to be grammatically incorrect but structured more easy to understand.

Examples-

1. I tried running this experiment but it didn't work - I run experiment but it no work

2.I'll run you through this process and then you can do it on your own (or you're set) - I do one time, you see and then you do, then you ok.
3. I'm not done yet - I no do.

And so on... I suppose you get the point... At the end of it, I feel silly and like I've taught them the wrong way of saying things. But as they say, whatever works, right?