A:What’s your good name, sir?
B: I have a name, but I don’t know whether it is a good name.
A: Sir, in India it is a polite way of asking someone for his name. Is it wrong?
B: No, it’s not wrong. But the term is new to me.
A week ago, I happened to overhear this conversation between an Indian gentleman and an American at a conference. This is a sample of Indianisms which can be defined as ‘words and expressions that are unique to the Indian variety of English’.
Here are some more samples of Indianisms and archaic expressions that one can come across in formal letters:
• I request your good self to consider my proposal.
• Kindly revert back to the undersigned at the earliest.
• I have attached the document for your perusal.
• I request you to do the needful.
• We have decided to prepone the meeting.
The term ‘good self’ is an archaic expression. Though it originated in the United Kingdom, it is no longer used by native speakers of English. It’s not used in British English nor in American English. Though the writer considers it a polite term, it may not please the person to whom the letter is addressed to. The phrase ‘your good self’ can very well be replaced by ‘you’. The sentence, ‘I request you to consider my proposal’ is better than ‘I request your good self to consider my proposal.’
The word ‘revert’ has many different meanings but does not mean ‘to reply’. The first meaning is ‘to return to a former condition, practice, subject or belief’, the second meaning is ‘to return money or property to the former owner or the former owner’s heirs’, and the third meaning is ‘to undergo reversion (genetics)’. Look at these examples:
• John reverted to smoking.
• I reverted the piece of land, which I had bought recently, to its former owner.
• Jane reverted to her normal condition.
It is incorrect to use the expression ‘revert back’ in the sentence as in ‘kindly revert back to the undersigned at the earliest’. The sentence has two problems: Since back is part of the meaning of revert, it is incorrect to say revert back. The second problem is the word ‘to revert’ does not mean ‘to reply’.
A good piece of writing is free from jargon, archaic words and expressions, long-winding sentences and ambiguity. In other words, it is written in plain English that can be understood by readers the first time they read it.
— rayanal@yahoo.co.uk