reading problems

[balakrishnanijk]

How do you read the following in English?
http:// search.msn.com
jenna fisher @ yahoo.co.uk

[Anglika]

Do you mean how do you say it?

h t t p colon backslash backslash search dot m s n dot com
jenna space fisher space at yahoo dot co dot uk

It is important to be sure whether there are spaces in the email address or not. If not then "jennafisher [one word] at ..."

[balakrishnanijk]

What is the difference between a slash and a backslash?
In our country some people say "at the rate of yahoo dot com".
Is that OK?

[Barb_D]

slash /
backslash \

What does "at the rate of yahoo dot com" mean?

[Soup]

What does "at the rate of yahoo dot com" mean?

I'm guessing here, at the rate of = @?

[Barb_D]

Good guess! I bet you're right.

We say "AT"

[Soup]

So do we Canadians.

[balakrishnanijk]

Indian English is not the right kind of English.That is what I feel. It carries with it such fantastic mysteries and oddities. It is true that India was once a colony of England. But the English used here does not bear much resemblance to what is spoken in England or any other English-speaking country. Perhaps it is ascribed to the fact that it is used here as a lingua franca and not many people give any serious thought to it. If my knowledge is all right, in other English-speaking countries it is given a prominent place but here it is made to play second fiddle. If Indian English were permitted to thrive to the position of a new language with its characteristic oddities, peculiarities, peccadillos and deviations, we would feel redeemed and relived.

[Soup]

Indian English is not the right kind of English.That is what I feel.

But it's the "right kind of English" for India though; that's what is important. When in India, use at the rate of to describe this symbol @; when in, say, the USA or the UK, use at.

I live in China and very few of the foreigners I meet here speak Canadian English. I've made friends from countries all over the world and for me their English takes getting used to, but I don't compare--comparisons are odious. I learn the variations; I adapt. That, adaptation, is success. Learn what you need to know to survive whether in business or life.

English in on a path of change; its change is slow but nonetheless it's changing and going to continue to change. "Be prepared!" I tell my students. Adapt to your environment, be it Indian English or one of English's other varieties.

You're on the right track. You're starting to look for similarities and differences, but you're asking the wrong question. It's not why is Indian English not "the right kind" of English? It's why is Indian English the right kind of English for India?

[balakrishnanijk]

Mr Soup,
I absolutely agree with you. However, what torments me is the grammaticality of the given expression or sentence. Are you suggesting that one has to cast aside grammar in favor of adaptation and change? If these variations are only local phenomena, will they get any universal acceptance and approval? Won't I make myself self-conscious and conspicuous? Won't other people frown upon me if I use such circumlocutions and clumsy expressions? Ever since I was a school boy I have been taught that every thing should go according to strict grammatical rules and and that whatever is ungrammatical should be condemned as erroneous.