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The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016)

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Re: The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016)

#31

Post by alex_smart »

iso1631 wrote: post #6
rob74 wrote: post #2

> Trucks, in particular, are often not even equipped with side mirrors in the first place. Maybe mandating side mirrors (or rather enforcing this mandate - I can't quite believe that side mirrors are optional for roadworthiness, even in India) would be a better point to start with, rather than outlawing the phrase "Horn OK Please"?

"Indian drivers rarely use their side mirrors" Doesn't matter if the mirrors are there or not if culturally people don't use them.

Yup, the rough heuristic that most drivers follow in India is: if I see empty road ahead of me, I am going in.

Re: The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016)

#32

Post by Etheryte »

iso1631 wrote: post #6
rob74 wrote: post #2

> Trucks, in particular, are often not even equipped with side mirrors in the first place. Maybe mandating side mirrors (or rather enforcing this mandate - I can't quite believe that side mirrors are optional for roadworthiness, even in India) would be a better point to start with, rather than outlawing the phrase "Horn OK Please"?

"Indian drivers rarely use their side mirrors" Doesn't matter if the mirrors are there or not if culturally people don't use them.

I experienced confusion about this when I travelled to Indonesia some years ago, but a local taxi driver made it easy to understand: "What's in front of you is your responsibility." It's an unwritten local driving rule and once you know it, the local traffic is considerably easier to grok. No one looks behind them because everyone's agreed that they only worry about things in front of them. If you want to pass a car in front of you then it's up to you to make it work. Likewise with driving a car in the sea of scooters that Indonesian traffic oftentimes is. Worry about the scooters in front of you, the ones behind you and on your sides will do their best to look out for themselves and don't expect much from you.

Re: The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016)

#33

Post by elzbardico »

rk06 wrote: post #24
rob74 wrote: post #2

> Trucks, in particular, are often not even equipped with side mirrors in the first place. Maybe mandating side mirrors (or rather enforcing this mandate - I can't quite believe that side mirrors are optional for roadworthiness, even in India) would be a better point to start with, rather than outlawing the phrase "Horn OK Please"?

Side mirrors are used by vehicle in front and horns by vehicle behind. they are not the same. Moreover, large trucks and busses have a large blindspot, and can't check behind them. So, vehicles behind them, can only honk to make them aware that they are there.

If everybody follow simple traffic rules there's absolutely no need for the vehicle behind a truck to have the need to make the truck aware they are there.

1. Vehicle behind must keep distance, no tailgating.

2. Vehicle ahead should not change lanes before

   a) Making sure the marking on the road says it is permitted.

   b) Signaling the maneuver with directional lights. 

   c) Checking the side mirror before actually starting the maneuver.
That's basically how it works in the rest of the world. Trucks have large blind spots everywhere else, but by signalling their maneuvers in advance and with the other drivers following some simple rules, lots of places in the world (including a lot of poor countries in Latin America) get by with reserving the use of honks only for true urgent situations.

edit: line-breaks

Re: The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016)

#35

Post by phillc73 »

OJFord wrote: post #29
unmole wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Perhaps it's not ungrammatical in that language variety? Indian English rarely differs in grammatical constructs from other varieties. It makes no sense in Indian English either.

As a native BrE speaker learning Hindi, what I notice most (if not entirely) is phrases/styles/devices borrowed from Hindi (and probably other Indo-Aryan languages), translated and applied in English. For example: 'I myself have noticed this' (likely translating ही emphatic particle - a BrE speaker would almost certainly not say 'myself' at all, unless responding to someone saying they had noticed something perhaps,…

I noticed this repetition for the first time in South African English. The phrase "just now" means sort of now-ish, maybe in the next 30 minutes, maybe even tomorrow. Whereas the phrase "now now" means immediately.

Re: The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016)

#36

Post by OJFord »

phillc73 wrote: post #35
OJFord wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a native BrE speaker learning Hindi, what I notice most (if not entirely) is phrases/styles/devices borrowed from Hindi (and probably other Indo-Aryan languages), translated and applied in English. For example: 'I myself have noticed this' (likely translating ही emphatic particle - a BrE speaker would almost certainly not say 'myself' at all, unless responding to someone saying they had noticed something perhaps,…

I noticed this repetition for the first time in South African English. The phrase "just now" means sort of now-ish, maybe in the next 30 minutes, maybe even tomorrow. Whereas the phrase "now now" means immediately.

Ha, interesting. (From comments I gather you're in the UK, but for the benefit of others 'just now' here would be a very short time ago; in the past: phillc commented just now.)

I've struggled to explain the nuanced variations in meaning of 'quite' in BrE to a Canadian, depending on tone and other words that really have no right to make any difference. (Think 'quite nice' vs. 'really quite nice'; 'a bit' vs. 'quite a bit'. "That makes no sense", she said. Well quite.)

Re: The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016)

#37

Post by causi »

Whenever I visit a large city, the sound of car horns is what takes the most getting used to. It is deeply unpleasant, and happens so often it isn't even useful. I'm convinced these people are using their horns as an expression of emotion, rather than an attempt to communicate with a specific car. For someone from the suburbs it's a very alien and disturbing experience.

Re: The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016)

#38

Post by aww_dang »

ghoomketu wrote: post #30

Man the amount of honking is insane in India. I was visiting a relative in Patna and it's like everybody just honks for the sake on honking. I mean I thought delhi was bad, but this place just takes honking to a whole new level. It's so bad that I had to go inside a random shop to wait for my Ola as the sound levels were literally unbearable. The only place where I haven't seen so much honking is Goa. Maybe the traff…

There's a totally different regard for noise and public spaces generally. Add temple loudspeakers and other events to the list.

Re: The origins of ‘horn ok please,’ India’s most ubiquitous phrase (2016)

#39

Post by gameswithgo »

rob74 wrote: post #2

> Trucks, in particular, are often not even equipped with side mirrors in the first place. Maybe mandating side mirrors (or rather enforcing this mandate - I can't quite believe that side mirrors are optional for roadworthiness, even in India) would be a better point to start with, rather than outlawing the phrase "Horn OK Please"?

first have to solve the problem of efficient and effective regulation of anything in a country of a billion people that doesn’t currently do that
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