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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)

#51

Post by OJFord »

phillc73 wrote: post #50
OJFord wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I might still use "just now" in future tense. "I'll do that just now." However, to me, this would mean very soon. Not necessarily in South Africa. "I'll be there just now" - you might be waiting for a while! It took me quite some time to adapt my expectations.

Ah yes I can just about hear that - probably regional variation, I wouldn't use it that way myself.

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

#52

Post by cesaref »

OJFord wrote: post #47
rahoulb wrote: post #9

As someone who has grown up (and learnt to drive) in England - I had a moment of sudden realisation in India. For me, the horn is a warning sign - "get out of my way" or "watch out!" - only to be used in emergencies. In India, the horn means "I'm over here", to be used whenever you're near another vehicle. Which fits with the statements on the back of the lorries perfectly.

> [in England ...] For me, the horn is a warning sign - "get out of my way" or "watch out!" - only to be used in emergencies. That is not the correct use in England, especially not 'get out of my way' (emergency services' vehicles aside) - and it needn't be an emergency (uh, again!). It's only supposed to be used to alert other drivers to your (non-stationary) presence, when it appears they haven't seen you or may no…

Indeed. As a driver in the UK, I use the horn so rarely that i've forgotten how to make it work when I need it.

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

#53

Post by junoper »

elzbardico wrote: post #33
rk06 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 startin…

I agree and people are exeggerating the usage of horns more than it actually is.

> there's absolutely no need

But one use of horn that I found useful in India was to overtake on 2-lane hilly road. Now theoretically you should be able to see, may be hundred metres, ahead of you before you start the overtake or if you are not too keen to reach your destination, not overtake at all till you reach straight road with longer view. In practice though, trucks are slow moving and roads sometimes don't provide clear view of the road with twists and turns so it helps if you let the truck ahead of you know of your presence. Then truck dirver signals you with his hand when it is safe to overtake with his longer FOV. Apart from that, truck driver knowing of your presence can help him slow down his vehicle in case oncoming vehicle is cutting it too close for you to overtake the truck.

Is there a better way of doing this? Probably, by just avoiding any risky overtake by road markings etc. but as I said above, that could mean following the truck for few hours in the worst case. And does that mean you honk everytime you are behind a truck? Not at all.

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

#54

Post by jcul »

rahoulb wrote: post #9

As someone who has grown up (and learnt to drive) in England - I had a moment of sudden realisation in India. For me, the horn is a warning sign - "get out of my way" or "watch out!" - only to be used in emergencies. In India, the horn means "I'm over here", to be used whenever you're near another vehicle. Which fits with the statements on the back of the lorries perfectly.

I found it shocking at first in India.

But then I spent a month riding a motorcycle in Vietnam, where they have the same practice, maybe not quite as intense.

I realised it is more like a radar system so you know what is around you.

Also the larger vehicles have right of way.

Once you realise this the system starts to make more sense.

After I remember riding a motorcycle in Thailand and getting the shock of my life as a big jeep zoomed past me without beeping.

I really missed that extra auditory information source once it was gone.

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

#55

Post by situationista »

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…

I've always observed that in India honking the horn is not just about overtaking - it's an acoustic indicator of your position, making it possible for those in front of you to plot your presence without taking their eyes off the road in front (which usually requires their absolute and undivied attention). Additionally, as the article points out, many vehicles don't possess funtional rear-view mirrors, and are therefore dependent on acoustic signals to know what's going on around them.

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

#56

Post by Aeolun »

ben_w wrote: post #46
ramraj07 wrote: post #27

A reminder that pretty much no lorry driver in india knows English. Vehicles here have inane phrases like this and it’s for the most part almost protocol to paint them when you get a vehicle of that class. The guy who paints Lorry backs with the company name probably asks “you want the horn ok please phrase right” and the drivers probably like yeah whatever. Not like the drivers here expect courtesy from anyone aroun…

That seems very plausible, along the same lines as western tourists getting a tattoo which says “輕信游客” and thinking it’s a profound quote.

It is profound. Just not in the way they’re thinking.

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

#57

Post by hungryforcodes »

ramraj07 wrote: post #27

A reminder that pretty much no lorry driver in india knows English. Vehicles here have inane phrases like this and it’s for the most part almost protocol to paint them when you get a vehicle of that class. The guy who paints Lorry backs with the company name probably asks “you want the horn ok please phrase right” and the drivers probably like yeah whatever. Not like the drivers here expect courtesy from anyone aroun…

> A reminder that pretty much no lorry driver in india knows English.

They live in India -- why would they need to know English exactly?

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

#58

Post by paulgb »

hungryforcodes wrote: post #57
ramraj07 wrote: post #27

A reminder that pretty much no lorry driver in india knows English. Vehicles here have inane phrases like this and it’s for the most part almost protocol to paint them when you get a vehicle of that class. The guy who paints Lorry backs with the company name probably asks “you want the horn ok please phrase right” and the drivers probably like yeah whatever. Not like the drivers here expect courtesy from anyone aroun…

> A reminder that pretty much no lorry driver in india knows English. They live in India -- why would they need to know English exactly?

They don't, but it seems like relevant context on an article about an English phrase that's ubiquitous there.

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

#59

Post by lngnmn2 »

It is either "Blow Horn" or "Horn Please" and it is a signal for request for overtaking. Acknowledgment is usually a sign by hand from a driver's window. Nowadays it is a blink of a turn signal.

BTW, hill are drivers in India and Nepal are much more skilled and civilized, especially Nepalese.

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

#60

Post by AussieWog93 »

OJFord wrote: post #22
newsbinator wrote: post #8

This isn’t the only “ungrammatical” expression (relative to global standard English) you will encounter in India. Could it be that some person or some company simply put this expression on their trucks (thinking it’s grammatical), and because it seemed useful other trucks followed, until it became the standard? Edit: this isn’t to be proscriptive about what’s correct/incorrect in a given country. My definition of “gl…

What is 'global standard English'? If you're American, consider that I (British) can find plenty that's 'wrong' with your English, judged by mine. Indian English has as much right to its own standard of correct as American English. (It's possibly a more widely spoken dialect! Depending probably on whether we say e.g. Europeans learning with heavy US film/tv influence are AmE speakers.)

>What is 'global standard English'?

I don't think it's formally defined, but there are some phrases that are widely accepted as "normal" by English speakers regardless of geography and others that are peculiar to a certain dialect.

I'd be very surprised to hear someone outside of Australia say they were "fanging for a dart", for example.

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