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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)

#61

Post by emteycz »

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?

English is one of only two recognized official languages (in addition to Hindi) of the Republic of India [the federation]. It is widely used when native languages can't bridge the gap between two Indians.

edit: s/Indian state/Republic of India

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

#62

Post by llampx »

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…

> “the age for a woman to get married is 21”

Worth adding here, that this phrase was meant to make families wait to get their girls married, aka "as opposed to 15" and not as in the current day, where this would be taken as implying that they should get married at such a young age.

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

#63

Post by newsbinator »

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.)

Global standard English is the English that a mixed international group of non-native but competent English speakers defaults to in an important meeting.

I.e. a simpler subset of grammar: only 3 basic tenses, minimal and explicit use of conditionals to differentiate hypotheticals from reality/expectations, avoiding idiomatic or slang expressions, preferring regular and frequent conjugations over irregular / infrequent ones, preferring simple verbs over phrasal verbs, minimal reliance on definite/indefinite Articles as modifiers/counters, etc

It’s still a subject-verb-object language that includes the Be-copula though.

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

#64

Post by setum »

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.

輕信游客 means ‘gullible tourists’. That’s funny.

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

#65

Post by DonHopkins »

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?

To read the phrase "Horn OK Please" perhaps?

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

#66

Post by benrapscallion »

albert_e wrote: post #19

I am pretty sure "OK" is a separate phrase - not sure about origins, could be a Quality Check OK by manufacturer or a transport authority certifying it is fit for use maybe. "Horn Please" / "Sound Horn" is the other phrase with a clear purpose and meaning. They just got mixed in due to usage. I saw/see many examples where OK is painted in a distinct font from other words.

This is correct

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

#67

Post by claviska »

jkhdigital wrote: post #44
gpmcadam wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the Highway Code, letting someone know that you're there is the only proposed use for both beeping the horn and flashing your lights at another driver.

Yes, it’s a bit ironic that the only reasonable use of a horn is often the least likely justification for honking by Western (or at least American) drivers. As an aside, Japanese drivers flash their lights (both headlights and taillights) as acknowledgement for letting them merge or pass—like the dual behavior of honking a horn as an expletive.

Here in the somewhat rural U.S., we tend to use the horn only when a driver isn’t paying attention when the light turns green and we’re behind them.

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

#69

Post by captn3m0 »

Additional Usage

- A restaurant name in Belgium (https://www.hornokplease.space/)

- An indian TV series (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10055722/)

- A bollywood romcom (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horn_%27Ok%27_Pleassss) (Mentioned in the article)

- A food festival in Delhi (https://hornokpleasefest.com/)

- Multiple restaurants in India (https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=horn+ok+please+site%3A...)

A few random books as well.

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

#70

Post by rhn_mk1 »

solohan wrote: post #15
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.

This. I couldn't imagine driving in South East Asia without the horn. Scary story: My cousin almost killed a cyclist once after moving back to Europe after living in Asia for years. She used the horn as a friendly message (or so she thought) before passing. The cyclist, not being used to ever hearing horns on the road, got scared, looked over their shoulder and swerved out in front of the car.

Car horns seem to be calibrated to be heard by someone wrapped in a car, and are too loud for unprotected listening. Bicycle bells are closer to that range. No wonder the cyclist got freaked out.
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