How was a correct address deemed wrong due to a mistaken accent? Lately a news report said that a parcel containing medicines sent by a daughter to her mother in Chaina, a village in Faridkot district of Punjab, got delivered to China. This was simply because of the place ‘Chaina’ was mistakenly read as China. This was an error and a lethargic work culture made it right.
Obviously, this mistake cannot be taken as an agreeable one. Before I forget to mention a few words mispronounced by the little students, it is better to share this with the readers. One boy innocently read Indira Gandhi as ‘India Gandhi’ and Rakesh Sharma as ‘Rakesh Store.’ Another boy reads the name of Neil Armstrong as the ‘Street’s Name.’ Further, he pronounces Michael Collins as ‘Michael Jackson.’
Another boy pronounced the word Pandaal as ‘sandas.’ It brought only a chuckle and giggles on the occasion. Their pronunciations gave the feeling as if their tongues clashed against one another. Everything was so fast and stunning that they did not feel odd or bad for reading the words in their own respective ignorant styles. What they had expressed never was part of their routine speaking in their unripe childish age.
However, this can be avoided for aberration by children. What will be said of the American president Donald Trump who mispronounced certain South Asian countries’ names in a funny way? He mispronounced Nepal as ‘Nipple’ and laughingly referred to Bhutan as ‘Button’ while looking at the physical map of South Asia. This amusing fact surfaced when a ‘Time’ magazine correspondent wrote about the details in a news article.
This was even aired on the CNN where Time’s John Walcott revealed the update to the anchor Brooke Baldwin. She was amused to hear that and said: “Wait, seriously, that’s what he said?” That kind of amusing sense was surely not entirely over in an instant. What Trump had said rather expressed something surprising.
Those present around him might have realised the mistake and stared at one another with the oft-repeated Shakespearean thought, “to err is human.” Social media comment by Just Judy said: “Yes it is a bit nipply out. I mean nippy out. ‘What am I saying, nipple? Ah, there is a nip in the air, though.”
A long time ago, one British Royal had mispronounced a particular word wrongly which had later stuck to the English vocabulary as O.K. everlastingly. Will we take up boys’ mistake as immature intellect and reject matured minds’ mistake as willful ignorance?