I still hear Indians saying, “What is your good name, sir?” (Sometimes, it is “sirji”.)
Stop translating from your Indian language, such as Hindi – “aap ka shubh naam kya hain?”
Although you were brought up to be polite in India, you are going to confuse foreigners, who don’t have good or bad names.
If you don’t want to say, “What’s your name?”, just shake hands and say “Hi, my name is Monnanda Appaiah Deviah” and they will respond with their name, or their jaw will drop and say “I beg your pardon?”.
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Upto
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Despite attempts by the Times of India group to change the English language, there is no such word as “upto”. It is two words, “up to”. Don’t believe it? Grab your trusty dictionary (provided that it wasn’t published by the Times of India). Or Google it.
Using Chromecast with Netflix in Australia
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Sometime in 2013 Amazon accidentally allowed people outside the US to order Google Chromecast. Without fully grasping what it did, I ordered mine and it arrived within days. Amazon realised its mistake and emailed me asking me to return it at their expense for a full refund, as it would not be supported outside the US. [Update: It is now sold in Australia.] Continue reading