I’m Besotted With Words-Shashi Tharoor on Indian English V Bad English, Spoonerisms, Paraprosdokians

"I'm besotted with words, I love them; they attract me like honey draws bees": Shashi Tharoor to Karan Thapar for The Wire.
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In an interview to describe his latest book ‘A Wonderland of Words: Around the Word in 101 Essays’, Shashi Tharoor says: “I’m besotted with words; it is fair to say that I love them”. When asked if, therefore, he is attracted to words in the same way as honey attracts bees, Shashi Tharoor laughed and agreed. He is also the opposite of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady who famously said: “Never do I want to hear another word, there isn't one I haven't heard!”
This is an interview that you have to see and hear to enjoy. Shashi is at his playful best. He is full of delightful anecdotes and fascinating examples of the quirks and idiosyncrasies of the English language.
In this connection, he talks about what he calls ‘Indianisms’, the distinction between Indian english and bad english, the differences between British and American english, paraprosdokians, spoonerisms and the range of silent letters in english pronunciation.
Shashi Tharoor also talks about how his fascination for words goes all the way back to his childhood when his father, Chandran Tharoor, to whom the book is dedicated, used to play word games with Shashi and his sisters. In fact, his father dreamt up a game very similar to Wordle, which Shashi describes in quite the most captivating way.
Shashi also talks about the famous tweet that led to him acquiring a reputation as ‘India’s Mr Difficult Words’, shortly after he became an MP. He also talks about how he thought he had invented the word ‘prepone’ only to discover that it was coined in 1913.
I will stop there. This is an interview that has to be seen and enjoyed rather than written about and read. It’s only 25-minutes long and I can assure you that those 25-minutes will be most enjoyably spent if you watch the interview.
Here is the link:
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[@HoponuShaiza]

Now Britishers learn English from Sashi Tharoor ❤

[@joymajumdar807]

Make Shashi Tharoor the Education Minister. We all should speak like him. Wow! What beautiful words.

[@aditishah332]

Mk him pm

[@1993jYouTube]

🎶🎶🎶...Words attracts Shashi Tharoor, as Honey attracts Bee...❤

[@toshiaier1025]

What a delightful conversation between these two wordsmiths!

[@sheikraheem3281]

Thanks Mr. Karan for enabling my favorite public figure speak to us. Have always enjoyed just listening to Mr Tharoor speak.

[@gautamgangulyguwahati9717]

Pleasure listening to distinguished, highly articulate two intellectuals of the country . Illuminating discourse

[@animeshbairagi1786]

It's so calm to hear Shashi Tharoor Ji such a nice and gentle speaker

[@tenzinsangpo6161]

These talks is much better then some learn scholar preaching us all the time on various KZbin channel! Let’s hoped interviews like this comes so often. Thank you! 😉

[@trekfan7577]

What about this ? - ' Some days l wake up grumpy , on other days l let him sleep .'

[@ganesankrishnamurthy8658]

Shashi, Stephen Fry, Douglas Murray , Wodehouse. ❤❤❤❤

[@KunalMazumdar]

Watching Mr Shashi Tharoor sir speaking English is like watching new magic tricks with old things.

[@saharshjain3203]

This interview was delightful!

[@leenachakraborty3251]

What an absolute pleasure listening to this though I have heard some of the stories in earlier talks it’s always music to ears listening to Dr. Shashi Tharoor and witty Karan Thapar!! Great destressor

[@sreekumarvelupillai6266]

Because of my facination of his words - bought a copy of "THAROOROSAURUS:

[@SterlingShimray]

King of vocabulary

[@padmachaturvedi1611]

Shri T, you tell the other Shri T that the Google says as follows regarding the word "prepone". Quote The word "prepone" comes from the Latin word praepōnere and has been used since the early 1500s. The earliest known use of the word was in the writing of John Irland, a theologian, before 1513. The word was first used in print by Robert Crowley, a Puritan social reformer, in 1549. The meaning of the word at the time was "to place in front of" or "to set before". "Prepone" is a verb that means to move forward or advance an event or appointment. For example, "The examinations were preponed by four days". The opposite of "prepone" is "postpone".

[@rajenlama.6850]

Jai Hind sir. Decent analysis on english language between India and America or Britain. Language differs in accent and in words accordingly that can be seen in each and every nation.

[@najeerbehna221]

Very.good.sar

[@DilipDeo2105]

Lovely conversation between two stalwarts. Both of you are so articulate in English. Envy you.

[@ammuthrikkakara2824]

I like his English accents

[@mohammedmurtaza3257]

It was a pleasure listening... I thoroughly enjoyed every moment.

[@rashidsami4281]

Loved this interview

[@muhammedmuzaffarsheikh9564]

Mr. Karan Dear, please do mention the date of recording.

[@tridib-nagaon]

Absolutely fascinating. I don't know what more to say.

[@cynthiadoungel3455]

My two favourites! ❤

[@pitokinimi6044]

Shashi sir, is a great politician

[@fauziaansari6243]

Mr. Shashi Tharoor please let the Indian speakers of the English language know that ‘anyway’ does not need an ‘ s’ . Shashi , let us not go this far . Anyway , you know better.

[@mohsinpasha5837]

We reject waqf bill

[@leenachakraborty3251]

Not only older people, anyone next door is called uncle and aunty!

[@aadityasharma5639]

Guys lets polish our lexicon by lstng to these fine gents.....added advantage you get to learn their posh accent too.

[@sristijain6230]

Hahaha I still have the exasperated farrago tweet memorized

[@arpitsingh8930]

❤

[@abdulassisp.a.7872]

How many unnecessary letters are there in the English word "queue"-T Balasubramanyam in "Pronunciation of English for Indian students".

[@mohdafroze671]

On this very special episode of Tharoor. Let's comment some rarely used words 😊

[@mohdafroze671]

Cwtch 😊

[@learningislife212]

Farrago

[@kalidasa_in]

Really stupid but common: using 'lose' and 'loose' when you mean the other word.

[@mohdafroze671]

Karan Thapar's English is floccinaucinihilipilification in front of Shashi Tharoor's English

[@gangadharhiremath7306]

No.Karan is as good as Tharoor with English.May be Tharoor has more vocabulary.

[@sreeju5240]

whose english is the best?

[@mathewthomas8397]

I have heard News reporter Mehdi Hassan in a debate where he talks about this "farrago of misinformation etc etc verbatim. So who said it first Sashi or Mehdi ?

[@rajivchandrasekharan613]

The introduction at the beginning and sometimes in the middle is painful to listen at every program. We all know who Karan Thapar is. The introduction is completely unnecessary. It's just Irritating to listen every time.

[@hameed7939]

After the fall of this Modi 3.0 government and the assuming of power by the Congress-led India bloc perhaps in 2 years time Shashi will be made Union External affairs minister.

[@TenHag21]

Shashi Tharoor is ageing now...Noooooooo

[@ramdasmadhiyalla4058]

Karan please don't waste your and our time. Due respect to Mr tharoor.

[@Fmb760]

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