India, speaking English with an American accent is no longer the preserve of call centre workers. Children, business people and the elderly here are now seeking a US twang.
The phenomenon has spread from the Indian offshore operations boom in the late 1990s to a wider cross-section of society, whether to help them get on in business, communicate with family State-side or just show off.
In Mumbai, arguably India's most cosmopolitan city, a number of language schools have sprung up offering accent coaching. Mumbaikars are also trawling the Internet looking for tutors to teach them to talk like Uncle Sam.
"About 50 percent of our students want American accents," Raj Oberoi, who runs the Just Talk Institute in the south of the city, told AFP.
Most of his students come from India's middle class, whose numbers have swelled on the back of the country's economic boom, and range in age from seven to 65, he added.
"People want to learn an American accent because they want to study abroad, perhaps they're going on a business trip or they think they'll be able to impress people if they talk with an American accent," he said.
The phenomenon marks a shift in attitude towards English, which was brought to India by its former British rulers and remains an official language, spoken by 90 million people.
Indian English can sound archaic to British ears, with words and phrases that have long since dropped out of usage back home.
But while "the Queen's English" -- or received pronunciation -- is still taught in schools, Americanisms are creeping in, not just in business, as US films, food, fashion and music find favour with young Indians.
Oberoi conceded that a British accent was something to aspire to in the past, and may still be among older people, but that is changing.
The head of English at the University of Mumbai, Dr Ram Badode, noted that there had been a "drastic" change in his students' English, as they looked to the United States for further studies and well-paid jobs.
"In terms of spelling, people are not so sacrosanct about the British or received pronunciation. Now they're open to change. This is a major change in terms of spelling and accent and it's gaining currency," he told AFP.
Judging by the daily queues outside the US consulate in Mumbai, there is no shortage of Indians wanting a taste of the American Dream, despite the current financial turmoil.
Around 1.5 million Indian-born immigrants lived in the United States in 2006, making them the fourth largest immigrant group in the country. More than one third arrived since 2000, according to US government statistics.
Shammi Sharma, 24, works for telecoms giant Ericsson in Mumbai and is one of Oberoi's former students.
"I wanted a US accent because I'm just a guy from a village. Bombay is a metro city. When I came here every second person would talk to me in English. I didn't know the language very well," he told AFP.
The courses, which also include leadership skills, public speaking and personal development, have helped his confidence, and joked that having a slight US accent was a boost "especially with the girls".
At work, he added: "It helps your clients. Somewhere down the line people don't think that you're foreign or struggle to understand."
Oberoi, an Iowa State University graduate, said that by watching and listening to US television programmes for at least half an hour every day, trying to imitate its sounds and exaggerating the accent helps change speech.
The accountants, doctors, fashion designers, bankers and college students may not sound like native New Yorkers or Californians after the course, he said.
But their spoken English is likely to be more neutral -- making it easier to comprehend for Americans who might struggle with Indian accents, he added.
Americanisation has its critics but Badode sees it as a logical consequence of US world dominance and inevitable that people want a part of it.
"It's a positive thing because we are taking enjoyment by using American accents and spelling," he said, rejecting suggestions that India's rich culture and heritage will be diluted.
But he also offered another view. Sixty-one years after Indian independence it was another way of leaving behind the country's colonial past.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
UGC NATIONAL ELIGIBILITY TEST (UGC NET 2008) FOR JUNIOR RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP AND ELIGIBILITY FOR LECTURESHIP – December 2008
National Educational Testing (Net) Bureau
UGC National Elgibility Test For Junior Research Fellowship(JRF) and Eligibility For Lectureship – December 2008
EXAM. DATE : 28-12-2008 NOTIFICATION CLOSING DATE : 07-11-2008
Last date for receipt of duly completed Application Forms at the respective Test Centres is 07-11-2008. Candidates should submit their Application Forms only to the Registrar of the University from where they wish to appear in the Test as indicated in item 10 below. The application must be strictly as per the prescribed format. APPLICATION SENT DIRECTLY TO THE UGC OFFICE WILL NOT BE ENTERTAINED
1. 1) The University Grants Commission announces holding of the National Eligibility Test (NET) on 28th December, 2008 (Sunday) for determining the eligibility of Indian nationals for the Award of Junior Research Fellowships (JRF) and eligibility for Lectureship in Indian universities and colleges. UGC will conduct NET in 77 (seventy seven) subjects (listed under item no. 9) at 66 (sixty six) selected University Centres (listed under Item no. 10) spread across the country.
The result of the UGC-NET held on 29th June, 2008 and the one to be held on 28th December, 2008 will be made available on the UGC website : www.ugc.ac.in and shall also be published in the Employment News as and when it is declared. The candidates will not be individually intimated about their result.
2. The candidates who qualify for the award of Junior Research Fellowship are eligible to pursue research in the subject of their post-graduation or in a related subject and are also eligible for Lectureship. The universities, institutions, IITs and other national organizations may select the JRF awardees for whole time research work in
accordance with the procedure prescribed by them. The award of JRF will depend on the performance of the candidate in NET. However, the candidates qualifying exclusively for Lectureship will not be considered for award of JRF. Candidates appearing in NET should clearly specify in the prescribed Application Form whether they are applying for both JRF & eligibility for Lectureship OR only for eligibility for Lectureship. Candidates who qualify the Test for eligibility for Lectureship will be governed by the rules and regulations for recruitment of Lecturers of the concerned universities/colleges/state governments, as the case may be.
Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST)/Visually Handicapped (VH)/Physically Handicapped (PH) candidates will be given such special concessions as may be decided by the Commission.
2) JUNIOR RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP :
Candidates qualifying for the award of Junior Research Fellowship will be eligible to receive fellowship of UGC under various schemes, subject to finding their placement in universities/IITs/institutions. The validity period of the offer is two years w.e.f. the date of issue of JRF Award Letter. However, in case the candidates have already
joined M.Phil/Ph.D., the date of commencement of fellowship shall be from the date of declaration of NET result or date of their joining, whichever is later.
UGC NET ELIGIBILITY :
i) Candidates who have secured at least 55% marks (without rounding off) in Master’s Degree OR equivalent examination from Universities/Institutions recognised by UGC in Humanities (including languages) and Social Sciences, Computer Science & Applications, Electronic Science etc. are eligible for this Test. The Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST)/Physically Handicapped (PH)/Visually Handicapped (VH) category candidates who have secured at least 50% marks (without rounding off) in Master’s degree examination are eligible for this Test.
ii) Candidates who have appeared OR will be appearing at the qualifying Master’s degree (final year) examination and whose result is still awaited OR candidates whose qualifying examinations have been delayed may also apply for this Test. However, such candidates will be admitted provisionally and shall be considered eligible for award of JRF/Lectureship eligibility only after they have passed their Master’s degree examination or equivalent with at least 55% marks (50% in case of SC/ST/PH/VH category candidates). Such candidates must complete their P.G. degree examination within two years from the date of NET result with required percentage of marks, failing which they shall be treated as disqualified.
iii) The Ph.D. degree holders whose Master’s level examination had been completed by 19th September, 1991 (irrespective of date of declaration of result) shall be eligible for a relaxation of 5% in aggregate marks (i.e., from 55% to 50%) for appearing in NET.
iv) Candidates are advised to appear in the subject of their post-graduation only. The candidates whose post-graduation subject is not covered in the list of subjects in item No. 9, may appear in a related subject.
v) Candidates seeking concession in fee are required to submit attested copy of their OBC/SC/ST/PH/VH certificate along with their Application Forms. Other candidates are not required to submit any certificates/documents in support
of their eligibility alongwith the Application Form. Therefore, the candidates, in their own interest, must satisfy themselves about their eligibility for the Test. In the event of any ineligibility being detected by the Commission, their candidature will be cancelled and they shall be liable for legal action.
4) AGE LIMIT & RELAXATION :
i) Junior Research Fellowship : Not more than 28 years as on 01.12.2008. A relaxation upto 5 years is provided to the candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC/PH/VH categories and to women applicants. Relaxation will also be provided to the candidates having research experience, limited to the period spent on research in the relevant/related subject of post-graduation degree, subject to a maximum of 5 years, on production of a certificate from appropriate authority.
Three years’ relaxation in age will be permissible to the candidates possessing L.L.M. Degree. Total age relaxation on the above ground(s) shall not exceed five years under any circumstances.
ii) Lectureship : No upper age limit.
5) EXEMPTION (ELIGIBILITY FOR LECTURESHIP) :
i) For M. Phil/ Ph.D candidates: The candidates having Ph.D. Degree in the concerned subject are exempted from NET for Under Graduate and Post Graduate level teaching. The candidates having M. Phil Degree in the concerned subject are
exempted from NET for Under Graduate level teaching only. The candidates who have passed the UGC/CSIR JRF examination prior to 1989 are also exempted from appearing in NET.
ii) For SET Candidates: The candidates who have cleared the State Eligibility Test (SET) accredited by UGC for eligibility for Lectureship held prior to 1st June 2002, are exempted from appearing in NET, being eligible to apply for Lectureship anywhere in India. For SET held from 1st June 2002 onwards, the qualified candidates are eligible to apply for the post of lecturer only in the universities/ colleges belonging to the state from where they have cleared their SET. All SET qualified candidates are also eligible to appear in NET, if they so desire.
6) EXAMINATION FEE AND MODE OF PAYMENT :
For General candidates, the examination fee is Rs.450/-; for Other Backward Classes (OBC), the fee is Rs. 225/- and for SC/ST/PH/VH candidates, it is Rs. 110/-. The fee should be paid in the form of a single crossed demand draft from any Government of India Bank/Scheduled Government Bank payable at their Service Branch, New Delhi/Delhi only with six months’ validity drawn in favour of the Secretary, U.G.C., New Delhi. Fee once paid, will not be refunded under any circumstances.
7) SCHEME AND DATE OF TEST :
(i) The Test will consist of three papers. All the three papers will be held on 28th December, 2008 in two separate sessions as under :
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Session Paper Marks Duration
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First I 100 1¼ Hours (09.30 A.M. to 10.45 A.M.)
First II 100 1¼ Hours (10.45 A.M. to 12.00 NOON)
Second III 200 2½ Hours (01.30 P.M. to 04.00 P.M.)
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Paper-I shall be of general nature, intended to assess the teaching/research aptitude of the candidate. It will primarily be designed to test reasoning ability, comprehension, divergent thinking and general awareness of the candidate.
Paper-II shall consist of short questions based on the subject selected by the candidate. Each of these papers will consist of a Test Booklet containing 50 objective type questions. The candidate will have to mark the response for each
question on the Optical Mark Reader (OMR) sheet provided alongwith the Test Booklet. The detailed instructions for filling up the OMR Sheet will be sent to the candidate along with the Admit Card. Paper-III will consist of only descriptive
questions from the subject selected by the candidate. The candidate will be required to attempt questions in the space provided in the Test Booklet. The format of Paper-III has been revised w.e.f. June,2005 UGC-NET and is available on the UGC website www.ugc.ac.in.
Syllabus of UGC NET Test: Syllabi for all NET subjects can be downloaded from the UGC Website www.ugc.ac.in and are also available in the libraries of all Indian universities. UGC will not send the syllabus to individual candidates.
IMPORTANT :
i) The national level Test for determining the eligibility of candidates for the award of Junior Research Fellowship/Lectureship in science subjects (Chemical Sciences; Earth, Atmospheric, Ocean & Planetary Sciences; Life Sciences; Mathematical Sciences; Physical Sciences) is conducted jointly with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi. Check out CSIR UGC NET The candidates in science subjects, desirous of availing UGC-JRF or obtaining eligibility for Lectureship in these subjects are advised to appear in the Joint CSIR-UGC Test for Junior Research Fellowship and Eligibility for Lectureship conducted by CSIR.
ii) The UGC-NET for JRF/eligibility for Lectureship will be held at the University Test Centres specified in the list under item No. 10. PLEASE NOTE THAT CHANGE OF CENTRE WILL NOT BE ALLOWED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
For more Details, Please visit UGC website
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Forex Trading and Currency Exchange
Once I was surfing through net and found this great website Forex Trading. This website is a great Forex and Finance Portal.Whats more they never charge money or fees for any of their services! Thanks to Online Forex, you no longer need to use search engines to and out daily financial news on the world’s largest trading arena. They provide the best amount and quality of Forex knowledge you can get.
From the major currency pairs such as Eur/Usd, Gbp/Usd, Usd/Chf and Usd/Jpy to the next big ones like Eur/Jpy, Aud/Usd, Usd/Cad, Gbp/Jpy, Eur/Gbp and Nzd/Usd; there are many sources that will surely interest all foreign currency players.So get on with trading with Forex trading.Also here you will find useful and rare reviews of the top Forex brokers. This is done for traders and investors who are considering options of where to ‘sow’ their equities and put their money to make it grow like never before. With their free broker reviews, you can easily choose a Forex provider and start making money today!
Also you may heard about Forex Signals.Most aspects of currency trading volume is dependent on speculation where traders buy and sell currency pairs based on day-to-day, hour-to-hour and minute-to-minute price changes. Speculation dominates 90 percent of daily trading volume while a mere 10 percent is attributable to investment and commercial-based foreign exchange. The so called ‘major currencies’ constitute about 75 percent volume of spot currency trading. With the speculative comprising 90 percent and fundamental 10 or thereabouts, other trading instruments like Forex signals are bring put to use.
The Forex signals is a powerful but user-friendly Forex analytic tool that gives traders an understanding of real-time market conditions, i.e. when to buy and when to sell as well as other market indicators.The Forex signals monitor the market round the clock for any anticipated profitable long-term, medium-term or short-term trading position, and thereby generating a number of trading signals a day. Users of this service are also able to understand market trends like volatility, direction, speed, strength in addition to performing inter-market analysis. Benefits of Forex signals are enormous; the trend is beneficial to all categories of traders including position traders, day traders, swing traders and scalpers while giving traders monthly, weekly, daily and hourly information.You can get all information on Forex Signals on this site.
Now about the Foreign Exchange i.e "Forex".The foreign exchange is also a means of earning for top market players who want to earn through trading between two currencies.Forex permits 24-hour trading for 5 days a week with non-stop right of entry through global Forex dealers. Forex provides enormous liquid market causing it easy to trade most currencies. The Volatile markets in Forex offering profit opportunities based on the exchange value differences at any point in time.Like Signals this is also carried out in speculation and hence huge profits can be made through it.This Forex Portal helps you in dealing with currencies quite easily.
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Monday, October 6, 2008
MG University B.Tech. results out
Mahatma Gandhi university announces results of BSc. Degree (Model-1)examination March, 2007.
The results can be viewed from the following link:
http://www.mguniversity.edu/result07/result_bsc23_5_7.pdf
Alternate Links For Result : BTECH 2007 Click here
Second Alternate Link for Online MG university results 2007 http://mgu.ernet.in/exam/btech_2007/index.htm
Official Website for MG university BTech Results : Click here
mg university, mgu.ernet.in, mg university results, mg university btech results, mguniversity
www.ptetadmissions.nic.in || Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur Counselling Session 2008-2009
Jai Narain Vyas University,Jodhpur, Rajasthan
Admissions>>JNVU-PTET Admissions-Counselling Session 2008-2009
Counsellung>>Rajasthan JNVU PTET BEd Counselling 2008-09
Government of Rajasthan has scheduled PTET B.Ed counselling to start soon.
The PTET BEdcounselling website is ptetadmissions.nic.in and not www.ptetadmissions.nic.in or www.ptetadmission.nic.in
First of all,the candidates need to register themselves at http://ptetadmissions.nic.in/Candidate/Authenticate.aspx
Then the candidates must save the password for his/her Roll No for future use.Using this password the candidate can log in website for PTET BEd counselling.
Help Line:Help Line numbers will be available as soon as the counselling starts.
Important Instructions to Candidates:
Candidates have to take a Fees challan for attending counselling.
ReservationPolicy:Download PDF
Eligibility:Download PDF
Fee Challan:Download PDF
Fee Details:Download PDF
