Uncle Sam may frown at your 'pappa'

Author: Paul John
Publication: The Times of India
Date: May 21, 2004
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/690532.cms

The next time you introduce yourself as "myself D Patel" to a visa officer at the US consulate, don't be surprised if he stares at you. He might ask you to read a few paragraphs from an American novel. Your ordeal may not end there. He will then ask you to explain what you read, with proper grammatical inflections.
 
An internal memo sent by the US Bureau of Consular Affairs to all its consulates in India calls for making the verbal test mandatory for student visa aspirants soon.
 
US immigration attorney Allen E Kaye, in a recently published article, says: "If the applicant's form I-20 (admission acceptance form from a university) indicates that proficiency in English is required for pursuing the selected course of study and no arrangements have been made to overcome any English-language deficiency, the consular officer must determine whether the alien has the necessary proficiency."
 
The memo also states that "if the officer must conduct the visa interview in English, the applicant can be asked to read aloud from an English language book, periodical, or newspaper, and then should be asked to restate it in English in the applicant's own words. The applicant may also be asked to read aloud and explain several of the conditions set forth in form I-20."
 
"One has to be first-time-right when it comes to visa interviews. Generally, many start off with the basic introductory rite of 'myself ' followed by 'why I want to do menegement (management) course' and then parting with a 'thenk you' (thank you).
 
Some say: "My pap-pa is in US, so I want to go. All these create a bad impression," says an instructor at a leading coaching institute in Ahmedabad, Jagruti Chauhan.
 
Some language experts feel that it is when students try to directly translate into English what they think in Gujarati that they create a mess. "Some common mistakes are committed while constructing sentences in English. If one says 'I was went,' he is actually translating from hoon gayo hato . Some say, 'This is my mister' when they mean 'This is my husband'" says professor in MS University's English department, SV Sylvester.

"Another problem with many students is while pronouncing words like sister, mother and father. For instance the 'fa' in father becomes 'pha,' similarly 'ther' becomes 'dher' while 'sis' in sister becomes 'shis.'
 
It is not their fault because certain sounds that are used in English might not be there in Gujarati and the least one can do is find the most plausible match," says Sylvester.
 
US immigration specialist Arun Vakill, who was in the city recently, said that the new notification will make it difficult for many, especially the rural folk, who want to pursue higher education to migrate to the US.
 
"It's a popular saying in the US that one Patel can easily help 90 others immigrate. This will not be easy now. The new notification that was shot off last week empowers officers to reject any candidate if they are found non-conversant," says Vakill.
 

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