A Hinglish phrase, commonly heard at offices is, "Let's sit for it" or better yet, "Let's sit ON it." This does not refer to an actual seat, the act of sitting or the desire to not participate (sit this one out). What the person using the phrase really means is, "Let's work on it" or, "Let's have a meeting about that," or "Let's discuss the matter."
One might wonder how the phrase sit for/sit on found its way into the ever expanding Hinglish dictionary. The origin is quite clear. It is a literal translation of the Hindi phrase, "beht sakte hain?" meaning, "Can we sit?" which could be used to ask for another person's time in any of the situations mentioned above.
The problem arises because in translating sentences literally, the actual meaning is lost. Of course, this is not a problem that is unique to English. Any person learning a new language is bound to find themselves in this situation since one language will almost always be dominant. Dominant in this situation refers to the language in which one thinks and feels.
On that note. I must go do some sleep.
One might wonder how the phrase sit for/sit on found its way into the ever expanding Hinglish dictionary. The origin is quite clear. It is a literal translation of the Hindi phrase, "beht sakte hain?" meaning, "Can we sit?" which could be used to ask for another person's time in any of the situations mentioned above.
The problem arises because in translating sentences literally, the actual meaning is lost. Of course, this is not a problem that is unique to English. Any person learning a new language is bound to find themselves in this situation since one language will almost always be dominant. Dominant in this situation refers to the language in which one thinks and feels.
On that note. I must go do some sleep.
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