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I'm talking about wish the verb in the following sense only:

1.1 [WITH TWO OBJECTS] Express a hope that (someone) enjoys (happiness or success):

they wish her every success

As we can see, Oxford dictates that wish must have two objects when used in this sense.

In India, it's extremely common to drop the second object when it's understood.

For example:

It's her birthday today. Did you wish her?

It's highly unlikely in India that anyone would say “Did you wish her a happy birthday?”

In the above example, at least the context was introduced in the previous sentence, but this usage is also possible without mentioning the context when it is known by the people involved. For instance, on Mother's Day, a brother could ask his sister: “Did you wish Mom?” It's understood that he's talking about Mother's Day.

Also, it's common to introduce the context in the same sentence without using a second object. As in:

Ever since we broke up she doesn't even wish me on birthdays.

My questions:

  • Do native speakers use “wish” like this?
  • If they don't, does this sound right to them?
  • Is it a feature of Indian English; or downright wrong?
  • (EDIT:) How would a native speaker phrase these example sentences?
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Tushar Raj
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    I can only speak from personal experience, so I won't post it as an answer. I had never heard this use of wish before I came into contact with speakers of InE. Once I did, I readily understood the meaning, and I have heard many speakers of InE use the verb like this. I would consider it indeed a standard InE usage of the verb wish. – oerkelens May 19 '15 at 11:59
  • @oerkelens: Good to hear that you don't think it's wrong. I actually meant to ask this question earlier, when I saw a post in which an Indian user had used wish like this and curiousdanii pointed out it's wrong. I didn't even realize natives don't use it like this before then. – Tushar Raj May 19 '15 at 12:05
  • I think it's a matter of opinion whether this usage (non-standard to Anglophones at large) is "wrong", since there's no authoritative body endorsing any "non-standard" usages that happen to be more common among Indian English speakers than anywhere else. – FumbleFingers May 19 '15 at 12:15
  • It is just ungrammatical; whether and what can be understood just depends on the listener. Did you wish her? (wish what?) or might even sounds like, Did you desire her?. –  May 19 '15 at 12:20
  • @Josh61: It doesn't sound good to me either, but Cambridge Dictionaries acknowledge the usage Indian English: to welcome someone with particular words or a particular action: He wishes me every morning. Perhaps because there's a common Hindi word that can be used this way, and/or conflation with *to greet*. – FumbleFingers May 19 '15 at 12:32
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    @Josh61: the fact that understanding depends on the listener doesn't make it ungrammatical. That is like saying "do you have a rubber?" or "do you want a fag?" are non-semantic because the meaning differs greatly between AmE and BrE speakers. I agree that (most, if not all) native speakers of AmE and BrE would at least frown upon this usage of wish, but whose language is it, anyway? – oerkelens May 19 '15 at 12:41
  • @FumbleFingers - what would you say to a student of yours who uses that sentence? –  May 19 '15 at 12:44
  • @Josh61: I'd repeat what I said above - it's non-standard to mainstream native Anglophones. My experience of Indians who have settled in the UK is that the vast majority of them do not wish to "accidentally" identify themselves as speakers of Indian English (which usually isn't their native language anyway). And the children of such émigrés (who usually are native Anglophones) are often even more concerned about such matters than their parents. They just want to sound like everyone else in their new homeland. – FumbleFingers May 19 '15 at 13:10
  • Do native speakers use wish like this? AmE, BrE, AusE, etc don't use this.
  • If they don't, does this sound right to them? They also don't understand it.
  • Is it a feature of Indian English; or downright wrong? Sort of both. It is 'wrong' in those varieties I listed. It must not be wrong in IndE.
    • – Mitch May 19 '15 at 17:38
  • @Mitch: Thanks. Mind answering my fourth q: How would a native speaker put it? – Tushar Raj May 19 '15 at 17:43
  • Nice question, until I joined EL&U I would have said it made no sense, but I see this usage time and time again. Once you know, then there isn't any real problem, and I'm sure that the context makes the meaning quite clear. (But I don't see myself adopting this usage) – Mari-Lou A May 19 '15 at 17:49
  • @Mari-LouA: And I'm at a loss how else to say it :( – Tushar Raj May 19 '15 at 17:52
  • As for your example sentences, "Did you wish her happy birthday" does the trick (it's implied that it's her birthday, so you save a sentence). "Since we broke up she doesn't even wish me happy birthday." Again, she wouldn't be expected to do that except on birthdays, so you don;t need to repeat that. – oerkelens May 19 '15 at 17:56
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    I don't see why this question has a close vote. I think monotransitive wish is a well known feature of Indian English. It's described in Indian and British English: A Handbook of Usage and Pronunciation (2004, p.197) and Contemporary Indian English: Variation and Change (2009, p.106), for example. It's not a feature of AmE or BrE (for example), and an answer can plainly say so and answer the rest of the OP's questions. –  May 19 '15 at 17:56
  • @Area51DetectiveFiction 4) How would a native speaker put it? Like you said "Did you wish her a happy birthday?" In AmE/BrE you must say what it is you wished if you are directing the wish at somebody (like the rule says , 2 objects, the person and the wish itself). The intransitive 'wish' goes with 'for' (when there's just you wishing) "I wished for three more wishes." – Mitch May 19 '15 at 18:11
  • Here's a recent InEng question using "wish" How to wish a colleague going on maternity leave? – Mari-Lou A May 20 '15 at 15:59
  • New expression learnt! I guess I’m not that frequently exposed to Indian English—I had never heard this usage before in my life. I doubt I would have understood what was meant without the explanation. – Janus Bahs Jacquet May 20 '15 at 21:55
  • I have a hunch that the InEng usage is derived from the polite salutation: Best wishes, i.e. the writer is politely saying "I hope everything goes well for you", and the phrase "send her/him my best wishes".In those cases two objects are not needed.Wishes (noun) in Italian is auguri, and it's very common to just say to one another Auguri! when it is Xmas or the New Year. Tanti auguri is literally "many wishes" which Italians say to each other on birthdays. – Mari-Lou A May 22 '15 at 04:26
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    There are four downvotes, which is a huge shame. I'd like to hear theories as to how this InEng usage came about, how old it is, and whether InEng speakers use this form of greeting to other native (BrEng and AmEng) and non-native speakers. Is this more common among British Indians/Asians or N.American Indian English speakers? Does this practice continue to the next generation or are their children "taught" out of it at school? – Mari-Lou A May 22 '15 at 04:34
  • It seems we need a separate site for Indian English Language and Usage, since it's clearly a different animal than what we AmE and BrE speakers consider "standard", " common", "acceptable", or whatever. It differs not only in terminology, but in syntax and grammar. I consider myself quite conversant in the subtleties of English usage as practiced in North America, but I can see that much of this hard-earned knowledge is of no use when confronted with "normal" Indian English expressions such as "Did you wish her?". Of course, it is fascinating to discover how Indians use the language – Brian Hitchcock May 22 '15 at 06:26
  • Do native speakers use wish like this? Whom do you mean by "native speakers"? Do you mean non-Indian-born English speakers? Or are you looking for native speakers of, say, American, Canadian, British, or Australian English? – Brian Hitchcock May 22 '15 at 06:39
  • EDIT: I meant "vote to close" votes. British English, Australian Eng, N.Zealand Eng, Irish Eng, N.American Eng, Canadian Eng, Malaysian Eng, Singapore Eng ...(and those are the ones I've only heard about) So many Englishes :) Lots of dialects to get to grips with! – Mari-Lou A May 22 '15 at 09:06
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    My fiancée's family is Sri Lankan with English as their primary language, and they use 'wish' like this all the time. As another example, her step-father (a native-born Australian) said "people will want to wish you after your wedding". They have always insisted that it is a perfectly normal way of using the word, despite my confusion at never having heard anyone else do it. This question helped me finally clarify that it's not some bizarre family-specific usage! – Mark Oct 23 '17 at 22:27
  • @Mark You're welcome :) It's interesting that a native-born Australian uses it this way. – Tushar Raj Oct 24 '17 at 06:19
  • @TusharRaj I meant to mention (but missed the chance to edit) that he has been married to his Sri Lankan wife for a while and has lived there for a short time, so obviously has heard it in that context enough to pick up the meaning and adopt it into his vocab. It still sounds strange to me, so I don't think I'll be doing it myself just yet! :-) – Mark Oct 24 '17 at 22:57