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I'm at odds about whether the following text is grammatically correct. While it obviously uses quite 'extravagant' words that one wouldn't use in everyday life, I actually think that the text lacks proper grammar, and also fails to comply with English fluency.

Supreme Court of India's Ruling

I also think it makes more sense if you read it in Indian English rather than British English, which is technically based of an older form of British English used during the colonial era.

masteringnew dates
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  • I'd say certainly not, but then neither does a lot of Shakespeare nowadays. – Edwin Ashworth Feb 18 '17 at 10:15
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    ᴍᴏᴅᴇʀᴀᴛᴏʀ ɴᴏᴛᴇ: Do not post images of text! Images can be neither searched nor cited — or even read by some members. Please replace that image with the actual typed-in text at your earliest possible convenience. – tchrist Feb 18 '17 at 16:23
  • ...or baubles from the shiny objects box, handled unfamiliarly and strewn willy-nilly. – Sven Yargs Feb 21 '17 at 06:13
  • On first reading, there seem to be all sorts of dangling phrases and infelicitous collocations. Also, doesn't make sense. After multiple readings, yes, this seems grammatical, fluent, and has a coherent narrative, but it is stylistically entirely overblown. – Mitch Feb 21 '17 at 15:43

1 Answers1

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I hesitate to comment on the use of language by anyone from the august Indian Supreme Court, but the passage does take more than one reading to understand it. As a first step, I've made an attempt to rewrite the extract more intelligibly - with apologies for the stilted style:

"Nowadays there seems to be a growing realization that corruption is present in almost all aspects of everyday life, and people appear to accept this evil helplessly. Regular daily experiences do reinforce the realization that the various forms of corruption are eating away at the nation's core with impunity. Encouraged by the fact that corruption is so materially lucrative, those people carrying it out have taken a stronger grip on the national spirit. Remedial steps by groups and individuals at all levels are essential to release society from its increasing stranglehold." While paraphrasing the passage like this, there seemed to be a couple of points where the meaning is not clear:

  • The second sentence includes the phrase "experiences indeed do introduce one with unfailing regularity". I think it is more colloquial to say "do indeed" rather than "indeed do". But the more important point is that it is not clear to what "one" refers. Is it to a typical person? In this case would they not be "introduced to" something? Or does the "one" refer to another "impression" being introduced to the nation in general? But "impression" is singular and the introduction of another one would need more explanation.
  • There seems to be a disparity between the tenses in the third and fourth sentences. In the third sentence, there is a reference to "have tightened the noose" (Past Perfect) which does not correspond to the "escalating venality" (Present Continuous) in the fourth sentence.
Graham McHardy
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