Scheming Indians

I continue to be amused by the linguist differences between Indian English and American English, particularly when it comes to business terminology. I suppose we have the Brits to blame for this but I think the Indians have added to the linguistic diaspora.

Perhaps my favorite example is Indian’s use of the word “scheme” in place of the American English terms “business, company, or organization”. I suppose a business is a scheme of sorts, a scheme to provide a product or service and make money, but the word scheme in the US has a negative connotation, of course. A ‘business scheme’ in the American context has the implication of some sort of fraud being committed, e.g. a pyramid scheme, a ponzi scheme. Perhaps it is because of the etymological similarity to scam, don’t really know.

A similarly strange business expression is the use of the word “promoter” to describe a founder or entrepreneur. These two phrases come together beautifully on CNBC India every night with India’s captains of industry introduced as “promoters of a scheme”. It sounds strange, and definitely worth a chuckle, but perhaps they have it right. As an investor in the US equity markets I certainly feel like the victim of a scheme as I watch my net worth vanish in massive chunks every night. Perhaps the promoter should have told us that stocks can also go down. So, if you find that promoter guy, bring him to me, so I can throttle him for a while.