Choosing register when a shopkeeper switches to English
You are in a Pune sari shop buying a gift for your host family. You open in Hindi: "नमस्ते अंकल, मुझे एक साड़ी चाहिए।" The shopkeeper replies in English: "Yes madam, which colour you want?" You notice he is about 55, the shop is small and family-run, and your host mother told you that addressing elders as अंकल/आंटी is normal here. Your Hindi is fluent but your Marathi is not. You have 15 minutes before your host family picks you up, and you still need to negotiate a price of 2,500 rupees down to about 2,000. A friend texts you: "Just switch to English, it's easier."
1. Should you switch to English? Justify your choice using what you know about address terms, code-switching and the purpose of the interaction.
Read the worked answer
No - stay in Hindi, but accommodate.
Reasoning:
- The other speaker's English is a service reflex, not a request to change languages. In many Indian retail settings, a shopkeeper switches to English to signal respect and competence toward a customer who looks like a foreigner. Mirroring that switch can read as confirming you are a tourist rather than a customer.
- The relationship term matters. You already used अंकल, which frames the exchange as warm and quasi-familial. Abandoning Hindi immediately after that term creates an awkward mismatch between the kinship frame and the transactional frame.
- The purpose requires Hindi. You must negotiate a price. Bargaining softeners (थोड़ा कम कीजिए, आप ही बताइए, मेरी मजबूरी समझिए) carry politeness and persistence in Hindi that a rushed English negotiation will not.
- Accommodation, not stubbornness. You can stay in Hindi while accepting his English numbers: "अंकल, अंग्रेज़ी में ठीक है, पर मुझे हिंदी में बताइए - दो हज़ार में हो जाएगा?" This signals you understand him and keeps your own footing.
Verdict: Continue in Hindi, keep अंकल, and let him answer in whichever language he prefers. Switching entirely would weaken both rapport and bargaining position.
2. Write two Hindi utterances: one that keeps the relationship warm while steering back to Hindi, and one that opens the price negotiation politely.
Read the worked answer
Utterance 1 - steering back while staying warm: "अंकल, आपकी अंग्रेज़ी बहुत अच्छी है! पर मुझे हिंदी में ही बात करने में आसानी होती है - आप हिंदी में बताइए ना, कौन-सा रंग अच्छा लगेगा?"
Why it works: it compliments him (face-saving), gives a reason that puts the burden on you rather than him (मुझे आसानी होती है), and ends with a question that requires a Hindi answer.
Utterance 2 - opening negotiation: "अंकल, साड़ी बहुत सुंदर है, पर मेरे लिए ढाई हज़ार थोड़ा ज़्यादा है। मैं विद्यार्थी हूँ, और यह मेरे परिवार के लिए तोहफ़ा है। आप ही बताइए, दो हज़ार में दे दीजिए ना?"
Why it works: compliments the item first, states your constraint (student, gift), uses आप ही बताइए to hand the decision to him, and names a specific counter-offer rather than a vague request.