I can always count on TOI to give me stuff to write about. This morning’s edition carries an article headlined ‘It’s okay to copy!’ (I’m not surprised TOI would think so, but more on that another time.)
The first sentence reads:
“If Chandni Chowk to China was a rip-off from the animated series Kung Fu Panda, the Aamir Khan potboiler Ghajini was said to be copied from Momento.”
Momento? Surely you mean Memento.
A memento is a keepsake, something that serves as a reminder.
The OED defines memento thus:
• noun (pl. mementos or mementoes) an object kept as a reminder.
— ORIGIN Latin, ‘remember!’
‘Momento’ is not a word at all. Not even in American English.
While it might be tempting to leave the boyfriend with a ‘momento’ (saying thank you for the moment, I guess), it’s just not English. So the next time around, leave him with a memento.
Or else, memento mori.
(Translated: Remember that you shall die.)
Nice, Bharati. Find me a sub-editor who can catch that these days and I’ll find you an ezine that’s printed with linotype. But then again — doesn’t TOI, across its pages, represent all varieties of spoken English? Even if it isn’t English at all?
Momentous, innit?
Ha, Bijoy, tell me about it!
Nice one Bharati!