a new language

I was remiss in assuming that I had one language to learn when I came to India.  Yes, there is the obvious - the mixture of Urdu and Hindi that is spoken here in the northern plains.  And were I to ever live in a different region, I'd need to learn what is spoken there.  But I discovered quickly there are languages other than spoken ones.  Each culture has so many languages of body and society, whole sets of movements and noises that communicate meaning.

As I was walking on the street yesterday, I realized that in the past months I've been living and driving here in Delhi, I've been learning a new language - the language of motorized vehicle horns.  Here is my attempt at creating a simple working dictionary (organized by level of amusement).

The Light Tap - This is the most subtle and most rarely used technique.  Seldom is the driver relaxed enough to employ it.  But every now and then it will be used to say something such as, "I'm here, just at your back right corner", or perhaps "I'm pulling into the parking spot you're standing in - kindly step aside".

Several Light Taps - This is a more common form of what is written above.  As a guide, it's often better to use repetition in communication.

The Long Frightened Blow - The one I myself use the most often, it's effective at communicating that what the driver of an oversized SUV near you is about to attempt could endanger your life.

The Long Angry Blow - The one I use secondly most often (after the above is ignored), it allows that aforementioned driver of oversized SUV to know that yes, I see him trying to throw his weight around and no, it's not okay.

The Long Aggressive Blow - This is employed by our SUV driver to respond that "yes, I know you don't like it, but, well, I'm doing it anyway".  This one I rarely use because, let's face it, it's rather foolish to be aggressive when you're the smallest vehicle on the road.  

Multiple Long Frightened/Angry/Aggressive Blows - The most amusing piece of all horn language, it is most often used in conjunction with actions of premeditated madness.  For example, a small, sputtering scooter driver may use this when he decides to run a stop-light to cross a huge intersection in front of trucks the size of small mountains.  A rough translation into the English language may be something like the following: "I'm betting my entire life and yours on the hope that you will hear me, see me, and stop.  For heaven's sake, save yourself - and me."