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I've observed a significant number of questions on SO & SE, presumably written by folks use Indian English, in which the word "doubt" is used where "question" should have been used. The sentences usually look like "I have a doubt about [interesting topic].."

My question, then, is: how or why did Indian English shift the meaning of "doubt" from its usage in British English? I'm looking for any historical development of this usage.

Edit required by SE - the latest comments on literal vs. idiomatic translations are more what I'm after. How did the word "doubt' take on this non-BritEng usage in India?

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Carl Witthoft
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  • You might have your answer under the question you've already linked to. http://english.stackexchange.com/a/294126/50044 – NVZ Sep 13 '16 at 12:00
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    Possible duplicate of Can "doubt" sometimes mean "question"? – Ébe Isaac Sep 13 '16 at 12:03
  • @ÉbeIsaac I'm looking more for the etymology of the Indian-English usage, not the fact that that's the source of this confusion. – Carl Witthoft Sep 13 '16 at 12:23
  • You might also refer http://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/4727/i-have-a-doubt-about-whether-this-phrase-is-acceptable-english – Ébe Isaac Sep 13 '16 at 12:42
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    Surely it isn't a change in meaning, it is just phraseology. They ask a question to allay their doubt. – Chenmunka Sep 13 '16 at 13:06
  • I am failing to see anything Indian English specific about "question" "doubt" or even "uncertainty" being broad synonyms. – user662852 Sep 13 '16 at 13:36
  • My guess would be that it was taken over from some other Indian language. – GEdgar Sep 13 '16 at 13:47
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    @GEdgar - could be Spanish. Tengo una duda is literally "I have a doubt" but what it actually means is I have a question. – aparente001 Sep 14 '16 at 04:09
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    @user662852 "Teacher, I have a doubt about what you said". In InE that means "Teacher, I have a question". In AmE or BrE that would mean "Teacher, I think that what you are saying may not be correct". – oerkelens Sep 14 '16 at 08:31
  • I have always considered this to come from, "I have some doubt as to whether my understanding of this topic is completely correct. Could you help me understand it more clearly." – Jim Sep 18 '16 at 23:16
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    It took me a long time to get used to seeing this usage of the word. I still find it jarring. – Barmar Sep 19 '16 at 18:46
  • When I see strange uses of a word that are common in another country, my general assumption is that their native language uses the same word for both meanings, and the wrong translation has been adopted. – Barmar Sep 19 '16 at 18:49

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The root of this usage can perhaps be traced to one Indian word: Shankaa. The word Shankaa does represent doubt with the sense as in British English. However, it does get used to convey one more sense: a state of 'confusion', i.e., partial understanding enough to make one capable of seeking a clarification. Often this state doesn't get referred to as a state of having a question in mind, since the question itself may not be very clear and precise, and it may also be an invalid one. Secondly, questioning also sounds like being a bit aggressive, conveying a feeling of posing as a challenger. Posing doubts sounds more polite and correct. So, the teachers ask questions and the students have doubts for clarification! Thus, Doubt when used to represent a question becomes more friendlier than Question.

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