Imposition of English in India and Its Complexities

EPRA international journal of environmental, economics, commerce and educational management, 2022

Language and Linguistics Compass, 2012

Indian English has been the subject of study since colonial times, with several works written over the years describing its linguistic features. Considerable attention has been paid to the lexis, morphology and syntactic constructions, as also the sound system. Yet, the investigation is far from over, nor is there agreement on issues. Recent work has moved in the direction of corpus-based studies, enabling the establishment of tendencies and grammaticalised forms in a quantified manner. Acoustic phonetic studies are increasingly the norm. These empirically verified conclusions either negate or confirm earlier intuition-based and impressionistic descriptions. Together, these works help to establish what makes up the national variety, the standard and variation. Two theoretical debates emerge in this scenario. The first is the nature and extent of substrate influence and its intersection with L2 universals. The second is a debate on the phase to which Indian English belongs in Schneider's dynamic model of evolution for New Englishes: phase 3 of nativisation or phase 4 of endonormative stabilisation.

2020

India was ruled by the British Empire for almost two hundred years and as a consequence, the Indians were much more exposed to English than to any other foreign language. English acquired the status of an associate language in India since it functions as a language that unites different states and cultures in that area. The fact that there are many regional varieties of Indian English, Standard Indian English Pronunciation (SIEP) took place which derived from Standard British English. Despite this, there still exist phonemic differences that reflect in the SIEP. From the phonological perspective, Standard British English and Indian English show some dissimilarities, so attention will be paid to the consonantal and vocalic sounds. To reflect these differences between both varieties when it comes to phonetics, an Indian movie containing English dialogues will be analysed.

This study is set out to investigate the differences of pronunciations between British English and Indian English by way of comparing Indian pronunciation in the movie 'My Name is Khan' and British pronunciation in Cambridge Advance Learner dictionary. Based on report by Thirumalai entitled Linguistic and Characteristics of Indian English, it is uncovered that Indian English is similar to British English only as far as the lexical level. Although many Indians claim that their English is similar to the British English, actually they are different in the level of pronunciation of certain words. My Name is Khan is a bilingual movie by a Dharma Production and Red Chillies Entertainment. This movie introduces many Indian actors and actresses that sometimes use Indian Englishand some other times use Hindi. This mini research paper focuses on dialogues by Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol who respectively play the role of Khan and Mandira. They are the main actor and actress of that movie. The analysis is done by watching and taking notes of all English dialogues by Khan and Mandira. Then, it is correlated to theoretical background which supports this research. Finally, it is concluded that there are some distinctive varieties on pronunciation between Indian English and British English.

2014

The current dissertation is a systematic study of variation in the English spoken in multilingual and multicultural India. Three experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of two native languages (Hindi and Telugu) on English, which is spoken by almost all Indians as a second language. The first experiment indicated that Indian English (IE) is accented by the first language of its speakers, but high English proficiency and the degree of divergence between the sound patterns of the speaker's native language and his or her IE suggested that other factors might influence the preservation of a native language accent in IE. The second experiment controlled for language investigated the effect of region on IE, finding that listeners were able to distinguish speakers based on region even when they spoke the same native language. The regional variation in IE was more noticeable for native Telugu speakers than for native Hindi speakers. This difference was attributed to differences in the social and political power associated with these native languages: Hindi being the national language and the language of the capital city of India; Telugu, a regional language of Andhra Pradesh and spoken by many fewer people than Hindi. The third experiment was motivated by the idea that persistent effects of the speaker's native language might also be used to reflect a speaker's personal v identity. Accordingly, the experiment investigated the effect of speaking about personal versus neutral topics on IE pronunciation. The results were that speakers' IE pronunciation was more like their native language when speakers' discussed personal topics then when they discussed neutral topics. Overall, the results suggest that the pronunciation of IE is conditioned by social factors, meaning that it has entered the differentiation phase of Schneider's dynamic model of English evolution. This dissertation includes previously published co-authored material.

2019

33 p. : il. -- Bibliogr.: p. 31-33It is widely accepted that the English language is the most important international language in the world. It is because of its importance that there has been a worldwide spread of English. Due to the spread of English, numerous new varieties of English have been created. For instance, the interaction between the British and the Indians created a new variety of English called Indian English. In addressing the topic, this paper aims to deal with the arrival and development of the English language in India as well as its current status. For this purpose, a historical outline will be followed by the features of Indian English as well as the proficiency, ending with the most spoken languages in India. Consequently, it is vital to highlight the importance of the English in India since English has been spoken in the country for four centuries, establishing itself as the second language for most Indians. India contains more than 600 languages despite not a...

2014

The Present study attempts to discuss the Sociolinguistics of English in India. The rising status and the rapid spread of English is a matter of discussion in the field of applied linguistics. The language we speak defines and determines one’s place and identity in the world. It is not just a set of sound words or sentences. Many different regional varieties of English or ‘Englishes’ exist around the globe and are slowly but steadily gaining recognition. Indian English is one such variety. English spoken in India is deeply linked with the society, culture and the people. The function of English in India is different from that it performs in the native context. The defining factors such as the cultural plurality and presence of different languages have given India a distinct place in the multilingual context. The growth of English in India can be directly correlated with the growth of imperial rule in India. English language has been and continues to be a dividing force in the society.

The teaching of English pronunciation skills is either neglected or unprofessionally taught or less taught for communication in the Indian classroom. The major obstacle is its differing nature from that of Indian languages. While most Indian languages are inflectional and syllable-timed, English is derivative and stress-timed. The phonemic structure of languages of Indo-European and Dravidian families further complicate the problem of the pedagogy of the English pronunciation. This differing phonemic structure makes it difficult for Indian users of English to register sounds and other phonemic properties that do not conform to the contrastive or oppositional patterns of the Indian languages. This paper examines the phonemic structures of English and Tamil in order to locate the 'blind's spots in the teaching/learning of English pronunciation skills as part of General English curriculum.

Come on, India's not as bad as all that. Other side of the earth, if you like, but we stick to the same old moon." ~ E.M. Forster, A Passage to India, Chapter 3 Sailaja Pingali's Indian English Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009, pp.x+172. Indian English (IE) is a postcolonial variety of English in terms of phonological features, indigenous lexis, cultural uniqueness, creative expression in literature and other media. The term IE is referred to English used in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka or the Indian subcontinent. This variety is also widely spoken by the Diaspora in several countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States due to mass migration of Indians from all corners of the country over the centuries for education and employment.

The axiom ‘Many a little, makes a mickle’ holds good in the case of English Language also when we speak of British colonial hegemony. It has spread its spell across the length and breadth of the globe. The diehard lovers of their language of the people of Japan and the China have also fallen prey to the fascination of English. The advent of the English in India too, has widened the avenues in the field of national and international levels not only in literature but also in the corporate world. Who can be oblivious of the capacious contributions of the European scholars and lexicographers like Charles Philip Brown, Rev. Ferdinand Kittel and Johann Philip Fabricius, to name a few; they have enriched Indian linguistic treasures so much so that their literary works are the lighthouse. In a nutshell, English is a Lingua Franca of the world. By now, it is an indispensable medium of communication. Its educative value cannot be denied.