Features of Indian (South Asian) English

Lexical, Structural (Grammatical) and Pragmatic Features

Bollywood Movie Posters

Hindi Expressions Mixed in IE

achchaa = good arrai = hey bahut = a lot bus = that's it ek = one (as a number) ghotu = one who reads a lot hajar (hazar) = a ton (more than a lot) ho gaya = done; finished koi bat nahi = no problem kya hall hai = how are you lakh(s) = one-hundred thousand lekhin = but masala = risqu; spicy; hot (like a film) muthlab = meaning paka = pure teek hai = okay (lit: it is right) yaar = buddy; pal http://www.languageinindia.com/junjul2002/baldridgeindianenglish.html

Phonetic Features
Vowels Diphthongs Consonants Stress Intonation

Phonological Features
Absence of Vowel Reduction Speling Pronunciation

Lexical Features
Rubber - Pencil eraser Flat - 'Apartment house' shirt pant - 'Shirt and Trousers' Eve teasing - 'Verbal sexual harassment of women' Where are you put up? means 'Where are you currently staying'?. Where do you stay? is the same as 'Where do you live?' or 'Where's your house?'. This is also used in Scottish, South African English. to shift - to move (e.g. to shift from one apartment to another). Wheatish (complexion) - light, creamy brown, or having a light brown complexion.[12] "Out of station": "out of town". This phrase has its origins in the posting of army officers to particular 'stations' during the days of the East India Company. "acting pricey": playing "hard to get", being snobbish. "pass out" is meant to graduate, as in "I passed out of the university in 1995". "on the anvil" is used often in the Indian press to mean something is about to appear or happen. For example, a headline might read "New roads on the anvil". "Road-side Romeo" is used to refer to men waiting near the street entrances to colleges and universities, or to those cruising the city streets usually - but not only - on motorbikes, in search of women to impress and inveigle into romantic affairs. "tight slap" to mean "hard slap". Girl to a "Road-side Romeo": 'Clear off, or else I'll give you a tight slap.' Timepass - 'Doing something for leisure but with no intention or target/satisfaction', procrastination, pastime. Timewaste - Something that is a waste of time; procrastination. Presumably not even useful for leisure. Dearness Allowance - Payment given to employees to compensate for the effects of inflation.[13] Pindrop silence - Extreme silence (quiet enough to hear a pin drop). chargesheet: n. formal charges filed in a court; v. to file charges against someone in court redressal: n. redress, remedy, reparation "Hill Station" - mountain resort. "Railway Station" - Train station. "stepney" refers to a spare tyre. The word is a genericized trademark originating from the Stepney Spare Motor Wheel, itself named after Stepney Street, in Llanelli, Wales.[14] In South Indian states such as Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andra Pradesh, "stepney" is also used to refer to a mistress (spare wife). "specs" means spectacles or glasses (as in colloquial UK English). Coolers - Sunglasses "cent per cent" - "100 per cent" as in "He got cent per cent in maths". "loose motion" - diarrhea "expire" - To die, especially in reference to one's family member. "prepone" - To bring something forward in time. As opposed to postpone.

 Words of South Asian origin: roti (unleavened bread), finger chips (French fries) I may be a devout believer of the Purdah (segregation) system but.(Religion) Jewelers observe hartal (strike) (law and order)

 In English language newspapers all over S.Asia, one finds the following words from Hindi, Urdu, and Bengali: Panchayat: local governing bodies in villages (Indian English) Gobar: cow dung (Indian English), krishibank: farmers bank (Bangladesh), shariat: Muslim court of law (Pakistan)

A. 1. Identifying people and objects:

big-house Subbaiah corner-house Murthy front-house Akkamma the-that-house people eight-pillared house Nanjundaiah

Sources of Data
Field notes (KKS and SNS) Creative Writing:
Raja Rao, 1942. Kanthapura. Oxford University Press.

Publications:
Sridhar, Kamal. 1989. English in Indian Bilingualism. Delhi: Manohar Kachru, Braj B. 1986. The Alchemy of English. Oxford: Pergamon Press. And others

2. People are also identified with reference to their possessions: jack-tree Tippa cardamom-field Ramachandra the fig-tree-house people 3. Their profession: rice-pounding Rajamma

Identifying People
4. Their physical attributes and habits: left-handed Madanna nose-scratching Ningamma pock-marked Sidda one-eyed Linga

B. Translation of local language expressions extends the frame of reference for describing familiar objects and states: 1. the pumpkin moon
bell-metal voice

2. Range of kinship terms: co-brother co-sister little mother cousin brother cousin sister

Kinship Terms (Nigerian English)

Adebija (1989:167) wife: (a) a woman to whom a man is married; (b) a woman married to a man in a particular family; culturally, she is wife to both the males and the females in the family. Thus, it would not be strange to hear a woman say, "Meet Bola, she is our wife." brother: (a) a male relative with the same parents; (b) a male relative belonging to one's extended family; (c) a male relative belonging to one's town.

C. Greeting and Leave-taking:

I am well here and hope to hear the same from you May we live to see ourselves tomorrow

D. Offering:
Take only this much milk, aunt, only this much. Take it, Bhatre, only one cup more, just once.

E. Invitations:
In India, it is also customary to "request the pleasure of your company with family and friends" at weddings. the expression "...and friends" is not just a formality.

F. Abusing, Threatening, and Insulting

1. Abuses: son of a concubine son of an ass son of a widow son of a prostitute donkey's husband traitor's to one's salt-giver

2. Threats: If I hear your voice, I'll peel the skin off your back. If he tries to show off, I'll cut off his tail

G. Intensifying:
1. Reduplication hot hot coffee grows and grows white white sari poked and poked Oh, I'm tired of sitting and sitting... People are chattering and chattering.

H. Quotative
1. That is considered as adhamada:nam [inferior gift]. 2. Then it is called as ama:va:sya [new moon day]. 3. Seven are called as the u:rdhwa lo:ka [higher world].

I. Use of present continuous for repeated or habitual actions or states

Always they are struggling and struggling and not finding. Even for his maintenance of his wife and family, he is going from house to house, begging.

J. No sequence of tense:
His father wanted a son who can kill Indra. The same night, the Lord appeared in the dream of the king who has put the two men in the prison.

K. Question formation in Indian languages: no inversion and no do-support:

And when this puja is to be started? Only in the evening. What the hell you think? Then, where to do this pu:ja?

Indian English as a Mixed Language

If we didn't add the tadka (seasoning) of our own linguistic mix, the curry wouldn't be spicy enough. -- Anjoo Mohun, The Guardian, Jan 27, 2011 VJs on MTV India: It's not about a word or two but entire shows that are conducted in a seamless mix of Hindi and English Bollywood movie titles: Jab We Met (When We Met) or Love Aaj Kal (Love Today Tomorrow).

From Travel Channel

Gopalpur ek chota sa fishing village hai, famous for its beaches. Yeh lake itna bada hai ki you cant tell ki kaha lake khatam hota hai aur akash shuru. Paakistaan kaa pahlaa luxury length ciagrette. Pakistans first luxury length ciagrette.

From Monsoon Wedding

Scene: Bride-to-be is sleeping. Parents come in the bedroom. Father: You know Pimmi (his wife), Sometimes when I look at them I feel love which I almost cannot bear. kaise itni jaldi badi ho gayi hai (When did she grow up?) And when did we grow old. If only their lives are happy, bas (Thats all). And for that Im willing to take on every trouble, every sorrow in the world.

Code-Mixing in Kannada
. . . kshainisu, dear boy, na:nu use ma:dida strong language-u eshto: control -ma:do:k no:dde. a:dre na :nu educated-u, man of culture-u, broadminded-u, ambo:dnella martubittu nannello: halli:kade:l huttid commercial minded gama:ra anta tilkondu holy alliance of marriage arrange-ma:do: sacred occasionnalli dowry esh tu anta ke: Iti:yalla, nan blood-u boiling point-ge barde iddi:te?

Code-Mixed Song
disco me dance hona cahiya There should be disco dancing kabhi kabhi chace hona chahiye Sometimes there should be a chance coke, popcorn, wafer hona chahiye There should be coke, popcorn, wafers khali khali theater hona chahiye There should be an empty theater motor bike par ana jana chahiye (One) should go on a motor bike are bar bar break lagana chahiye (One) should apply the break frequently hamesha alert hona chahiye (One) should be always alert thora thora flirt hona chahiye (One) should flirt a little

Mixing as a Resource as a Handicap

David Graddol: increasingly people will be called upon to be proficient in more than one language. Young people in countries like India will have an edge, since multi-lingualism will be valued as a professional skill. At the same time, India needs to be more aware of the evolution of English elsewhere in the world, as this will have an impact on its competitiveness.

English & the IT Success and Future

Nilekeni: reasons behind a change in perception - English is no longer viewed as a foreign language. He cautioned that "the demographic dividend that India enjoys could turn into a demographic disaster if we don't give opportunities and access to our people. English is very much a part of this equation ultimately, the lack of English becomes the lack of access."

What English should we teach in India?

But what sort of English should be taught in India's schools: the standard English of the workplace, or the spicy mix favoured by the music channels? Attitudes: Tata Channel: Active English for Housewives

Select References
Jason Baldrige. 2002. Linguistic and Social Characteristics of Indian English. In http://www.languageinindia.com/junjul2002/b aldridgeindianenglish.html Indian English: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_English Anjoo Mohan. 2010. English or Hinglish - does it matter what Indian students are learning? http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/mortarbo ard/2010/jan/27/english-hinglish-for-indianstudents