Indian English: A Sociolinguistic Profile of a Transplanted Language

Description

Urbana, IL: U of Illinois P / Unit for Foreign Language Study and Research, 1976. — 52 p.This paper is a study in language acculturation with special reference to the Indianization of the English language. It briefly traces the history of the diffusion of bilingualism in English on the culturally and linguistically pluralistic Indian subcontinent. The functional roles of English are discussed and the formal influences of Indian cultural and linguistic contexts are illustrated from the sound system, grammar, lexis and semantics of Indian English. These formal characteristics manifest themselves in what may be termed the "Indianness" in this variety of English. The crucial questions of "intelligibility" and "variation" are examined with reference to the functions of English in India. The development of, and attitudes toward, Indian writing in English is briefly discussed. The role of English in India's language planning is related to various linguistic and political pressure groups in pre- and post-Independence India. The aim is to provide a sociolinguistic profile of a non-native language in a multilinguistic non-Western context.