|
 News
reports from the sub-continent suggest that growing numbers of
Indians are attempting to Americanize their English in order to
make themselves more attractive to U.S. corporations, and to take
advantage of opportunities created by outsourcing. This is
especially true in the hi-tech field, and is most prevalent among
those in their 20s and early 30s — the age group perhaps most
concerned about future job prospects. Some have signed up for
special courses designed to familiarize them with American
vocabulary, pronunciation and spelling.
This is a significant development because ever since colonial
times British English has been the language of officialdom and the
elite in India, serving as it has as lingua franca in a country
with no fewer than 17 constitutionally recognized national and
regional languages. If we then consider the fact that these 17
mainstream tongues are actually spoken in some 1600 dialects, it
is not hard to understand why this vast nation has chosen English
as its official working language.
What many don't realize, however, is that seen in a longer-term
perspective the linguistic influence has not been all one way.
Especially UK English has enriched itself with Hindi words such as
'guru' and 'juggernaut', Hindustani words such as 'bungalow'
(derived from 'Bengal') and 'gymkhana', Tamil words such as
'mulligatawny', and Urdu words like 'khaki' and 'pyjamas'.
Nowadays, however, if one is to believe local newspaper reports,
ambitious young Indians might be learning to say 'ranch house'
instead of bungalow, and to write 'pajamas' instead of pyjamas.
They are, no doubt, also
having to unlearn a whole bunch of expressions still commonly used
in India but now perceived as quaint or antiquated elsewhere
|
|
in the English-speaking world — words like
'needful' and 'felicitations', or the 'fooding and lodging' seen on signs
outside cheaper hotels.
Indians appear comfortable with the easygoing
conversational style of American English, and perhaps see it as a welcome
departure from the rigid grammar-adherence of the British English learned
in their schooldays. Nowadays, more and more of them can afford to make
the odd mistake and expect to get away with it! Nevertheless, British
English itself is far from static. Once sacred grammar rules are becoming
less rigid, and even die-hard conservatives have had to face up to the
challenges posed by internationalization of the language.
Despite the recent flurry of interest in
American English, the BBC continues to attract larger audiences in India
than any of the U.S. networks, and this is not likely to change any time
soon.
©
David Appleyard 2010. All rights reserved.
|
