13.5. Indian English

Indian English (IE) / South-Asian E comprises several dialects / varieties of E spoken primarily in the Indian subcontinent. They evolved in & after the colonial rule of GB in India. E is 1 of the official languages of India, ≈90 mln speakers. Under ¹/₄ mln people speak E as their 1^st language. But for some families who communicate primarily in E & members of the relatively small Anglo-Indian community (under half a mln), speakers of IE use it as a 2^nd / 3^rd language, after their Indian language(s).

The grammar & phraseology mimic that of the speaker’s Indian language. Indian accents vary greatly: E with an accent very close to SE (Received Pronunciation) accent; a more ‘vernacular’, native-tinted, accent. Several idiomatic forms, derived from Indian literary & vernacular language. General homogeneity in syntax & vocabulary.

While Indian speakers of E use idioms peculiar to their homeland, literal translations of Ws & phrases from their native languages, only SE is considered grammatically correct. Examples below are only used colloquially. BrE is taught in schools (colour). The use of colloquial phrases in schools, universities & formal situations is incorrect. Many phrases that other E speakers consider antiquated are still popular. Official letters include phrases please do the needful & you will be intimated shortly, which are directly lifted from East India Company correspondence from the 17^th century.

Indian English (colloquial)	Standard English
Rubber	Pencil eraser
Flat	Apartment house
shirt pant	Shirt and Trousers
Eve teasing	Verbal sexual harassment of women
Where are you put up?	Where are you currently staying?
Where do you stay?	Where do you live?
To shift	To move
Wheatish (complexion)	Light, creamy brown / having a light brown complexion
Out of station	out of town
Acting pricey	Playing ‘hard to get’, being snobbish.
Pass out	To graduate
Timepass	Pastime.
Timewaste	Something that is a waste of time
Dearness Allowance	Payment given to employees to compensate for inflation
Pindrop silence	Extreme silence (quiet enough to hear a pin drop).
Stepney	A spare tyre
Coolers	Sunglasses
Cent per cent	100 per cent
To expire	To die, especially in reference to one’s family member

Medical terms, often the cause of undesirable confusion: viral fever:: influenza; jaundice :: acute hepatitis. While standard medical terminology uses jaundice for a symptom (yellow discolouration of skin), in India the term is used to refer to the illness in which this symptom is most common.

Food: brinjal :: eggplant; capsicum :: chili pepper, red / green pepper, / sweet pepper in the UK, capsicum in Au, NZ, Pakistan, Sri Lanka & India, bell pepper in the US, Canada, the Bahamas; paprika in some other countries; curds :: yogurt; sooji / rava :: semolina; sabzi :: greens, green vegetables.

Ws unique to & or popular in India:

batchmate / batch-mate – a schoolmate of the same grade

eggitarian – a person who eats vegetarian food, milk & eggs but not meat

compass box – a box holding mathematical instruments like compasses, divider, scale, protractor

cousin-brother & cousin-sister – male & female 1^st cousins

foot overbridge – bridge meant for pedestrians

flyover – overpass / an over-bridge over a section of road / train tracks

godown – warehouse

godman – pejorative W for a person who claims to be divine / to have supernatural powers

gully – a narrow lane / alley

long-cut – The opposite of short-cut, taking the longest route

mugging / mugging up – memorizing

nose-screw – woman’s nose-ring

prepone – the opposite of postpone, to change a meeting to be earlier

tiffin box – lunch box

co-brother – relationship between 2 men who married sisters

co-inlaws – relationship between 2 sets of parents whose son &daughter are married

boss – a term used to refer to a male stranger

Questions

1. What were the changes brought to the Australian English by the gold rushes?

2. What does tucker (AuE) mean?

3. What elements of Aboriginal languages have been incorporated into Australian English?

4. What is hard yakka (AuE)?

5. Is American English a dialect of English or is it a different language?

6. What were the languages which played an important role in forming American English?

7. Due to what fact a number of originally American words and expressions began to be used in Britain?

8. What do most Americans refer to with the word pavement?

9. What is sidewalk in Britain?

10. Provide examples of English words now in general use which originated as American slang.

11. Provide examples of uniquely Indian English words.

Literature

1. Арнольд И. В. Лексикология современного английского языка: учеб. для институтов и факультетов ин. яз. [на англ. яз.]. – 3-е изд., перераб. и доп. – М.: Высш. шк., 1986. – 295 с.

2. Дубенец Э. Modern English Lexicology : лекции и семинары. – М., 2004. – 143 с.

3. Елисеева В. В. Лексикология английского языка : учеб. – СПб., 2003. – 58 с.

4. Зыкова И. В. A Practical Course in English Lexicology : учеб. пособ. для студентов лингв. вузов и ф-тов ин. языков. – 2-е изд., испр. и доп. – М. : Академія, 2007. – 288 с.

5. Каменская И.Б., Каменский А.И. Страноведение: Великобритания, Соединенные Штаты Америки, Канада, Австралия и Новая Зеландия: Учебное пособие для студентов филологических специальностей: В 2-х ч. – Ч. 2. Соединенные Штаты Америки, Канада, Австралия и Новая Зеландия. – Ялта: РИО КГУ, 2007. – 250 с.

6. Каменський О. І. Регіональні варіанти англійської мови лінгвокраїнознавчий аспект : навчальний посібник для студентів філологічних спеціальностей (англійською мовою). – Ялта : РВВ КГУ, 2010. – 123 с.

7. Ощепкова В.В., Шустилова И.И. Краткий англо-русский лингвострановедческий словарь: Великобритания, США, Канада, Австралия, Новая Зеландия. – М., 2001. – 176 с.

8. Томахин Г.Д. Реалии-американизмы. – М., 1988. – 239 с.

9. Singleton D. Language and the Lexicon: An Introduction. – Hodder Arnold, 2000. – 256 p.