South Asian English

When we use the terms “South Asia” and “South Asian English”, we normally refer to the countries under SAARC; India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Maldives, and obviously the varieties of English spoken by the people belonging to these countries. When we look at the cultural-linguistic map, we find that South Asia is one region where the culture and language of the people vary dramatically every few thousand miles apart. As the colonizers set foot on the subcontinent, they found the task of ruling over such culturally diverse natives an onerous one. For administrative purposes, they introduced English language in its colonies through its missionaries, by setting up Christian educational institutions. In an age of rapid industrialisation, education and access to the sciences could be made only in the “global language”, so people slowly accepted it.

But as time went by, English in South Asia started evolving. It inducted words from vernacular languages into its lexicon. The cultural variations among the natives also had a great role to play in the localisation of English. The mother tongues of the natives also interfered in their vocal expression of English words. These mother tongues were so many, and so nuanced that many individual varieties of English blossomed into existence. These included national varieties like Indian English, Pakistani English, Maldivian and Sri Lankan varieties. Within nations like India, many smaller varieties of the same sprang up. A Malayali never spoke English as a Bengali did as their mother tongues always affected their pronunciation. Since most South Asians learn English from their South Asian teachers rather than from native speakers of English, the “south Asian” persists over generations. South Asian languages are mostly syllable- timed. Hence, South Asian English also has a syllable-timed rhythm. In this manner, many Indian “English’s” were born.

We see that there are three main types of English speakers in South Asia; those who’s English is like Received Pronunciation, the educated variety of South Asian English speakers and those uneducated speakers who use varieties of pidgin English.

 There are many factors that present English its curious position in South Asia. As Braj Kachru points out, we should understand that English is a foreign language for South Asians, yet is no less important as it is the global language. Secondly, the language’s usage depends on the functional domains in which it is used. Thirdly, Kachru sheds light on the manner in which English has been taught in South Asia – as a classical language. The average learner of English can only write well. He would not be as good a speaker as he is a writer, probably because the majority rarely use English as a spoken language in their daily lives.

South Asian English has always welcomed words from regional languages into its lexicon. Although some critics have argued that English, by doing so, was ruining itself, many believe the opposite. Kamal K Sridhar says, “Words from the local language express local sensibilities, and are perceived as enhancing the expressive resources of the English language”. Therefore, by borrowing native words, English is broadening its wings.

Famous words like Jai Ho, and Satyagraha, have been inducted into the lexicon of South Asian English from local languages in India. These words are so much a part of the daily affairs of an Indian that these words can be found even in newspapers.

Taking into consideration the grammatical characteristics shared by all South Asian users of English, we see that there is a tendency to form information questions without changing the position of the subject and auxiliary items. For example, instead of asking “Where would you like to visit first?” they sometimes ask “Where you would like to visit first?”.  Many South Asian languages use the same word twice to emphasize the effect of the word. For example, “choti choti (small)” in Hindi, “soodu soodu (hot) vada” in Tamil, kochu kochu (small) in Malayalam etc. This is known as reduplication and is also seen in South Asian English. (Small small things, hot hot coffee etc.)

We also see that the culture of a society can mould the conversational style of its language. Kinship terms, factors like respect and politeness and even thought processes which are in turn affected by the culture are all crucial factors in determining the manner in which a language is spoken.

To conclude, we can say that English is hardly considered a foreign language among South Asians these days. It has become so nativized that it occupies a position similar to a regional language in South Asia. But it has had its fair share of opposition as well. Many still view English as a vestige of British colonial rule and question its status. But these arguments are clearly dying if not already dead. We can unhesitatingly declare that English has played a crucial role in improving India’s position in the areas of science and technology, and also in raising its economic profile.