Dosa Dialogues
An Amusing Analysis of Indian English
In India, my father asks me to slow down the car at the sight of a speed breaker, not a speed bump. I love the pasta Kareena Aunty makes, not the one Aunty Kareena makes. In India, when you pester someone, they’ll ask you to “not eat their head.” Your boss doesn’t pressure you to work extra hours, he “sits on your head.” In India, we speak English a little differently.
When I planned to move to New York City for an English language-centric course, the first thing I typed on my note-taking app was “score well on IELTS/TOEFL,” which was instantly followed by a question in my head: Why? Why am I supposed to prove my proficiency in the language that I grew up studying and using myself when the country I belong to is the second-largest English-speaking nation? English is India’s as much as it is anyone else’s.
The language, vocabulary, and accents in the standardized tests are reflective of American, British, or Australian varieties of English — not Indian — which makes us need to assimilate ourselves into it. In other words, is this a remnant of colonialism? I believe pushing the challenges of linguistic purism and language standardization and embracing the diversity of Indian English can lead to a richer linguistic landscape.
When I study journalism in New York City, Indian English is something that obstructs my original way of thinking as I manifest it into a written piece that needs to fit the conventions of journalistic writing. I’m often corrected by my professors. It has probably been either because they were genuinely puzzled or because they thought that the forms I was using might distract readers from the content of my work. It’s the most common everyday words that I often mistake for standard English like Brinjal (eggplant), prepone (ahead of time), etc.
Indian English, like British, American, and Australian, is a variety of language with its own unique words, phrases, phonological features, and accents. The way I see it is — imagine the English language as a human eating a plate full of saucy spaghetti with their hands, instead of using silverware. That’s Indian English right there. Many people would label the act of eating with hands as uncivilized, but I would simply call it non-westernized. Indian English should not be considered incorrect or any lesser than other varieties of English that we’ve designated as “standard.”
Melissa Monroe, professor of liberal studies at The New School, who has previously taught English and linguistics at Stanford and Fordham, clarifies how no linguist would hold the view of treating Indian English as a dialect while they don’t label Australian or American English that way. “American English, British English, and Indian English are all major varieties of English, each with its sub-varieties,” she explains. “They differ in many respects and each has its own “standard’ form, which is used most often in writing to eliminate elements of the less common varieties that might be confusing to readers. A writer is always writing for an audience and needs to be aware of what features of their own variety might be unfamiliar to speakers of other varieties. If they don't offer explanations or paraphrases in these cases, their work may be misunderstood or disparaged by people who don't know any better, including all sorts of ‘experts’ in their own fields who believe that the variety they speak is the ‘right’ one.”
“The Professor,” a poem by Nissim Ezekiel, is a great example of Indian English. This poem satirizes the way Indians talk in English. One of the major themes of the poetry is the usage of Indian English conveyed through hilarious Indianisms — the flavor Indian cultural attitudes lend to the English language. This is evident in the way the professor uses the present continuous tense, which should be the standard. For instance, he says “I’m going out rarely” when he could have said, “I'm not going out very often.” The professor often omits parts of speech. He says “I’m not against it” instead of “I’m not sure about it” or “Every family has black sheep” instead of “Every family has a black sheep.” Ezekiel is a master at spotting these peculiarities in Indian English and applies them effortlessly to his poetry. It is not about grammar but the flavor Indian cultural attitudes lend to the English language.
Although English has long had a local character in India, historically it has been seen as a foreign language because of its origin. In recent decades, however, there has been an increasing claim that English has been successfully Indianised. For example, the International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature claims that English is “an Indian language.” Furthermore, “the caste of English” argues that the English language is already deeply embedded in Indian society: “As long as we live as Indians, the English language will be with us, and amongst us, not as a guest or a friend, but as a member of our family, our caste, our faith, our sect, and our tradition.”
English arrived in India as a product of colonialism. Initially, the British came looking for trade opportunities. Subsequently, the British gained control of various regions through alliances, wars, and treaties. Educational efforts began with the establishment of individual schools and eventually progressed to the actual implementation of formal policies. Over 150 years, it became necessary to spread and develop the English language in a territory whose population spoke hundreds of languages and whose formal history goes back at least 2,000 years. English is India's associate official language with an estimated 125 million speakers. English is the predominant lingua franca in India (connecting all the different language speakers), especially since India doesn't have a recognized first language.
Interestingly, while the British indirectly provided us with an opportunity to borrow the English language, we kept them from going empty-handed. There are more than 900 words in the Oxford English dictionary that originated in India and are now spoken across the UK and other English-speaking countries. Words like loot, cot, shampoo, jungle, pajamas, candy, bungalow, mango, and pepper were borrowed directly from Indian people by British soldiers in the 19th century. Borrowing and lending words that happen because of cultural contact between two communities is a fascinating phenomenon and reminds us how everything is connected somewhere but how it is still so distinct and distant.
Indian English shouldn’t be treated any less of a variation than the other varieties of English, and if making the version legit helps, why not? Making the variety legitimate would be treating it as a standard form. S. N. Sridhar, “Indian English” professor at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, justifies how monumental Indian English is in his lectures titled "Varieties of English.” A report published in 2022 by Oxford University Press states, “According to Sridhar, however, the variety of Indian English spoken is most crucially shaped by a speaker’s mother tongue and any additional (local) languages known.”
The latter, as stated in this report, directly impacts a range of linguistic aspects, including “pronunciation and accent, as well as lexical choice and grammatical characteristics, and stylistic features.” Regardless of the linguistic differences, variance across Indian English forms is relatively limited. The report also insinuates that “Indian English is one of the most spoken varieties of English and is considered to be the oldest non-native variety in the world.”
“Indian English was initially seen as a deviation from the standard form (British English), but is gradually being recognized as a vibrant and legitimate variety, integrated into the multilingual makeup of India,” Sridhar says.
When it comes to English teaching, two key issues need to be addressed. First, “Indian English” is still seen as an illegitimate variety for education. British and American English are gatekept as the “true” standards. This division creates a hierarchy within educational language policy. Secondly, there is a lack of clarity on how this language variety works for teaching purposes. Plus, standardized tests exacerbate this situation. These tests often do not adequately account for the variations and nuances of Indian English. As a result, individuals who are more proficient in Indian English may find themselves at a disadvantage compared to those who have been primarily exposed to American English or British English. the content and examples used in standardized tests often reflect American culture and contexts, which may not be familiar to individuals from other English-speaking countries like India. This cultural bias can further disadvantage test-takers who are not as familiar with American culture. Overall, the prioritization of American English in standardized tests like TOEFL can create barriers for individuals who speak varieties such as Indian English, making it challenging for them to demonstrate their true language proficiency.
In his blog “Learning Indian English” freelance writer Even Quarnstrom expressed his love for the language after three months in the country. “I have been absorbing Indian English words, both consciously to increase my comprehension, and subconsciously by immersion and association.” , he wrote. While Evan questions a few American English words, he embraces Indian renditions. He writes that “washroom” is more rational than “restroom.” A few other words that he jots down include scooty, two-wheeler, gravy, bus stand, Volvo, etc. Quarnstrom also expresses his love for the Indian version, “Language in India is fascinating to me. … And I am sure even when I return home, the remnants of Indian English will take some time to brush off.”
India has a way of accepting cultures outside its borders: Adding its touch to everything and anything. And, it has successfully done it with the English language. The English language has a different personality of its own in India, shaped by Indians. The uniqueness of language, akin to art, lies in its diverse expressions shaped by culture and individuality. English, a blend of cultures and histories, is enriched by its subjective usage, making it inherently beautiful. It's this fluidity and adaptability that makes the language such a powerful and beautiful medium of communication, capable of transcending boundaries and connecting people across different cultures and backgrounds.