Fundamental features of Indian English

Fundamental features of Indian English | Suitable Examples

Q. Discuss the fundamental features of Indian English. Give some suitable references to these features of Indian English.

Answer: Indian English is a variety of the English language. It is also known as IE. Depending upon the influence of various original languages and culture in India, Indian English has developed its own distinct characteristics. In this article, we will discuss the fundamental features of Indian English with some suitable references.

'Phonological variation' is considered to be one of the most fundamental features of Indian English. We can notice the lack of distinction between the 'V' and 'W' sounds in India. It is mostly noticeable in words like 'very'. When we pronounce the word 'very', it sounds like 'wery'.

Again, there is a difference in 'stress patterns' from standard British English. For example, when we try to pronounce words like 'computer' etc., the stress pattern falls on the 1st syllable in these words.

Secondly, 'lexical borrowing' is another feature of Indian English. Indian words like 'guru', 'karma' and 'Curry' have become part of the global English vocabulary. These words from Indian languages have merged into the English vocabulary.

An example of this 'lexical borrowing' can be noticed in the usage of words like 'prepone' (to bring forward in time) and 'eve-teasing'(street harassment). These are examples of unique words in Indian English.

Grammatical differences are also notable features in Indian English. There are omissions of articles (a, an, the) in certain contexts. When one of the speakers of Indian English wants to say "I am going to market" this omission of articles is clearly noticeable. Here, the speaker unknowingly omits the article 'a' before the word, 'market'.

This grammatical difference is also noticeable in a sentence "I am knowing" instead of "I know". This is caused by the consistent use of the progressive aspect of the situation. Therefore, it leads to expressions like "I am knowing" instead of "I know".

There is another example of grammatical differences in the 'subject-verb agreement'. Most Indian speakers say "the team is playing well", for example, instead of "the members of the team are playing well".

Moreover, there is a difference between the Indian English and British English in their patterns of conversation. Most of the speakers of Indian English use an indirect communication style. They have a tendency to be more polite and careful in expressing their opinions.

They often use titles like Mr., Mrs., and Dr. They use these titles more frequently than in other varieties of English.

‘Code switching’ is another feature in Indian English. It is a habit of most Indian speakers. They have a conversation with another. In this matter, the speakers alternate between English and their regional languages within the same conversation or even within the same sentence.

For example, when the speaker says, "Let’s go to the market and buy some vegetables. Phir hum ghar me biryani banana skate hain.” (Then we can make biriyani at home.)

Again, in the sentence, "I was reading a very interesting book yesterday. Bahut achi book thi!"(It was a very good book!).

In this way, ‘code-switching’ in Indian English, is a common feature. It is a practice of seamlessly transitioning between English and one or more of the various regional languages spoken in different parts of India. These Indian languages may be Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi and others.

So, there are various notable features of Indian English. And these features are popularly recognized by most of the speakers of British English.

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