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Culture

Thank you, come again - Indian English set to become major dialect

By: Santosh :+: Under: Culture, Desi Ishtyle
On: ⋅ March 17, 2008 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment
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We @ Über Desi believe in not vonly keeping up with the times but even staying ahead of the curve. So, the next time we publish a post in our typical desi ishtyle English please not to be rolling your esteemed eyes at us. I will tell you why. It is because it has been predicted that Indian English will become the very most widely spoken dialect in this world, says Prof. David Crystal one of the reputed experts on English. [link]

Professor David Crystal, one of the world’s foremost experts on English, said people will effectively have to learn two varieties of the language - one spoken in their home country, and a new kind of Standard English which can be internationally understood.

The English spoken in countries with rapidly-booming economies, such as India and China, will increasingly influence this global standard, he said.

The reason? Very very simple. Numbers.

Prof Crystal said: “In language, numbers count. There are more people speaking English in India than in the rest of the native English-speaking world.

“Even now, if you ring a call centre, often it’s an Indian voice you hear at the end of the phone. As the Indian economy grows, so might the influence of Indian English.

The Prof. even provides some examples of how Indian English sounds very much cooler than the one spoken in good ole’ Blighty.

Varieties of standard spoken English
Indian: He’s a real enthu guy.
British: That guy is really enthusiastic.

He also kindly dedicates this phenomenon to the evolution of the English language very very much like Latin (or Sanksrit).

He predicts English will become a family of languages, just as Latin did a thousand years ago.

“In much the same way as regional dialects developed, as English grows around the world it is immediately adapted to suit the local circumstances,” he said.

As an example, he gives the example of a local weather report.

In future, users of global Standard English might replace the British English: “I think it’s going to rain”, with the Indian English: “I am thinking it’s going to rain”, Prof Crystal argues.

I am thinking that is going to be great.

Thoughts? Opinions? What are you saying?

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