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Indian English has developed a number of dialects, distinct from the General/StandardIndian English that educators have attempted to establish and institutionalise, and it is possible to distinguish a person's sociolinguistic background from the dialect that they employ. These dialects are influenced by the different languages that different sections of the country also speak, side by side with English. The dialects can differ markedly in their phonology, to the point that two speakers using two different dialects can find each other's accents mutually unintelligible.[1][2][3]
Indian English is a "network of varieties", resulting from an extraordinarily complex linguistic situation in the country. (SeeOfficial languages of India.) This network comprises both regional and occupational dialects of English. The widely recognised dialects include Tamil English, Malayali English, Telugu English, Maharashtrian English, Punjabi English, Bengali English, Hindi English, alongside several more obscure dialects such asButler English (a.k.a. Bearer English), Babu English, and Bazaar English and severalcode-mixed varieties of English.[3][4][5][6]
The formation of these regional/socio-economic dialects is the same form oflanguage contact that has given rise toScottish English.[7]
General Indian English here refers to a variety originating outside of the eastern regions and southern regions, crossing regional boundaries throughout the Republic of India. As mentioned,Cultivated Indian English is almost entirely this General Indian dialect but with a few additional features derived fromReceived Pronunciation.
This accent is closest to the educated people, used by news anchors, actors and upper-class people throughout the nation not just particular to any region.
Babu English (a.k.a.Baboo English), the name originally coming from theBengali word for a gentleman, is a dialect of English that first developed as an occupational dialect, amongst clerks in the Bengali-speaking areas of pre-Partition India. Originally characterised as a markedly ornate form of administrative English, it is now no longer confined solely to clerks, and can be found inNepal, north India, and in some social circles in south India.[8][9]
The distinguishing characteristics of Babu English are the florid, excessively polite, and indirect manner of expression, which have been reported for amusement value, in works such as Cecil Hunt'sHonoured Sir collections (seeFurther reading), and lampooned, in works such as F. Antesey'sBaboo Jabberjee, B.A., for over a century.[8][10]
Butler English, also known as Bearer English or Kitchen English, is a dialect of English that first developed as an occupational dialect in the years of theMadras Presidency,[11] but that has developed over time and is now associated mainly with social class rather than occupation. It is still spoken in major metropolitan cities.
The dialect of Butler English is singular. Therefore, the present participle is used for the future indicative, and the preterite. For example, for the preterite indicative "done", "I telling" translates to "I will tell", "I done tell" to "I have told", and "done come" to "actually arrived". This form of Indian English was used both by masters for speaking to their servants as well as by servants to speak to their masters.[12]
Hinglish (the name is a combination of the words "Hindi" and "English") is amacaronic language, a hybrid ofBritish English andSouth Asian languages – it is acode-switching variety of these languages whereby they are freely interchanged within a sentence or between sentences. While the name is based on theHindi language, it does not refer exclusively to Hindi, but "is used in India, with English words blending with Punjabi, and Hindi, and also withinBritish Asian families to enliven standard English." It is predominantly spoken in Northern India and some parts of Mumbai and Bangalore.[citation needed]
Modern phonologists often divide Indian English into five major varieties.
Assamese English refers to the English spoken byAssamese speakers.Some major difference between Assamese English and British English are mostly seen in some consonants. In Assamese English all vowels are usually short.
| Words | Pronunciation in Assamese English |
|---|---|
| apple | ɛpʊl |
| cold | kol(d) |
| ball | bɔl |
| cool | kul |
| mango | mɛŋɡɔ |
| father | ɸadaɹ |
| cat | kɛt |
| she | si |
| China | saɪna |
| verification | bʱɛɹiɸikɛsɔn |
| intelligent | intɛlizɛn |
| telephone | telɪɸʊn |
| jewellery | zʊɛlaɹi |
| think | tʰiŋ |
| desk | dɛks |
| road | ɹʊd,ɹod |
| guardian | ɡaɹzɛn |
| fish | ɸis,pʰis |
| but | bat |
| number | nambaɹ |
| university | iʊnibʱaɹsiti |
| ghost | ɡʱos(t) |
| college | kɔlɛz |
| pressure | p(ɹ)saɹ |
| torch | tɔ(ɹ)s |
| checkpoint | sɛkpɔɪn |
| halfpant | ɦappɛn |
Bengali English (oreastern Indian English) here refers collectively to the varieties of theWest Bengal state and neighbouring country ofBangladesh, which has been greatly influenced byBengali. Its main subdivisions areCalcutta English as well asDhaka English. It is similar or even identical toBangladeshi English, also known asBanglish orBenglish.
West Indian English here refers to a traditional variety spoken in the western part of India.
Cultivated Indian English here refers collectively to non-localised, non-working class, and more recent varieties of India and the surrounding region of India. It includes mainstream Indian English, a widely common, upper-class variety that preserves a few local Indian features while setting the basis for an otherwise General Indian English accent as well as new Cultivated Indian English, a youthful variety beginning in the 2000s. However, both are found rarely in India.
Southern Indian English here refers to broad varieties of Southern India.
In addition to these, the alveolar stops[t] and[d] in words likewater anddoor are often pronounced as their retroflex equivalents[ʈ] and[ɖ] respectively.
An epenthetic y might be added to words starting with a front vowel and a w to words starting with a rounded vowel, hypercorrection also happens, eg. letter "s" as yes and "yes" as es.
Tamil and Malayali speakers might voice the intervocalic and post nasal plosives or double them, eg. "simply" [simbɭi].
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