| dc.description.abstract | The role which the English` Language has played in India, and
the impact it had on Indian languages has been the theme of many
monographs and Theses. There is another aspect"of this contact of
the Lanruages and Cultures; that is the influence of Indian languages
and contexts on the English language in India. This aspect is interesting
both as a linguistic study and as a cultural study. This is,
perhaps, the first investigation in this direction, which attempts
to study the English language in a language-contact situation in
India taking into consideration Indian contexts too.
In the hands of Indians, the English language has acquired certain
characteristics at all formal levels which make it distinct
.f.r om other varieties of English, whether spoken and written as primary
languages or secondary languages. In this study descriptive
linguistic methods have been used in order to find the Indianness
of Indian English as opposed to the Englishness of English.
The term "Indian English" has been used as a cover-term for the
texts under discussion which are chosen from the upper point on the
Cline of bi-lingualism (cf. 1.5.3. ), and could perhaps be called,
alternatively, "Standard Indian English" or "Educated Indian
English" for the purpose of description.
By Indian English I. " do not, however, imply an ontological
status equal to those varieties of English which are spoken and
written as primary languages.
The body of Indian English writings covered in this study is
widely read by Indians as well as non-Indians, and most of the
writers included here (e. g. K, A. Abbas, M. R. Anand, B. Bhattacharya,
K. Narkandaya, R. K. Narayan, Raja Rao, B. Rajan, etc. ) are considered
representative English writers of India. I- have extended
the scope by including some "restricted languages" from Indian
English newspapers and-Parliamentary Debates.
This is not, however, a definitive analysis of Indian English,
nor does it claim to be a complete survey of all the aspects of
Indian English. I have only attempted to raise certain theorteical
and procedural problems for which I have drawn illustrative material
from Indian English sources.
I am conscious of the limitations of this work. The difficulties
involved in it have been the greater because I am a non-native
speaker of En. Mlish. In this type of work a non-native speaker of
English has both disadvantages and, advantages. His disadvantages
are that he himself uses Indian English and 'sifting' Indian English
from British English 'in,,, the source material was a major problem.
All the Indian English formations were put to a test of "acceptance"
or "rejection" by native speakers of English. (It was not easy
because, as, we know, two native speakers do not always agree! ) He
has advantages in the sense that he, as a non-native speaker, can
depend on his knowledge of native contexts and, posdiblyt in a formal
and contextual analysis, he is better equipped to relate formal items
to the "contextual sectors". | en |
