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(63.52), Malaysia (60.70) and The Philippines (60.33) Received Higher Scores Than India

English remains an official language of India since independence in 1947, though only a small percentage speak it as their first language. Hindi is the most widely spoken language, but is not the sole national language as defined by the constitution. According to censuses, millions report knowing or using English as their second or third language. The number of students enrolled in English-medium schools has also greatly increased in recent years. India ranks moderately in English proficiency among Asian countries. The long history of British rule in India has left a significant impact on the English language through the incorporation of words from Indian languages.

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38 views

(63.52), Malaysia (60.70) and The Philippines (60.33) Received Higher Scores Than India

English remains an official language of India since independence in 1947, though only a small percentage speak it as their first language. Hindi is the most widely spoken language, but is not the sole national language as defined by the constitution. According to censuses, millions report knowing or using English as their second or third language. The number of students enrolled in English-medium schools has also greatly increased in recent years. India ranks moderately in English proficiency among Asian countries. The long history of British rule in India has left a significant impact on the English language through the incorporation of words from Indian languages.

Uploaded by

Jasselle Quiapo
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Status of English Language in India

After independence from British rule in 1947, English remained an official


language of the new Dominion of India, and later, the Republic of India. Only a few
hundred thousand Indians, or less than 0.1% of the total population, have English
as their first language.
Hindi or Modern Standard Hindi is a standardized and Sanskritised register of
the Hindustani language. Hindi, written in the Devanagari script, is one of
the official languages of India, along with the English language. It is one of the
22 scheduled languages of the Republic of India. However, it is not the national
language of India because no language was given such a status in the Indian
constitution.
According to the 2001 Census, 12.6% of Indians knew English. An analysis of the
2001 Census of India concluded that approximately 86 million Indians reported
English as their second language, and another 39 million reported it as their third
language. No data was available whether these individuals were English speakers
or users.
According to statistics of District Information System for Education (DISE)
of National University of Educational Planning and Administration under Ministry
of Human Resource Development, Government of India, enrollment in English-
medium schools increased by 50% between 2008–09 and 2013–14. The number
of English-medium school students in India increased from over 15 million in
2008–09 to 29 million by 2013–14.
India ranks 22 out of 72 countries in the 2016 EF English Proficiency
Index published by the EF Education First. The index gives the country a score of
57.30 indicating "moderate proficiency". India ranks 4th out of 19 Asian countries
included in the index.[20] Among Asian countries, Singapore (63.52), Malaysia
(60.70) and the Philippines (60.33) received higher scores than India.
Sanskritised-Sanskritisation (Indian English) or Sanskritization (American English,
Oxford spelling) is a particular form of social change found in India.
"By exploring the words that are in Hobson-Jobson we start to realise how
many words that we use every day, we don't even think of as particularly
being of Indian origin actually are," says Teltscher.

“The words were added to the dictionary as Indians


have “a highly specific vocabulary with no direct
equivalents in English,” the OED said.
The four centuries that the English were present in India
have left an indelible mark on the language, Salazar
said.
It is clear that the shared history between Britain and
India has left behind a legacy of loanwords and other
lexical innovations that have greatly enriched the
English word stock, she said.
The seventy words newly added to the OED reflect not
only the history of the country, but also the many and
diverse cultural and linguistic influences which have
shaped and changed the English language in India, she
said.
The OED publishes four updates a year in March, June,
September and December respectively.
The expansion of the Indian English lexicon did not stop with the end of the Raj in
1947. English continues to be present in various domains of Indian life, and its
Indian users keep on adding new borrowings and coinages to its localized word
store.
Lexical innovations in Indian English demonstrate how its Indian speakers modify
an adopted language in order to accommodate the traditions, values, and norms
of their local culture. For instance, Indian speech etiquette features a complex
system of kinship terms and terms of address, in which age, gender, status, and
family relationships are marked by a highly specific vocabulary with no direct
equivalents in English.

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