INDIAN ENGLISH- A SOCIOLINGUISTIC PROFILE OF A TRANSPLANTED LANGUAGE

This paper is a study in language acculturation with special reference to the Indianization of the English language. It briefly traces the history of the diffusion of bilingualism in English on the culturally and linguistically pluralistic Indian subcontinent. The functional roles of English are discussed and the formal influences of Indian cultural and linguistic contexts are illustrated from the sound system, grammar, lexis and semanticsLof Indian English. These formal characteristics manifest themselveS in what may be termed the "Indiannessu in this variety of English. The crucial questions of uintelligibility" and flvariationu are examined with reference to the functions of English in India. The development of, and attitudes toward, Indian writing in English is briefly discussed. The role of English in Indiaos language planning is related to various linguistic and political pressure groups in preand post-Independence India. The aim is to provide a sociolinguistic profileof a non-native language in a multilinguistic non-Western context. (Author) ********* **** ** ******* ************ ********************** Documents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpublished * materials not available from other sources. ERIC makes every effort * to obtain the best copy available. Nevertheless, items of marginal * reproducibility are often encountered and this affects the quality * of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions ERIC makes available * via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS). EDRS is not * responsible for the quality of the original document. Reproductions * * supplied by EDRS are the best that-can be made from the original. ********************************************************************* INDIAN ENGLISHA SOCIOLINGUISTIC PROFILE OF A TRANSPLANTED LANGUAGE