English: An Indian Language

Surprised! Even I was, at first glance, but when you think deeper it does not sound as absurd. A language is characterized by the way it is actually spoken and India probably has more number of English speakers than the English-speaking countries (primarily Britain and United States). The biggest implication of this is on the usage: grammar and vocabulary. This impact can be realized from the observation made by Professor David Crystal, one of the world's foremost experts and author of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, that the future version of Global English would have a heavy Indian influence.

There has been a major shift for the English language in India, from a predominantly British-style elite version to a more indigenous-style everyday version. Rapid globalization has seen the impact of this change spread across the other parts of the world. What I find interesting is the similarity of the languages in ancient India, where Sanskrit was used by the elite and Pali (and Prakrit), a local version of Sanskrit, was used by the masses. We can thus draw a parallel in human behavior and evolution of language between ancient and modern times, which can provide leads to research on development of languages.

For people, especially Indians, who have been very finicky about the ‘correct’ usage of the English language, I have the following message: The British raj (on English language) is over.