Regional differences and dialects in Indian English

{{Main

|Indian English}}

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 from Received 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 the Bengali 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 in Nepal, north India, and in some social circles in south India.

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's Honoured Sir collections (see Further reading), and lampooned, in works such as F. Antesey's Baboo Jabberjee, B.A., for over a century.

{{main|Butler English}}

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 the Madras Presidency,{{Cite journal|last=Kachru|first=Braj B.|date=1 December 1965|title=The Indianness in Indian English|journal=WORD|volume=21|issue=3|pages=391–410|doi=10.1080/00437956.1965.11435436|issn=0043-7956}} 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.{{Cite book|title=Hobson-Jobson : the definitive glossary of British India|author=Yule, Henry, Sir|others=Burnell, A. C. (Arthur Coke), 1840-1882., Teltscher, Kate,, Teltscher, Kate, 1963-|year=2015 |isbn=978-0198718000|location=[Oxford]|oclc=913732430}}

{{Main|Hinglish}}

Hinglish (the name is a combination of the words "Hindi" and "English") is a macaronic language, a hybrid of British English and South Asian languages – it is a code-switching variety of these languages whereby they are freely interchanged within a sentence or between sentences. While the name is based on the Hindi language, it does not refer exclusively to Hindi, but "is used in India, with English words blending with Punjabi, and Hindi, and also within British Asian families to enliven standard English." It is predominantly spoken in Northern India and some parts of Mumbai and Bangalore.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

{{IPA notice|section}}

Modern phonologists often divide Indian English into five major varieties.

Assamese English refers to the English spoken by Assamese speakers.

Some major difference between Assamese English and British English are mostly seen in some consonants. In Assamese English all vowels are usually short.

Bengali English (or eastern Indian English) here refers collectively to the varieties of the West Bengal state and neighbouring country of Bangladesh, which has been greatly influenced by Bengali. Its main subdivisions are Calcutta English as well as Dhaka English. It is similar or even identical to Bangladeshi English, also known as Banglish or Benglish.

• {{IPAc-en|ɪ}} as raised, in the general vicinity of {{IPAblink|i}}.
• {{IPAc-en|ʌ}} as fronted, more closely approaching {{IPAblink|a}} but {{IPAblink|ɔ}} between nasal and velar e.g. mug.
• {{IPAc-en|ʊ}} and {{IPAc-en|uː}} both in the general vicinity of {{IPAblink|u}}.
• {{IPAc-en|eɪ}}, almost always, as monophthong {{IPAblink|e}}.
• {{IPAc-en|oʊ}}, almost always, as monophthong {{IPAblink|o}}.
• {{IPAc-en|f}} as {{IPAblink|ɸ}}.
• {{IPAc-en|v}} as {{IPAblink|β}}.

West Indian English here refers to a traditional variety spoken in the western part of India.

• {{IPAc-en|oʊ}} as monophthongal {{IPAblink|o|oː|}}.
• {{IPAc-en|eɪ}} as monophthongal {{IPAblink|eː}}.
• {{IPAc-en|ɛ}} as {{IPAblink|e}}.
• {{IPAc-en|æ}} as {{IPAblink|ɛ}}.
• {{IPAc-en|θ}} and {{IPAc-en|ð}}, respectively, as {{IPAblink|t̪|t̪(ʰ)}} and {{IPAblink|d̪}}.

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.

{{See also|Tenglish|Tanglish|Kanglish}}

Southern Indian English here refers to broad varieties of Southern India.

• {{IPAc-en|oʊ}} as monophthongal {{IPAblink|o|oː|}}.
• {{IPAc-en|eɪ}} as monophthongal {{IPAblink|e|eː}}.
• {{IPAc-en|ɒ}} as {{IPAblink|ɑ}}
• {{IPAc-en|θ}} and {{IPAc-en|ð}}, respectively, as {{IPAblink|t̪|t̪(ʰ)|}} and {{IPAblink|d̪}}.

In addition to these, the alveolar stops {{IPAblink|t}} and {{IPAblink|d}} in words like water and door are often pronounced as their retroflex equivalents {{IPAblink|ʈ}} and {{IPAblink|ɖ}} respectively.

• Words spelt with double consonants may have the consonant geminated, eg. summer, happy, killing, bitter [sʌmmə hæːppi killiŋɡ biʈʈə~bittə]. Not generally done if the surrounding vowels are long unless its a affixed word eg. irrespective [irrispekʈiʋ]. The dg clusters as in judge, edge are also geminated.

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.https://theswissbay.ch/pdf/Books/Linguistics/Mega%2520linguistics%2520pack/Indo-European/Germanic/English%252C%2520Indian%2520%2528Sailaja%2529.pdf

Tamil and Malayali speakers might voice the intervocalic and post nasal plosives or double them, eg. "simply" [simbɭi].

• {{IPAc-en|eɪ}} can be {{IPA|[ei̯, eji, aji]}} along with {{IPAblink|e|eː}}, e.g. name, jail {{IPA|[neim~nejim, d͡ʒajil]}}.
• {{IPAc-en|ɔː}} is {{IPA|[oː~ɔː]}} as in caught {{IPA|[kɔːʈ(ʈə̆)]}}.
• /Cwɪ, Cwi:/ maybe pronounced as [Cju, Cju:], e.g. quiz, queen {{IPA|[kjus(sə̆), kju:n]}}.
• An epenthetic vowel {{IPA|[ə̆]}} maybe added to words ending with consonants.
• Alveolar {{IPA|[t, nd]}} is used for {{IPAc-en|t|,_|n|d|(|,_|n|t|)}} after front vowels, e.g. seat, suit, kind, count {{IPA|[siːt(tə̆), suːʈ(ʈə̆), kai̯nd(ə̆), kau̯ɳɖ(ə̆)~kau̯ɳʈ(ə̆)]}}; plain {{IPAblink|d}} isn't there as Malayalam doesn't have it. This rule also applies to {{IPAc-en|n|,_|l}}, e.g. peel, pool {{IPA|[piːl, puːɭ]}}.
• {{IPAc-en|z}} is never taken as {{IPAblink|[d͡ʒ]}} as in rest of South Asia, its either {{IPA|s}} or {{IPA|z}}, e.g. zoo {{IPA|[suː~zuː]}}.
• In rhotic accents {{IPAc-en|r|s}} cluster is {{IPA|[ɻs]}} while other instances of {{IPAc-en|r}} can be {{IPAblink|r}} or {{IPAblink|ɾ}}, e.g. flower, flowers {{IPA|[fɭɐʋɐr, fɭɐʋeːɻs(ə̆)]}}.

• Code-switching
• English language
• Hinglish
• Kanglish or Bangalorean English
• Manglish
• Interlanguage
• List of dialects of the English language
• Tanglish
• Tenglish

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite book|title=A Course in Phonetics and Spoken English|author1=J. Sethi |author2=Dhamija Sethi |author3=P. V. Dhamija |name-list-style=amp |publisher=PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd.|year=2004|isbn=9788120314955|page=59}}

{{cite book|title=Studies in ELT, Linguistics and Applied Linguistics|editor=Mohit Kumar Ray|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distributors|year=2004|isbn=9788126903504|chapter=Indian Variety of English: A Socio-Linguistic Study|author=Jaydeep Sarangi|page=50}}

{{cite book|title=Postcolonial English|url=https://archive.org/details/postcolonialengl00schn|url-access=limited|author=Edgar W. Schneider|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2007|isbn=9780521831406|page=[https://archive.org/details/postcolonialengl00schn/page/n185 168]}}

{{cite book|title=the story of english in india|author1=N. Krishnaswamy |author2=Lalitha Krishnaswamy |name-list-style=amp |publisher=Foundation Books|year=2006|isbn=9788175963122}}

{{cite book|title=World Englishes|url=https://archive.org/details/worldenglishesim00kirk|url-access=limited|author=Andy Kirkpatrick|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2007|isbn=9780521851473|page=[https://archive.org/details/worldenglishesim00kirk/page/n49 89]}}

{{cite book|title=The Handbook of World Englishes|editor1=Braj B. Kachru |editor2=Yamuna Kachru |editor3=Cecil L. Nelson |author=Ravinder Gargesh|chapter=South Asian Englishes|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|year=2006|isbn=9781405111850|page=92}}

{{cite book|title=Legacies of Colonial English|url=https://archive.org/details/legaciescolonial00hick_498|url-access=limited|editor=Raymond Hickey|chapter=South Asian Englishes|author=Raymond Hickey|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2004|isbn=9780521830201|page=[https://archive.org/details/legaciescolonial00hick_498/page/n563 543]}}

{{cite book|title=The Adventure of English|author=Melvyn Bragg|author-link=Melvyn Bragg|publisher=Arcade Publishing|year=2006|isbn=9781559707848|page=243}}

{{cite book|title=World Englishes|editor1=Kingsley Bolton |editor2=Braj B. Kachru |chapter=English in South Asia|author=Braj B. Kachru|pages=267–269|publisher=Taylor & Francis UK|year=2006|isbn=9780415315074}}
also printed as {{cite book|editor=Robert Burchfield|title=The Cambridge History of the English Language|volume=V. English in Britain and Overseas: Origins and Development|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1994|pages=497–553|chapter=English in South Asia|author=Braj B. Kachru|isbn=9780521264785}}

{{cite book|title=Guru English: South Asian religion in a cosmopolitan language|author=Srinivas Aravamudan|author-link=Srinivas Aravamudan|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0-691-11828-4|pages=133}}

}}

• {{cite journal|journal=World Englishes|volume=25|issue=1|pages=91–104|year=2006|title=The influence of Gujarati and Tamil L1s on Indian English: a preliminary study|author1=Wiltshire|first=Caroline|author2=James D. Harnsberger|name-list-style=amp|doi=10.1111/j.0083-2919.2006.00448.x}}
• {{cite book|title=Asian Englishes: Beyond the Canon|author=Braj B. Kachru|publisher=Hong Kong University Press|year=2005|isbn=9789622096660}}
• (Indian Novels in English: A Sociolinguistic Study) Jaydeep Sarangi, Prakash Book Depot, Bareilly, 2005 Pp 214.

• {{cite book|author=Cecil Hunt|year=1931|title=Honoured Sir from Babujee|publisher=P. Allan & Co., Ltd}}
• {{cite book|author=Cecil Hunt|year=1935|title=Babuji Writes Home: being a new edition of 'Honoured sir' with many additional letters|publisher=P. Allan & Co., Ltd}}
• {{Gutenberg|no=25129|name=Baboo Jabberjee, B.A.}}
• {{cite book|title=Studies in ELT, Linguistics and Applied Linguistics|editor1-first=Mohit Kumar|editor1-last=Ray|publisher=Atlantic Publishers|year=2004|isbn=9788126903504|chapter=Babu English and Butler English|author1-first=S.|author1-last=Jagadisan|author2-first=S. Imtiaz|author2-last=Ali|pages=37–39}}

• {{cite thesis|author=Suchitra Sadanandan|year=1981|degree=MLitt|title=Stress in Malayalee English: A generative phonological approach|publisher=Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages|location=Hyderabad}}

• {{cite thesis|author=K. G. Vijayakrishnan|year=1978|degree=MLitt|title=Stress in Tamilian English: a study within the framework of generative phonology|publisher=Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages|location=Hyderabad}}
• {{cite thesis|author=S. Upendran|year=1980|degree=MLitt|title=The intelligibility of English spoken by Tamilians|publisher=Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages|location=Hyderabad}}

• {{cite thesis|author=J. Sethi|year=1976|degree=Ph.D.|title=English spoken by educated Punjabi speakers in India: A phonological study|publisher=Punjabi University|location=Chandigarh}}
• {{cite journal|author=J. Sethi|year=1978|title=The vowel system in educated Punjabi speakers' English|journal=Bulletin of the Central Institute of English|volume=14|issue=2|pages=35–48}}
• {{cite journal|author=J. Sethi|year=1980|title=Word accent in educated Punjabi speakers' English|journal=Bulletin of the Central Institute of English|volume=16|issue=2|pages=31–55}}

• {{cite thesis|author=P. V. Dhamija|year=1976|degree=MLitt|title=A phonological analysis of Rajasthani English|publisher=Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages|location=Hyderabad}}

• {{cite thesis|author=B. A. Prabhakar Babu|year=1974|degree=Ph.D.|title=A phonological study of English spoken by Telugu speakers in Andhra Pradesh|publisher=Osmania University|location=Hyderabad}}

{{English dialects by continent}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Regional Differences And Dialects In Indian English}}

Indian English

Category:Indian English