The Evolution and Identity of Indian English in a Globalized World: A Study of Cultural Linguistics in India

Abstract

Cultural linguistics is the study of how language and culture are related to each other with a specific focus on the influence of cultural beliefs, values and practices in the language. It brings out the place of cultural schemas, metaphor, and conceptual knowledge in the building of linguistic meaning and how language is both a channel of language and culture. Indian English is a post-colonial language which is associated with the colonial history of the country and linguistic diversity. Lexical, syntactic, and phonological features also define this type of English, which is unlike other varieties of the English language. Indian English is not only a way of communication, but it is also a symbol of cultural identity.

Social structures, family systems and religious orientations are known to shape the interaction between culture and language in Indian English. The language reflects the British and the Indian socio-political histories. The words carry a strong cultural implication in Indian society and therefore culture influences language. Also, the multilingual characteristic of India, i.e. the habit of speakers changing languages and dialects, adds to the fluidity and flexibility of Indian English. Indian English is not simply a set of borrowings in the language; it is a specific variety of the language, which reflects the cultural identity of people who speak it. The cultural aspect of it can be explained by its sentence structure, honorific usage, and incorporation of local terms of such languages as Hindi, Tamil and Bengali. In short, Indian English is a cultural icon, which reflects the history of India, Indian identity, and socio-political realities. Knowing it can improve language studies, especially the post-colonial ones, and give lessons to teachers and linguists, as well as international communicators.