Who's learning Indian English?

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Marvin A.  #316845  Thu, 18 Jan 07 04:36 PM

Just who would that "we" be?


The "we" being most other speakers of other dialects of English.  When "we" hear Indian-English, especially in places where that is very rare, such as here, we simply perceive it as being an English as a Second language non-native speaker of English, with grammar and pronunciation influenced by that person's native language.  It doesn't matter whether it is considered by many to be a legitimate dialect of English, or even whether some people speak it natively.  Anyway, the original question was *not* whether Indian English is a legitimate dialect of English, but *rather* whether one would see an advertisment for someone teaching Indian English to *native speakers* of American English.  I can tell you right away, that no one would go for that (especially Americans), because of how Indian English is perceived.  And even if it were not perceived in that way, speakers of one dialect of English do not make a habit of seeking instruction in another dialect of English simply to be able to communicate with someone who speaks in a different way.  The only exception would be actors, etc.


For example, Standard American English, Southern English, Standard British English, and Standard Indian English may all be said to be standard dialects of the English language.


Standard Indian English may be considered a "Standard" form in that it has a *standardized* form, but that does not mean that it is perceived as being that way (by speakers of other varieties).  To many speakers of English it simply sounds like an English as a Second language.  But, maybe not to you.  You may encounter Indian English fairly often.  I'm just telling the opinion of someone from a place that has very few speakers of Indian English.  In fact, I've only heard one person from India speak in my entire life--and they sounded like they were speaking RP.
  
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MrPedantic  #316911  Thu, 18 Jan 07 07:30 PM

I think we have to distinguish between "Indian English", i.e. the dialect we find in Indian newspapers, etc., and "English which is spoken by Indian people".

The latter would include many different kinds of English, including "Indian English", and the English that is learnt by non-Indian-English-speaking Indian people when they move to England, etc.

MrP

  
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milky  #316925  Thu, 18 Jan 07 07:57 PM
 MrPedantic wrote:

I think we have to distinguish between "Indian English", i.e. the dialect we find in Indian newspapers, etc., and "English which is spoken by Indian people".

The latter would include many different kinds of English, including "Indian English", and the English that is learnt by non-Indian-English-speaking Indian people when they move to England, etc.

MrP

So who do you think is learning Indian English, apart from Indian people?

  
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Hume said that if we had perfect or complete descriptive knowledge of reality, we could not, by reasoning, derive a single valid "ought".
MrPedantic  #316976  Thu, 18 Jan 07 10:18 PM

Someone who knew little or no English and went to work in India might learn Indian English.

MrP

  
milky  #317015  Thu, 18 Jan 07 11:35 PM

<Someone who knew little or no English and went to work in India might learn Indian English.>

How about those American and British Standard English speakers who want to trade, or have other collaborations, with India?

  
milky  #317022  Thu, 18 Jan 07 11:58 PM

<We don't really regard Indian-English as being a proper dialect of English, merely English spoken with an Indian accent, and grammatically influenced by the persons native tongue. >

Maybe you need to rethink your position:

"For instance, the Evalueserve study calculated that for every one job created for a foreign language professional, two new jobs will be created for Indian English-speaking professionals with the IT and BPO sectors."

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200602/18/eng20060218_243850.html

  
milky  #317027  Fri, 19 Jan 07 12:19 AM

Go, Marie!

"I am trying to find audio resources on Indian-English accents. I am teaching a workshop on how to listen and understand Indian English to Chinese students. "

From another forum.

  
MrPedantic  #317037  Fri, 19 Jan 07 01:01 AM
 Milky wrote:

<Someone who knew little or no English and went to work in India might learn Indian English.>

How about those American and British Standard English speakers who want to trade, or have other collaborations, with India?

If you regularly deal with speakers of Indian (or American, or South African, or Singaporean) English, it's useful to be aware of the ways in which their use of language differs from your own. For instance, many BrE speakers are needlessly irritated by the politeness of Indian call centre workers; and the greater use of progressive constructions might sound strange at first. 

But I don't think it's necessary to learn it as another language (i.e. as one that you speak and write), any more than it's necessary to talk to Americans in an American accent and with American turns of phrase.

MrP

  
milky  #317049  Fri, 19 Jan 07 01:45 AM

<But I don't think it's necessary to learn it as another language (i.e. as one that you speak and write), any more than it's necessary to talk to Americans in an American accent and with American turns of phrase. >

Certainly not as another language, but, in the US of A, NES of variants other than American English are been encouraged (or in some cases obliged) to go to AE classes, if they wish to get on in US society.

  
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