English in India: a historical excursion
The language policy in India throughout the history of the state was notable for loyalty to all language groups. The Constitution of India specifies 21 languages that have the status of state. In general, in India there are more than 1600 individual languages and dialects.
Hindi is the official language of government and statehood, but English in India has a special status and is considered an auxiliary official language. That is, in English you can quite officially maintain the documentation of any enterprise, draw up contracts and agreements without a separate translation into Hindi.
The Republic of India gained independence in 1947 and many experts (both Indian and foreign) then argued that over the course of 30-40 years there would be a slow but rigorous exclusion of the English language from the state.
Interestingly, for the most part English is not native to the Hindus. That is, they speak Hindi or any other common language in India within families, but they use English in business and work.
In 2019, we see that the forecasts have not come true. After 72 years of independence, English remained an auxiliary official language. And its prevalence within the country is only growing.
The penetration of the English language into Indian culture is deeper than it once seemed.
The first stage of the development of the English language in India came in the era of active missionary activity of the Protestant British church in the 17th century.
The Hindus of that time were already quite tolerant of the ideas of Christianity, because the Portuguese missionaries had periodically visited India since the end of the 15th century - that is, over 150 years.
And it is the Portuguese who should thank for the fertile ground for Protestantism, because they laid the foundations of Indian Christianity as a common religion. And even if it was taken into account that Christianity existed in India long before the era of geographical discoveries, it was the Portuguese missionaries that made it one of the most widespread religions.
English missionaries got a great base for action in India:
As a result of active missionary activity, the English language in India was considered the language of the religious community. It is noteworthy that before the beginning of the XIX century the imported Bibles to India were in English. The Bible was first translated into Bengali only in 1809, and later into 1835 in Hindi.
Literate religious people were forced to learn English in order to understand the principles of their faith. A literate were mostly rich and domineering Indians.
The second stage of the development of English in India is directly related to the first, but it depended not on external factors, but on internal ones. Gradually, English has become a privileged language in which only representatives of the nobility can speak.
In the XVIII century, it became an honor to learn English. Turnovers of British and Indian trade grew steadily, so knowing the language became profitable. There was a lot of money spinning in the trade and exits to British goods that were considered chic among the Indians.
Knowing English and owning the land, it was possible to make a fortune on trade with the British. And let it succeed a little, the English language caused more and more interest even among the illiterate people.
In large sea cities, the process of learning the language went faster, because English ships sailed quite often.
The third stage of the development of English fell on the growing influence of the British East India Company. Aggressive economic actions literally forced the Mughal ruler, to whom most of India was subordinate, to abolish taxes for the East India Company in Bengal.
The actual government did not make such a decision, which led to the battle of Plessy in 1757, in which the paramilitary units of the East India Company defeated the army of the ruler of Bengal.
In the same year, Robert Clive, commander of the British "army", became the governor of Bengal through a violent coup. This was the beginning of the trade and military conquest of India by the British East India Company.
Over the next 100 years, Britain has virtually monopolized trade in Bengal and neighboring regions, and in fact most of the modern territory of India.
All the top managerial positions were occupied by the British, so the flow of documents in the structures of power was conducted mainly in English. English is firmly rooted in India and has become a means of setting forth directives, directives and administration.
But more notable was the influence of English on educated Indians. With the help of English, it became possible to unite different groups of people who belong to different social and cultural backgrounds.
Among the local population, English was considered “dear to the light” and a way to comprehend European cultural values. The British, on the contrary, by all means supported the locals in learning the language, believing that in this way the English colonies would be able to secure a decent existence for themselves.
After the abolition of the East India Company and the transfer of the Indian colonies under the control of the British Empire in 1857, the situation only worsened. The English language received the status of “particularly privileged”, and local authorities were often dealt with the nationalists who fought for the rights of national languages.
It was only in the 1920s that the struggle for freedom, both in territory and in languages, began in many countries through the efforts of Mahatma Gandhi. After independence in 1947, the territory was formally freed from the influence of the British Empire, but for almost 200 years under the control of the British, they were not in vain.
Even after India gained independence, many nationalists wanted English to remain official or one of the official ones.
Even it took 15 years for the bureaucratic machine to simply shift the status of English from “main official” to “additional official”.
The main reason is that the linguistic diversity in India was too great to choose the only state language immediately after independence. It took tremendous work to prepare the population and the authorities for the promotion of Hindi as the main official.
But over time, the importance of English in India has not decreased, and with the development of the Internet has even increased.
Today, English is official in four states (Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland) and in eight union territories. It continues to be widely used in the legislative system, state and commercial media. For example, in India there are more than 3,500 newspapers and other periodicals that are printed exclusively in English.
The cultural penetration of English is also extremely deep. India is the third country after the United States and the United Kingdom in terms of literature volumes in English.
At the present stage, English is the first language for 4% of the population of India, which is 52 million people. But with all this, English culture in India is quite closed. According to surveys of Indians who know English, only 5% of this number constantly communicate in English with foreigners or work in international companies.
Because of its closeness, Indian English continues to mix with Indian languages, acquiring quite specific features, especially in colloquial form.
English has long been transformed from a language of invaders into a part of Indian culture, without which many Indians simply do not imagine themselves.
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Hindi is the official language of government and statehood, but English in India has a special status and is considered an auxiliary official language. That is, in English you can quite officially maintain the documentation of any enterprise, draw up contracts and agreements without a separate translation into Hindi.
The Republic of India gained independence in 1947 and many experts (both Indian and foreign) then argued that over the course of 30-40 years there would be a slow but rigorous exclusion of the English language from the state.
Interestingly, for the most part English is not native to the Hindus. That is, they speak Hindi or any other common language in India within families, but they use English in business and work.
In 2019, we see that the forecasts have not come true. After 72 years of independence, English remained an auxiliary official language. And its prevalence within the country is only growing.
The penetration of the English language into Indian culture is deeper than it once seemed.
3 stages of the development of English in India
The first stage of the development of the English language in India came in the era of active missionary activity of the Protestant British church in the 17th century.
The Hindus of that time were already quite tolerant of the ideas of Christianity, because the Portuguese missionaries had periodically visited India since the end of the 15th century - that is, over 150 years.
And it is the Portuguese who should thank for the fertile ground for Protestantism, because they laid the foundations of Indian Christianity as a common religion. And even if it was taken into account that Christianity existed in India long before the era of geographical discoveries, it was the Portuguese missionaries that made it one of the most widespread religions.
English missionaries got a great base for action in India:
- Many Hindus had previously heard of Christianity, which facilitated missionary activity in general.
- Protestant ideas diversified the Christian teachings that existed in India — they were well received by the Hindus, who already professed Christianity;
- The English actively worked with the conversion of representatives of the nobility to Christianity, which helped in the spread of both Christianity and English.
As a result of active missionary activity, the English language in India was considered the language of the religious community. It is noteworthy that before the beginning of the XIX century the imported Bibles to India were in English. The Bible was first translated into Bengali only in 1809, and later into 1835 in Hindi.
Literate religious people were forced to learn English in order to understand the principles of their faith. A literate were mostly rich and domineering Indians.
The second stage of the development of English in India is directly related to the first, but it depended not on external factors, but on internal ones. Gradually, English has become a privileged language in which only representatives of the nobility can speak.
In the XVIII century, it became an honor to learn English. Turnovers of British and Indian trade grew steadily, so knowing the language became profitable. There was a lot of money spinning in the trade and exits to British goods that were considered chic among the Indians.
Knowing English and owning the land, it was possible to make a fortune on trade with the British. And let it succeed a little, the English language caused more and more interest even among the illiterate people.
In large sea cities, the process of learning the language went faster, because English ships sailed quite often.
The third stage of the development of English fell on the growing influence of the British East India Company. Aggressive economic actions literally forced the Mughal ruler, to whom most of India was subordinate, to abolish taxes for the East India Company in Bengal.
The actual government did not make such a decision, which led to the battle of Plessy in 1757, in which the paramilitary units of the East India Company defeated the army of the ruler of Bengal.
In the same year, Robert Clive, commander of the British "army", became the governor of Bengal through a violent coup. This was the beginning of the trade and military conquest of India by the British East India Company.
Over the next 100 years, Britain has virtually monopolized trade in Bengal and neighboring regions, and in fact most of the modern territory of India.
All the top managerial positions were occupied by the British, so the flow of documents in the structures of power was conducted mainly in English. English is firmly rooted in India and has become a means of setting forth directives, directives and administration.
But more notable was the influence of English on educated Indians. With the help of English, it became possible to unite different groups of people who belong to different social and cultural backgrounds.
Among the local population, English was considered “dear to the light” and a way to comprehend European cultural values. The British, on the contrary, by all means supported the locals in learning the language, believing that in this way the English colonies would be able to secure a decent existence for themselves.
After the abolition of the East India Company and the transfer of the Indian colonies under the control of the British Empire in 1857, the situation only worsened. The English language received the status of “particularly privileged”, and local authorities were often dealt with the nationalists who fought for the rights of national languages.
It was only in the 1920s that the struggle for freedom, both in territory and in languages, began in many countries through the efforts of Mahatma Gandhi. After independence in 1947, the territory was formally freed from the influence of the British Empire, but for almost 200 years under the control of the British, they were not in vain.
English and modern India
Even after India gained independence, many nationalists wanted English to remain official or one of the official ones.
Even it took 15 years for the bureaucratic machine to simply shift the status of English from “main official” to “additional official”.
The main reason is that the linguistic diversity in India was too great to choose the only state language immediately after independence. It took tremendous work to prepare the population and the authorities for the promotion of Hindi as the main official.
But over time, the importance of English in India has not decreased, and with the development of the Internet has even increased.
Today, English is official in four states (Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland) and in eight union territories. It continues to be widely used in the legislative system, state and commercial media. For example, in India there are more than 3,500 newspapers and other periodicals that are printed exclusively in English.
The cultural penetration of English is also extremely deep. India is the third country after the United States and the United Kingdom in terms of literature volumes in English.
At the present stage, English is the first language for 4% of the population of India, which is 52 million people. But with all this, English culture in India is quite closed. According to surveys of Indians who know English, only 5% of this number constantly communicate in English with foreigners or work in international companies.
Because of its closeness, Indian English continues to mix with Indian languages, acquiring quite specific features, especially in colloquial form.
English has long been transformed from a language of invaders into a part of Indian culture, without which many Indians simply do not imagine themselves.
***
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→ For live communication - choose individual training via Skype with a teacher.
The first trial lesson is free, register here . The promo code goodhabr2 - 2 lessons as a gift when buying from 10 lessons. The bonus is valid until 05/31/19.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/440850/