In ‘simble’ words: The many idiosyncrasies of English in India
Renowned phonetician T. Balasubramanian spoke to students about ‘Indian English’
Phonetician Dr. T Balasubramanian speaking to students at the National School of Journalism
NSoJ Bureau
“’Indian English’ is a misnomer and I doubt the very existence of [it],” renowned phonetician from the Edinburgh University, T. Balasubramanian said while talking to students about English in India, at the National School of Journalism on Friday, August 30.
“There are many varieties of English spoken in India, such as Tamil-English, Malayali-English, and so on, but there is no Indian English,” he said, referring to the colloquial version of English that is spoken in different parts of the country.
Dr. Balasubramanian cited several anecdotes from his own experiences to explain to students the role the language and culture of different regions play in this pluralisation of English. “Hindi speakers would ask ‘aapka shubh naam kya hai?’ However, one would not ask someone for their ‘good name’”, he added.
He talked about how the phonology of a language can influence spoken English. For instance, a Kannada speaker would say ‘booku’ instead of ‘book’ or a Malayali speaker would find it easier to say ‘simble’ instead of ‘simple’.
He also drew examples from Indian literature to further explain the various quirks one finds in the English spoken in India, many of which might be unintelligible to English speakers unfamiliar with the culture. In Raja Rao’s Kanthapura, a character refuses to assist someone by asking, “Why should I help him? Is he my son-in-law’s brother?”
Although dealing with a highly technical subject, Dr. Balasubramanian managed to both draw students’ attention to the many peculiar modifications regional languages have on English, while leaving them in splits throughout the talk.
