There’s no doubt that English has all but solidified its place in the world as the global language, and there’s no sign of this changing anytime soon. Even in countries whose mother tongues have absolutely no shared origins with English, the English language continues to secure its place in daily life, education and business.
There are obviously many pros to the increased popularity of English around the world. It is now easier than ever for tourists to communicate with locals when visiting other countries, not to mention the ease of doing business across national borders.
But it’s not just that English is becoming a popular secondary language in other countries. In many cases, locals have legitimate concerns that English is becoming the primary language, threatening to erase their mother tongues. Language is arguably the most fundamental form of culture, through which regional histories are passed on. So, we understand why people may be skeptical of placing too much importance on learning English.
India is a prime example of this, where it is estimated that English is spoken with some degree of proficiency by well over 50% of the population. The reasons for the popularity of English in India are vast. But some probable explanations include India’s history of colonization by the British and the fact that English can bridge language barriers that occur within the country, which boasts over 20 major languages and hundreds of regional dialects.
India’s youth, most of whom are required to learn English from an early age in school, are particularly fluent in English. However, not even learning English from childhood is enough to iron out thick regional accents. We all know what the Indian English accent sounds like. It’s English, that’s for sure. But depending on what part of the world you’re from and whether your native tongue shares phonetic similarities with Hindi and other Indian languages, chances are that you may seriously struggle to understand Indian English (or to notice that they are even speaking English in the first place).
Naturally, we started wondering whether Indian people are actually aware of how foreigners perceive their accent. Do they think they sound funny? Which English accents sound funny to them? Check out this video for insight into these questions and more! Trust me, our interviewees’ answers will surprise you.
