概要
インドの英語の歴史は思いのほか古い。イギリスのイエズス会の宣教師トーマス・
スティーブンスが 1759 年に渡印して以来、イギリスは 1757 年にはインドに対する植
民地支配を始めた。1854 年にはマドラス、カルカッタ、ボンベイに大学を設立し、英語
を教育言語として使い始めた。インドが独立したあとも英語は、18 種の公用語に加え
て準公用語として残り、政治、経済、通商、教育、文化の面で重要な働きをしている。
教育を受けたインド人のなかには、非常に流暢な英語を話す人が多い。しかし彼ら
は独特の発音・抑揚を使う。この一例が「文字通りの発音」である。
現在の標準英語の中に、インド諸言語を語源とする単語がたくさんある。また他言
語を経由して英語に加えられたものもいくつかある。また文化と強く結びついているた
め、英語には対応する単語がないものも多い。
インド人は文学を愛する人々である。英語の学習でも、18 世紀や 19 世紀の英文学
を教材にするそうだ。それゆえ彼らは古典的で文学的な言葉を好む。
インド人は礼儀を重んじ、謙虚な態度をよしとする。またインドには厳密な地位体系
が存在する。英語にもこの傾向は反映され、複雑な敬語のルールが存在している。
インド人は習慣的にオックスフォード英語辞典などを使うが、話すとなると、まわり
の教育を受けたインド人の英語を模範とする。彼らは英語の母語者の規範を参考に
するが、それを完全に受け入れているわけではない。インドは英語の変種を維持する
ために、英語を母語とする人に頼っていないのである。この意味でインドの英語は１
つの自律した変種といえる。
インドの英語は適度に自律しており、また大切なことは、インド人自身にとってのコ
ミュニケーションの道具だということである。インド人はイギリス人やアメリカ人とコミュ
ニケーションするためにではなく、自分たちの間でのコミュニケーションのために英語
を使っているのだ。
1. Introduction
In India, English is one of the 17 official languages. There are over a
billion people in India now, but only 20 % of population can speak English.
They are the middle class people who are educated. In India, people speak
English in their own way, for example, vocabulary, pronunciation. It seems
that Indian have their own English.
In this paper, I will write about importance of Indian English. I
will start with the background of English in India, then go on to discuss some
characteristics of Indian English (pronunciation, vocabulary, literary
expressions and politeness) and finally explore the issue of English and
Indian identity.
2. Background
The spread of English in India is almost a direct result of Britain’s
control in India for 300 years. Without the colonial rule by Britain, India
would have been a region consisting of independent nations that have
different languages. In fact, India had never been consisted of a single nation
until it became independent from Britain in 1947.
Before Britain invaded India, there were some kingdoms in the
continent of Indian Asia. By the end of the colonial period, there were over
500 small kingdoms. Indian people lived together with different religions,
races, cultures and castes from that period to present time. At that time,
Britain played an important role in organizing the various races.
The history of English in India is very old. Since Thomas Stevens, a
missionary of the British Society of Jesus, had come to India in 1579, Britain
has already governed India as part of a colonial policy. In 1854, they founded
universities in Madras, Calcutta and Bombay, and started to use English as
a language for education.
After India became independent, English remained as one of the
official languages. It has been used in political, economical, business,
educational and cultural situations.
3. Characteristics of Indian English
There are many unique characteristics in Indian English. In this
section, characteristics are introduced in four parts: pronunciation,
vocabulary, elegant expressions and expressions for politeness.
3.1 Pronunciation ~literal pronunciation~
In India, English was spoken about 200 years ago, and most educated Indian
people speak English very fluently. However they use a unique pronunciation and
intonation on the whole. It is called “literal pronunciation”. They don’t pronounce
English words as same as native English speakers do. Instead of that, they pronounce
them just like how they are spelled, for example, Wednesday → 「ウェドゥネズデー」or
「ウェドゥンズデー」,University → 「ユニヴァルスィティー」. Other examples are as
follows.
[z]→ [s] e.g. John’s, reads, needles
[t] →[d]
e.g. kicked, picked, attacked
mechanism [メカニズム] → [メカニスム]
(Honna, 1999:49,50)
3.2 Vocabulary
There are many English words from some Indian languages--for
example, bungalow, calico, chintz, chutney, juggernaut, jungle, khaki, loot,
catamaran, mulligatawny, pajamas and pundit. There are other words which
were added to English via other languages as well: for example, conch,
ginger, orange, mango, pepper, rice and teak. (Honna, 1990:54)
In Indian English, they have lots of other special words that Indian
people quite often use in daily life. Most of them are closely related to their
cultures, so there are no English words that fit perfectly to Indian original
meaning.
3.3 Literary expressions
Indian people love literature. They use English literature from the
and 19th century for study of English. Therefore they like classical and
literary words. It is said that their English is polite and beautiful. Here are
some examples.
18th
「死ぬ」→×die, ×pass away
○ breathe one’s last, leave for heavenly abode
old → ancient, pretty → comely, happy → blithe,
eat → consume, home → place of residence
“Life is not a bed of roses, but a hard nut to crack.”
(人生はバラの床にあらずして、艱難辛苦にあり)
(Honna, 1999:50,51)
3.4 Expressions for politeness
Indian people place importance on courtesy and a modest attitude,
so they often use the word ‘kind’; for example, kind information, kind
consideration, kind presence, kind encouragement, kind notice, kind
attention and kind interest. (Honna, 1999:52)
Moreover, there are complicated rules for politeness in English
reflecting the original strict caste structure. It means that Indian culture
goes well with Indian English. As an example, if you want your boss to grant
something, you should use the word ‘request’ not to ‘ask’.
＊ When you apply for a vacation
× ”Could I ask you to grant me to leave?”
○ “I request you to grant me to leave.”
＊ complicated rules about ‘request ’
subordinate → boss “I request you to look into the case.”
the active
boss → subordinate “You are requested to look into the case.”
the passive
[If subordinates use the passive to their boss, it means that subordinates
insult boss.] (Honna, 1999:53)
4. Indian English Identity
Indian English is an autonomous variety of English. Indian people
customarily use dictionaries; for example, Oxford English dictionary and
Johns English Pronunciation dictionary. However they model educated
Indian’s English when they speak. They refer to native speakers’ English,
but they don’t completely accept it. Indian people don’t rely on native
speakers to maintain their variety of English, therefore it is said that their
English is autonomous.
Indian English is moderately autonomous, and the important thing
is that English is ‘as an additional linguistic tool in their multilingual
repertoire’ (Kachru, 1996:24) for them. They use English to communicate
between themselves, not only to communicate with English or Americans or
Australians. Therefore Indian English has a meaning of existence in India.
5. Conclusion
As we can see, Indian English has various sides. Some 20 % of
Indian people use English in India. Therefore Indian English has regional
aspects from region to region. Indian English is important for local people in
India. It’s especially unique that Indian English has ‘local initiatives’.
(Kachru, 1996:26). When Indian English teachers and scholars discuss the
direction for education of English, now it is discussed ‘not only at an abstract
level but even in discussions of matters related to the classroom’. (Kachru,
1996:26) Because most of English speakers in India are in local regions.
Bibliography
Honna, Nobuyuki (1999) Ajia no Eigo Tokyo: Kuroshio publishing
Honna, Nobuyuki (1990) Ajia wo Tsunagu Eigo
Tokyo: Alc publishing
Kachru, Braj.B, (1996) “South Asian English: Toward an Identity in
Diaspora” in Baugardner. Robert J. (1996) South Asian English
Structure, Use, and Users