LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 15:2 February 2015
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Copyright © 2015
M. S. Thirumalai
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Linguistics: An Aid to ELT in Indian Contexts

Richa Srishti, Ph.D.

Abstract

English is larger than any of the communities in which it is used. The members of these communities need to be fully aware of the international linguistic resources at their disposal. One positive and natural outcome of this unique state of affairs is that no one can even think today about who owns the language or try to restrict its many varieties. In the multilingual context of India, English adds a unique and distinct colour. Used extensively in communication, trade, business, media, technology, education, etc., it really has a purpose-bound presence and does not operate in vacuum. Many institutions of higher learning provide special training to improve English language communicative skills. Yet majority of the students lack proper communicative competence in English. Companies that come for campus recruitment look for students who are articulate in their conversations. Experts believe that students in India face problems in campus recruitment or interviews because of poor spoken English. Poor spoken English is the result of inadequate development of language skills, its major reason being mother-tongue-influence (MTI).

This article discusses various methods of teaching English to non-native speakers of English and lists various grammatical errors committed and changes in structures in the speech of Indian speakers of English. Suitable remedial actions are also suggested relating to various levels of language: phonetics, morphology, sentence and semantics.

Key words: English as a second and foreign language, Nuances of English spoken by Indians, errors, prescriptive versus descriptive solutions.

1. Introduction

At present English is the major language of international business, diplomacy, science and technology. English used around the world is described as “International English” as well as “Global English.” “Global English” blends in with the current economic buzzword “Globalization”.

English is a pluralistic language, having layers after layers of extended processes of convergence with other languages and cultures like French, Italian, German, etc. English language is now open to the non-western world, which was traditionally not a resource for English. The non-western world has now become contributors to and partners in the pluralism of the language.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Richa Srishti, Ph.D.
GLA University, India
Postal Address:
A-5, G-4
Amrapali Aparments
Chaumuhan, Mathura-Delhi Road
17km Stone, NH-2
Mathura-281 406, Uttar Pradesh, India
rsrishti@gmail.com
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