Generation X and Usage of
English in India

chillibreeze writer — G Srinivas Roopi

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The Internet and cellular phones have revolutionized the way we communicate. More communication is ongoing now than ever before, and at a faster pace. The convergence that has been frequently talked about is becoming reality in more ways than was originally imagined.

Convergence is happening in every sphere of life. In the Indian context, people of different languages are gradually melting into one single entity. And the language that relates people to each other is English. Outside homes, in the society, at school, on university campuses or at the workplace, English is the lingua franca of India.

English speaking skills are becoming increasingly useful now. You are not 'there' if you don’t speak English. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that in India, only those with English skills are included in Generation X. The English language is the most compatible for communication gadgets, email, chat and SMS.

That’s not it. English has more serious uses too. If you are comfortable with the language, you can secure admission in a good institution and also get a good job. At call centers, people earn handsome salaries using just their English speaking skills. Had it been legal, call centers would have filled their seats with much younger kids. The younger the kid, better the English.

Language gurus – especially Dr. Rudolf Flesch who had almost standardized English language writing between 1930s and 1960s – have been advising us to ‘write as we speak’. Let convenience be the benchmark for effective communication. But this needs to be confined to purely personal messages. Excessive colloquialization of English, like “don’t tell re,” “I told you no,” sounds rather odd. You do have to speak grammatically correct English when you are dealing with people in formal situations.

Especially when interacting with people abroad. Generation X understands this very well. It speaks “global English” as opposed to “Indian English”, sometimes known as “Hinglish”(a concoction of Hindi and English). No wonder the writers of this generation have found a foothold in the world of writing.

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—About our writer: Srininvas Roopi says "Writing is my passion and also my profession. Holding a Masters in Communication & Journalism, an MA in Psychology and an LL B, I had lived all my years in Hyderabad and recently relocated to Chennai."

 

 

 

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