English

English is a link language
English has become a link language in the real sense of the term. In India it's slowly becoming the language of communication for the classes and the masses in various corporate offices, MNCs, colleges, schools etc. Slowly but surely people have started to get the hang of it. Spoken English classes are booming and mushrooming in every nook and corner of India. Thanks to the satellite TV and internet revolution more and more people are getting easy access to the once foreign tongue; now Indians are getting to watch the Hollywood blockbusters in the comfort of their drawing rooms and getting to know the culture of the west through soaps etc. This globalization and liberalization has boosted in the overall development of the country. English has become part of life for many Indians, and many can speak fluently and idiomatically like native speakers. For the younger generation it has become the passport to success and prosperity. Over the years the BBC and the British Council have done a yeoman service in spreading and taking the language to the common man. I personally feel indebted to these institutions who have opened vistas of knowledge and learning.

Sent by: Nawal

Comments

Neha, Yamunanagar, Harayana state, India.  2011-06-05
According to me English is a link language but it is not suitable for Indians. Only because of this language we starts avoiding our culture, our mother tongue - Hindi language.

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Aidan Work, Dominion of New Zealand.  2009-08-29
English is given a status as an official language in the Constitution of India.

In southern India, English is preferred as a linking language, as Hindi is commonly spoken in northern India.

English is also a linking language in both Cyprus

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Tom  2006-08-14
English was the official language in India while it was part of the British Empire, but that doesn't mean that everybody knew how to speak it. A distant governmental decree that the population of a country should speak a certain language does not equate to the population being taught the language properly. Most of the population probably didn't even know they were 'supposed' to be speaking English. Even now, Hindu is the 'main' language in India, but only about 200 million people out of the 1 billion population speak it. There are so many different languages native to India that, as Nawal said, English has NOW become a useful communication tool - as new types of media give the public an opportunity to learn the language.

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Michael Rogers  2006-02-24
Well I always thought that English was an official language in India I know it was in the days of the Raj and indeed afterwards. Maybe that has all changed. Who knows today.

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