Article published In:
English World-WideVol. 18:1 (1997) ► pp.91–105
Indian English
Some Myths, Some Realities
The New Varieties of English (e.g. IndE, SingE, NigE) have been studied for the last several decades. In the course of this study several 'myths' have arisen about these varieties and these myths have increasingly been accepted as facts. The main aim of this paper is to examine some of these myths and to try to reveal the realities behind them. I argue that as long as the myths are accepted as givens there can be no real progress in the study of the New Varieties. I will explore the myths in the context of IndE but the arguments provided apply to all the New Varieties. The myths I will deal with are:
1) IndE is a "non-native" variety of English.
2) IndE has no standards.
3) IndE lacks creativity.
4) IndE is the language of a small but dominant elite.
5) English is the cause of most of the problems in India and in the world.
Cited by (12)
Cited by 12 other publications
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2020. Variation and change in the short vowels of Delhi English. Language Variation and Change 32:1 ► pp. 49 ff. 
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2016. Introduction: Why a Study on the Speech Rhythm of Indian English and British English Is Necessary. In Speech Rhythm in Varieties of English [Prosody, Phonology and Phonetics, ], ► pp. 1 ff.
Fuchs, Robert
2016. The Historical and Social Context of Indian English. In Speech Rhythm in Varieties of English [Prosody, Phonology and Phonetics, ], ► pp. 9 ff.
Balasubramanian, Chandrika
2015. Corpus linguistics and New Englishes. In Corpus-based Research in Applied Linguistics [Studies in Corpus Linguistics, 66], ► pp. 147 ff.
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2018. Language in a Glocalized World. In Language and Literature in a Glocal World, ► pp. 15 ff.
Schmitz, John Robert
2014. Looking under Kachru's (1982, 1985) three circles model of World Englishes: the hidden reality and current challenges. Revista Brasileira de Linguística Aplicada 14:2 ► pp. 373 ff.
Mukherjee, Joybrato
2007. Steady States in the Evolution of New Englishes. Journal of English Linguistics 35:2 ► pp. 157 ff.
Joseph, Clara A. B.
2005. Language in contact and literatures in conflict: text, context, and pedagogy. World Englishes 24:2 ► pp. 131 ff.
Kumaravadivelu, B.
2003. A Postmethod Perspective on English Language Teaching. World Englishes 22:4 ► pp. 539 ff.
D'souza, Jean
2000. Review of Krishnaswamy & Burde (1998): The Politics of Indians’ English: Linguistic Colonialism and the Expanding English Empire. English World-Wide. A Journal of Varieties of English 21:1 ► pp. 151 ff.
Li, David C. S.
1999. Linguistic Convergence: Impact of English on Hong Kong Cantonese. Asian Englishes 2:1 ► pp. 5 ff.
[no author supplied]
2013. Reference Guide for Varieties of English. In A Dictionary of Varieties of English, ► pp. 363 ff.
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