Page 1 of 10
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 02
February 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 734
Role of English Language in the Modern Context in India
VANSHIKA
Former Assistant Professor, Faculty of English,
S.D. (PG) College, Panipat
ABSTRACT
In the present scenario, English is a widely spoken language. It is referred to ‘global
language’, the Multi- lingua franca of the modern era. It is the language most often taught as a
second language around the world. In India, English is used in the process of communication
with the outside world; it is also used for inter-state and intrastate communication. India does
have great ethnic and linguistic diversity and we can therefore find English acting as an
indispensable ‘link’ language. With the advanced development in Information Technology,
Science, Medical, Irrigation, Education, Mass communication, software and operating
systems, a new utility for written and oral communication in the English language has
emerged. English is said to be the world’s most important language which has communicative
and educative value. English is used all over the world not out of any compulsion but because
of the realization that it has certain advantages. The present paper discusses the importance of
usage of English language in the modern context.
Keywords: global language, Multi- lingua franca, indispensable link language.
INTRODUCTION
Language is our primary source of communication. It's the method through which we share
our ideas and thoughts with others. Some people even say that language is what separates us
from animals and makes us human. There are thousands of languages in this world. Countries
have their own national languages in addition to a variety of local languages spoken and
understood by their people in different regions. Some languages are spoken by millions of
people, others by only a few thousand.
English was originally the language of England, but through the historical efforts of
the British Empire it has become the primary or secondary language of many former British
colonies such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and India. Currently, English is the
Page 2 of 10
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 02
February 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 735
primary language of not only countries actively touched by British imperialism, but also many
business and cultural spheres dominated by those countries. It is the language of Hollywood
and the language of international banking and business. As such, it is a useful and even
necessary language to know.
There are several factors that make the English language essential to communication in our
current time. First of all, it is the most common foreign language. This means that two people
who come from different countries (for example, a Mexican and a Swede) usually use English
as a common language to communicate. That’s why everyone needs to learn the language in
order to get in touch on an international level. Speaking it will help you communicate with
people from countries all over the world, not just English-speaking ones.
List of Countries by English Speaking Population
Country % English Speakers Total English Speakers
United States 94.2 298,444,149
India 10.35 125,226,449
Pakistan 49 92,316,049
Nigeria 53 82,941,000
United Kingdom 97.74 63,962,000
Germany 64 51,584,000
Bangladesh 18 29,398,158
Canada 85.63 28,360,240
France 39 25,500,000
Italy 34 20,300,000
Australia 97.03 17,357,833
Thailand 27.16 17,121,187
South Africa 31 16,424,417
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_English-speaking_population
The English language has shaped modern India's development in many ways, here are a few...
First, it helped establish a link with the West in the post colonial era whereby ideas and
information could be exchanged easily, especially in the realm of higher education.
Subsequently this enabled members of successive generations to immigrate to develop an
English speaking nation as professionals thereby helping India establish a people to people
link with the West which has come in very handy after the economic liberalization. Despite
the inward and myopic outlook of less than stellar post- independence governments for
decades on end and the political barriers of the cold war, India's fortunes changed radically in
Page 3 of 10
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 02
February 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 736
a very short period of time after it liberalized. This would not have been possible without the
English language skills (as minimal as they might be) and the people to people link I
mentioned. The fact of the matter is that possessing English skills as a young Indian today
opens up a greater number of opportunities.
English has ceased to be an "English language" in the sense of belonging only to people who
are ethnically English. Use of English is growing country-by-country internally and for
international communication. Most people learn English for practical rather than ideological
reasons. Many speakers of English in Africa have become part of an "Afro-Saxon" language
community that unites Africans from different countries.
As decolonization proceeded throughout the British Empire in the 1950s and 1960s, former
colonies often did not reject English but rather continued to use it as independent countries
setting their own language policies. For example, the view of the English language among
many Indians has gone from associating it with colonialism to associating it with economic
progress, and English continues to be an official language of India. English is also widely
used in media and literature, and the number of English language books published annually in
India is the third largest in the world after the US and UK. However English is rarely spoken
as a first language, numbering only around a couple hundred-thousand people, and less than
5% of the population speak fluent English in India. David Crystal claimed in 2004 that,
combining native and non-native speakers, India now has more people who speak or
understand English than any other country in the world, but the number of English speakers in
India is very uncertain, with most scholars concluding that the United States still has more
speakers of English than India.
Modern English, sometimes described as the first global lingua franca, is also regarded as the
first world language. English is the world's most widely used language in newspaper
publishing, book publishing, international telecommunications, scientific publishing,
international trade, mass entertainment, and diplomacy. English is, by international treaty, the
basis for the required controlled natural languages Seaspeak and Air speak, used
as international languages of seafaring and aviation. English used to have parity with French
and German in scientific research, but now it dominates that field. It achieved parity
