On 21 Apr 2013 10:40, "Bruce Metcalf" <[email protected]> wrote: > > Yeah, I know. You Indians and Europeans aren't impressed by the need to write things only twice, but they are. >
I suspect that most Indian languages are only a few generations from extinction. I'm literate in only English and I can barely make myself understood in one other language. It's not been often that I've felt handicapped in the 25 years I've lived in India. In urban areas most middle class kids learn English. Often it is the medium of instruction. Knowledge of English has a major impact on ones earning potential. I often think that one reason that I've gotten where I am is because my command of English makes me seem way smarter than I really am. The amount of demand for seats in English medium schools under the RTE Act shows that English has an aspirational status amongst lower income groups too. My guess is that India's lingua franca in a few generations will be a Hindi influenced English creole. -- b
