Rise Of English Language

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The rise and spread of the english language

English as stated by Timothy J. Scrase “is not only important in getting a better job, it is everywhere in social interaction. If you can’t speak it then you are a nobody”. This view makes it crystal clear that the English language acquires an important place in our country. People belonging not only to a different linguistics groups but also to the same speech community make use of English in their inter-personal communication on daily basis. Mostly, the rise of English to its position as the world's main international language was a result of luck and chance. Britain was the world's most active colonial nation in the 19th century, and British explorers and colonists took their language

It is strongly believed that it made its entry when the British first came to India after the incorporation of the East India Company in 1600, and gained roots because of the 52 educational policies of Lord Macaulay. Timothy J. Scrase explains the growth of English in India in the following words: “Since the days of the British Raj, English remained the language of domination, status and privilege in India. The hegemonic colonial project in India was to create and maintain a class of administrative officers, clerks and compliant civil servants to carry out the task of ruling the vast and expansive subcontinent”. The brits did not care at all about the cultural sentiments of the indian masses. The britishers made sure that the western educational system that prevailed in the UK at that time should not be made available to the indians as it may then allow them to revolt and overpower the britishers so they adopted oriental and classical form of learning of the

The post-independence era

English, the language mostly of the colonizers during the British Raj became accepted to the higher strata, educationally, economically and socially progressive class of the Indian society during the post-independence period. English is the language of industrialization and modernization, and now it is the language of globalization. Observing the rapid change in the place of English in India Scrase remarked “english is recognized as an important global or international language, essential for professional employment and significantly, a key component of the cultural capital of middle class Indians”.

Though the period of english in the early days was shorter but now day by day the language is moving up the chain, some even consider it as their 2nd language. The use of english increased with the establishment of universities, schools and other educational institutes. The government also stated that english is now in the process of acquiring the status of a compulsory ‘3rd