Indian English

Germanic

FamilyGermanic Speakers~130M (L2/educational, not L1) ScriptLatin CountriesIndia Official inIndia (associate official) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3eng

Indian English is the standard variety used in education, government, and the Indian media, mother tongue or near-native second language for over 250 million speakers. It features retroflex consonants under Indo-Aryan substrate, distinctive stress patterns inherited from spelling pronunciation, and a host of unique lexical items (prepone, eve-teasing, tiffin, foreign-returned). Phonologically rhotic and syllable-timed, it now exerts significant influence on global English usage and idiom.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Indian English

Water

water

ˈʋɔːʈɚ

Fire

fire

fɑːjɚ

Sun

sun

sʌn

Moon

moon

muːn

Star

star

stɑːr

Night

night

naɪʈ

Rain

rain

reːn

Snow

snow

snoː

Wind

wind

ʋɪnɖ

Earth

earth

ɝt̪ʰ

Stone

stone

stoːn

Mountain

mountain

ˈmaʊnʈɪn

Sea

sea

siː

Mother

mother

ˈmʌd̪ɚ

Father

father

ˈfɑːd̪ɚ

Daughter

daughter

ˈɖɔːʈɚ

I

I

aɪ

You

you

juː

We

we

ʋiː

Name

name

neːm

Person

person

ˈpɝsən

Head

head

hɛɖ

Eye

eye

aɪ

Ear

ear

iːr

Nose

nose

noːz

Mouth

mouth

maʊt̪ʰ

Tooth

tooth

t̪uːt̪ʰ

Tongue

tongue

ʈʌŋ

Hand

hand

hænd

Foot

foot

fʊʈ

Heart

heart

hɑːrʈ

Bone

bone

boːn

Blood

blood

blʌɖ

Poop

poo

puː

Love

love

lʌʋ

Tree

tree

ʈɹiː

Dog

dog

ɖɔɡ

Cat

cat

kæʈ

Fish

fish

fɪʃ

Bird

bird

bɝɖ

Butterfly

butterfly

ˈbʌʈɚflaɪ

Egg

egg

ɛɡ

Bear

bear

bɛɹ

Horse

horse

hɔːrs

House

house

haʊs

Milk

milk

mɪlk

Honey

honey

ˈhʌni

Salt

salt

sɔːlʈ

Wine

wine

ʋaɪn

Rice

rice

raɪs

Chocolate

chocolate

ˈtʃɔːkləʈ

Iron

iron

ˈaɪɚn

Wheel

wheel

ʋiːl

Silk

silk

sɪlk

Book

book

bʊk

Eat

eat

iːʈ

Drink

drink

ɖɹɪŋk

Sleep

sleep

sliːp

One

one

ʋʌn

Two

two

ʈuː

Three

three

t̪ɾiː

Four

four

foːr

Five

five

faɪʋ

Hundred

hundred

ˈhʌnɖɹəɖ

Hello

hello

hɛˈloː

Thank you

thanks

t̪æŋks

Good

good

ɡʊɖ

New

new

njuː

Red

red

rɛɖ

White

white

ʋaɪʈ

Black

black

blæk

Green

green

ɡriːn

Blue

blue

bluː

Cuckoo

cuckoo

ˈkʊkuː

Woof

woof

wʊf

Cock-a-doodle-doo

cock-a-doodle-doo

ˌkɔkəduːdlˈduː

Computer

computer

kəmˈpjuːʈər

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

ˈʋaɪfaɪ

Sushi

sushi

ˈsuʃiː

Tea

tea

tiː

Coffee

coffee

ˈkɔːfi

Sugar

sugar

ˈʃʊɡɚ

Orange

orange

ˈɔːɾɪndʒ

Ninety-nine

ninety-nine

ˈnaɪnti ˈnaɪn

Dopamine

dopamine

ˈɖoːpəmiːn

At sign

at

æʈ

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Germanic

Meaning Indian EnglishGhanaian EnglishKenyan EnglishEnglishWest Country EnglishAppalachian EnglishPhilippine English
Water water /ˈʋɔːʈɚ/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ water /ˈwɔːtɚ/ water /ˈwɔːɾɚ/ water /ˈwɔtɚ/
Fire fire /fɑːjɚ/ fire /faɪə/ fire /faɪə/ fire /faɪə/ fire /faɪɚ/ fire /faːɚ/ fire /faɪɚ/
Sun sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/
Moon moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/
Star star /stɑːr/ star /staː/ star /staː/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɑr/
Night night /naɪʈ/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/
Rain rain /reːn/ rain /ɹeːn/ rain /ɹeːn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/
Snow snow /snoː/ snow /snoː/ snow /snoː/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snəʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoʊ/
Page 1/11

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
Indian English
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

I wanna try on a suit I seen ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ek wil 'n pak aanpas wat ek gesien het ‌in 'n winkel oorkant die hotel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Jeg vil prøve et jakkesæt som jeg så i en butik overfor hotellet
Indian English
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel

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