Justas in the Caribbean, the English language arrived in South Asia as a result -组卷网

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Just as in the Caribbean, the English language arrived in South Asia as a result of colonization (殖民). Unlike its history in the Caribbean, however, English has always co-existed in the Indian subcontinent alongside thousands of local languages. So for most of the population, it has only ever been a second language.

The British first arrived in India in the early1600s and soon established trading posts in a number of cities under the control of The East India Company. By 1765 the company’s influence had grown to such an extent that the British were effectively controlling most parts of the country. This date is often taken as the start of what is referred to as The Raj — a period of British rule in India that lasted until Independence in 1947.

At first, English was only taught to the local population through the work of Christian missionaries (传教士) — there were no official attempts to force the language on the masses. But by the 1700s, English had firmly established itself as the language of administration and many educated Indians were demanding instruction in English as a means of social advancement. By 1857 universities had opened in Bombay, Calcutta and Madros. English was increasingly accepted as the language of government, of the social elite (精英), and of the national press.

After Independence, India became a nation state, and it was intended that English would be phased out as the language of administration. But there was no simple solution as to which language should replace it. At first Hindi, the most widely spoken language, seemed to be the obvious choice, but since violent protests in 1963 in the state of Tamil Nadu against Hindi as a national language, opinion has remained divided. In a country with over 1.3 billion people and more than a thousand languages, it is difficult to choose a single national language, as mother tongue speakers of that language would automatically enjoy greater social status and have easier access to positions of power and influence.

Despite continued pressure from nationalists, English remains at the heart of Indian society. It is widely used in the media, in higher education and government and therefore remains a common means of communication , both among the ruling classes, and between speakers of mutually unintelligible (难以理解的) languages.

【小题1】What led to the introduction of the English language to India?