Hinglish
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Hinglish, a portmanteau of the words Hindi and English, is the arbitrary usage of Hindi and English, combining both, in one sentence. This is more commonly seen in urban and semi-urban centers of population, but is slowly spreading its root into rural and remote areas via television and word of mouth, slowly achieving vernacular status. Many speakers do not realize that they are incorporating English words into Hindi sentences or Hindi words into English sentences.
This highly popular mixing of both the languages in most parts of northern and central India has grown from the fact that English is a popular language of choice amongst the urbane youth who finds itself comfortable in its lexicon. It is already the medium for imparting education in many schools across the nation. The advent of cable television and its pervasive growth has seen the masses exposed to a wide variety of programming from across the world.
Another factor contributing to the spread of Hinglish is the popularity of Bollywood films.
Examples
- "pitaji, time kya hua hai?" (Father, what is the time right now?).
- "I have hazaar things on my mind right now." ( I have thousands of things on my mind right now.)
Related links
- Christian Science Monitor: A Hindi-English jumble, spoken by 350 million (http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1123/p01s03-wosc.html)
- 'Notes on Indian English, Hinglish, Tamlish, Bonglish and other -lishes' (http://dickandgarlick.blogspot.com/)