South Asian English, informally Desi English,[1] refers to English dialects spoken in most modern-day South Asian countries, inherited from British English dialect. Also known as Anglo-Indian English during the British Raj, the English language was introduced to the Indian subcontinent in the early 17th century. Today it is spoken as a second language by about 350 million people, 20% of the total population.[2]
Although it is fairly homogeneous across the subcontinent, sharing "linguistic features and tendencies at virtually all linguistic levels", there are some differences based on various regional factors.[3]
South Asian English is sometimes just called "Indian English", as British India included most of modern-day South Asia (except Afghanistan). But today, the varieties of English are officially divided according to the modern states:
- Bangladeshi English
- Indian English
- Maldivian English
- Nepalese English
- Pakistani English
- Sri Lankan English
- ^ "Very Very Indian: What Makes Desi English So Unique". www.readersdigest.in. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
- ^ Baumgardner, p. 1
- ^ Schilk, Marco; Bernaisch, Tobias; Mukherjee, Joybrato (2012), Hundt, Marianne; Gut, Ulrike (eds.), "Mapping unity and diversity in South Asian English lexicogrammar: Verb-complementational preferences across varieties", Varieties of English Around the World, vol. G43, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, p. 140, doi:10.1075/veaw.g43.06sch, ISBN 978-90-272-4903-6, retrieved 1 March 2025
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