English in India and South Africa: Comparisons, Commonalities and Contrasts

This article offers a comparison of the history of English in India and South Africa, with special reference to its rise as a second language. As far as external history is concerned both territories show investment in a language whose use has long outlasted the colonial era, despite the concerns of leaders and scholars with a pro-indigenous language stance. The article focuses on comparing the grammatical characteristics of the second language varieties of English in India and South Africa, arising from the Mouton World Atlas of Variation in English. A comparison of relevant chapters in this work reveals close structural similarities between Indian English and Black South African English. Moreover, South African Indian English falls midway between the two in this typological survey.