QA问答：为什么许多印度人为喜欢英语多与母语而自豪？_风闻

【来源龙腾网】

评论原创翻译：

Balaji Viswanathan

I guess many Indians are quite proud of our mother tongues, but the question is still valid. A few years ago, I went to a HP service center in Chennai for fixing my tablet. Since I knew they know Tamil I asked them questions in Tamil, although the lady there gave replies in broken English, trying hard to appear educated.

Why do people feel proud to speak in English?

我想很多印度人都为我们的母语感到骄傲，但这个问题仍然是对的。

几年前，我去金奈的一家惠普服务中心修理平板电脑。

因为我知道他们懂泰米尔语，我用泰米尔语问了他们一些问题，那里的女士却用蹩脚的英语回答，努力表现出受过教育的样子。

为什么人们要为用英语说话而感到自豪？

1. Show that they are educated. In India, the ability to speak English is strongly correlated with college degrees and in general better education. Given that education is a premium asset in India, people try hard to speak in English when possible and show others that they make the cut.

2. Throughout the world, “educated” people often try to include words that the common folks don’t use to draw a line between them. Thus, the English nobility of medi period started using French and Latin words to appear more refined compared to the boors. Same is the case of some pretentious Indians in cocktail parties.

1、表明他们受过教育。

在印度，说英语的能力与大学学位和普通高等教育密切相关。鉴于教育在印度是一项宝贵的资产，人们尽可能努力用英语说话，向其他人表明他们成功了。

2、在世界各地，“受过教育”的人，经常试图加入普通人不会用的词语，用来表明他们和普通人之间的界限。因此，在中世纪的英国，贵族会使用法语和拉丁语单词，这会让他们感觉自己比乡巴佬更精致。一些自命不凡的印度人在鸡尾酒会上也是如此。

3. Improper exposure to mother tongue. For many Indians, mother tongue is not used to express higher level ideas. Thus, while they could convey their emotions in their mother tongue, they might not be able to talk scientific ideas in their mother tongue. Thus, they would want to talk in English when they want to express their erudite opinions.

4. Some of us were forced to use English at school & home. In some of the schools I studied, we needed to pay a penalty of Rs.0.50 for every non-English word we used in the class. Quite a sick system if I think about it now. The school thought that their brand would go down if the society saw us speaking in those “dirty” native languages. We still used Tamil words when our Mam was not looking at us, and it was as though we were hiding as highway robbers. Fortunately for me, my parents always encouraged me to learn Tamil, Hindi and Sanskrit (I can speak in only the first two).

3、无法正确的使用母语表达。

对许多印度人来说，母语并不是用来表达更高层次的思想的。因此，虽然他们可以用母语表达自己的情感，但他们可能无法用母语谈论科学思想。因此，当他们想表达自己博学的观点时，他们会想用英语交谈。

4、我们中的一些人被迫在学校和家里使用英语。

在我学习过的一些学校，当我们在课堂上使用非英语单词的时候，一个单词需要支付0.50卢比的罚款。

我现在想想，这真的是一个相当病态的系统。

学校认为，如果社会看到我们用那些“肮脏”的母语说话，他们的品牌就会衰落。

当管理者不看我们的时候，我们仍然使用泰米尔语单词，就好像我们躲在高速公路上抢劫一样。

幸运的是，我的父母总是鼓励我学习泰米尔语、印地语和梵语（我只能说前两种）。

Rohit Murthy

We have a saying in India - “Angrez chale gaye, angrezi chhod gaye.” In a satirical sense, it translates to “The British left India but left behind the English language”.

Some excellent answers have already been given on this question. I’ll elaborate a bit more on the reasons that they have mentioned from a historical point of view.

To begin with, how did the English language become a part of India’s lingual landscape?

Stage 1: Dinos Arrive

我们印度有一句谚语：“Angrez chale gaye, angrezi chhod gaye.”

从讽刺的意义上来说，它可以翻译成：“英国人离开了印度，但留下了英语”。

关于这个问题，有人已经给出了一些很好的答案。我将从历史的角度详细阐述他们提到的原因。

首先，英语是如何成为印度语言景观的一部分的？

第一阶段：恐龙抵达

原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处

The British came to India initially as traders and established a number of trading posts under the control of the East India Company. In due course of time, it became more powerful with its private armies and took military and administrative control of India. Towards the latter part of the 18th century the Company dissolved but the British Crown took over and took control of the divided world that was India. English as a language initially was taught informally mostly by Christian missionaries. However, once the British took control of India, it became the language of administration, law and the Government. The dinos had indeed arrived!

英国人最初以贸易商的身份来到印度，并在东印度公司的控制下建立了一些贸易站。经过一段时间，它的私人军队变得更加强大，并对印度进行了军事和行政控制。

18世纪后半叶，该公司解散，但英国王室接管并控制了分裂的印度世界。英语最初是一种非正式的语言，主要由基督教传教士教授。然而，当英国控制了印度，它就成为了行政、法律和政府的语言。恐龙真的来了！

Stage 2: ‘Dinosaursim’ Spreads

In the early part of the 19th century the English Education Act was passed which gave a huge impetus to the establishments of English medium schools and educational institutions teaching Western curriculum. Clerical posts in administrative and government offices started requiring exams taken in English and testing language ability. Now, Indians were forced to adopt this new language as a means of social advancement. The fact was that in this British controlled world, learning English and adopting their culture gave us the 3 things we craved for - wealth, power and position. A government job was not only a coveted job, but also came along with post-retirement pensions. Soon, a number of English-educated Indians started getting involved in the governing machinery and also played a pivotal role in guiding freedom movements across the country. English became the interface between the British and us. The ‘Dinosaurism’ had spread across the country.

第二阶段：“恐龙族群”扩张阶段

19世纪初，英国通过了《英语教育法》，极大地推动了以英语为媒介的学校，和教授西方课程的教育机构的建立。

行政和政府办公室的文员职位，开始要求参加英语考试和语言能力测试。

就这样，印度人被迫采用这种新语言作为社会进步的手段。

事实是，在这个英国控制的世界里，学习英语和接受他们的文化，给了我们渴望的三样东西——财富、权力和地位。

政府工作不仅是一份令人垂涎的工作，而且还伴随着退休后的养老金。

很快，一些受过英语教育的印度人，开始参与管理机制，并在指导全国各地的自由运动中发挥了关键作用。

英语成为了英国人和我们之间的交流界面。“恐龙族群”已经在全国蔓延。

Stage3: Dinos leave, Dinosaurism survives

When India gained independence in 1947, it was this educated class that filled up the positions left by the British. Attempts were then made to have an Indian language as the national language. But in a country with more than 30 languages and 1600 mother tongues, that really is a tough ask. Hindi was made the first official languages and attempts to make it the national language met with strong opposition from Tamil Nadu and other non-Hindi speaking states. Eventually, the English Language Amendment Bill was passed making English the “Associate language” of India alongside Hindi. It was to remain as an associate language until such time as all non-Hindi speaking states agree to it being dropped. However, that has never happened and English became indispensable in India. It had become the interface between the Hindi and non-Hindi speaking population. Later it also became our interface with the outside world, particularly the West. It became a means of inclusion of all under one umbrella.

第三阶段：恐龙离开，恐龙族群存活下来

1947年印度独立时，这些受过教育的阶层填补了英国留下的职位。

随后，人们试图将印度的语言作为国家语言。但在一个拥有30多种语言和1600多种母语的国家，这真的是一个艰难的要求。

印地语成为第一种官方语言，并试图将其作为国家语言，但遭到了泰米尔纳德邦和其他非印地语地区的强烈反对。

最终，《英语语言修正法案》获得通过，使英语与印地语一起成为印度的“联合语言”。

在所有非印地语地区同意放弃之前，就只能一直使用联合语言。然而，他们从未放弃，英语在印度变得不可或缺。

它已经成为印地语和非印地语人口之间的交流界面。后来，它也成为了我们与外部世界，特别是西方世界的接口。它成为一种将所有人纳入一个保护伞下的手段。

So what does all this have to do with your question?

Firstly, it’s wrong to generalize that Indians prefer English over their native language or mother tongues. More likely, it depends on the environment and the people involved during communication. In businesses, jobs and education, English is used almost as an automatic choice of communication. But in an informal environment of native people, the native language becomes the automatic choice of communication.

Secondly, as both Balaji and Siddharth have mentioned, speaking in English is still a sign of education. In a country where education still remains a luxury, an English-bred education does improve your brand image.

Thirdly, we are a country where about 20% of our population speaks English and only about 4% speak it fluently. In a social setting trying hard to emulate the West, speaking in English can boost your social image and admit it, social image is as inherent in India as it can get. Possibly the human race.

那么，这一切与你的问题有什么关系呢？

首先，认为印度人更喜欢英语，而不是他们的母语，这是错误的。更有可能的是，这取决于沟通过程中所涉及的环境和人员。

在商业、工作和教育中，英语几乎是一种自动选择的交流方式。但在原住民的非正式环境中，母语成为交流的自动选择。

其次，正如 Balaji 和 Siddharth 提到的那样，用英语说话仍然是教育的标志。

在一个教育仍然是奢侈品的国家，英国教育确实能改善你的品牌形象。

第三，在我们国家，大约20%的人口会说英语，只有大约4%的人能流利地说英语。

在一个试图模仿西方的社会环境中，用英语说话可以提升你的社会形象，和人们对你的认可程度。在印度社会，尽己所能的提升社会形象是一种传统。可能人类社会皆如此。

原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处

Fourthly, as more and more MNCs have started entering India and with the corporate culture spreading rapidly, Indians, and working professionals in particular, have begun to accept English as a native language over their actual native languages. Migration of more and more people from their native towns and villages to the cosmopolitans has resulted in a gradual erosion of their native roots. Their exposure to English is more than their native languages/mother tongues and their succeeding generations are raised in an English-speaking environment.

Finally, We like to beat the English at their own game. Cricket anybody?

第四，随着越来越多的跨国公司开始进入印度，随着企业文化的迅速传播，印度人，尤其是在职专业人士，已经开始接受英语作为本族语言，而不是他们实际的母语。

越来越多的人，从他们的家乡城镇和村庄迁移到世界各地，导致他们的本土根基逐渐被侵蚀。他们接触英语的时间超过了他们接触母语的时间。他们的后代都是在讲英语的环境中长大的。

最后，我们喜欢在英国人的比赛中击败英国人。有人想来场板球吗？