Multilingualism and the role of English as a lingua franca in India

India is one of the world’s most linguistically diverse nations. Along with the enormous variety of indigenous languages spoken throughout the country, the English language holds a special status in India as a result of the British colonisation. Besides, English has now attained the position of a global language and because of the great linguistic diversity found in India it acts as an indispensable ‘link’ language. In this dissertation I seek to trace the history of the English language in India, from its role in administration and education during the colonial period to the policies that allowed it to maintain its standing in post-independence India, with an overview of the present-day language situation. I am also going to analyse the phonological, syntactical, morphological and lexical features of Indian English, with a focus on code-switching practices between English and Indian native languages. Finally, I am going to discuss the current status of the English language within Indian society: being learned as a second language by most of the population, it is used in a wide range of domains and it functions as a lingua franca throughout the country. In addition, I will try to stress the importance of an education system that values multilingualism as an asset and fosters the teaching of the vernaculars, in order to preserve India’s linguistic and cultural diversity.