What is Hinglish and how it is shaping communication in India?

Hinglish is a hybrid language that is deemed to be the contemporary language of mass communication in India. The language is essentially English along with a Hindi take and is mostly spoken by the common people of India, that is, the middle class that has mostly spoken vernacular throughout their lives. It makes effective use of the two languages by blending the words and sentence structures.

The mingling of English and Hindi has been happening since the colonial days. But in the past few years, Hinglish has found its way into becoming an effective communication tool in India. It is often seen that Indian radio stations and television channels move freely between Hindi and English. The same is seen when watching movies and listening to music. With the advent of the internet in most parts of the country, Hinglish is no longer confined to the cities. It is spreading rapidly in the rural areas of India as well.

Hinglish is having a significant impact on the lives of people as it is making its way to becoming the language of regular communication, both at work and home. Even when it comes to selling services and products, just making commercials and campaigns in English no longer cuts it.

Over the past 200 years, English has conceivably been the language of choice for the upper class, private schools, and business communications in India. It has been the lingua franca through which the masses in the country communicate, bridging the gap between the thousands of regional languages. But as the gaps are getting filled with time, it is seen that Hinglish is playing a much more important role.