Hinglish lessons are being taught in UK colleges for the first time to help young Britons win business in India.
Portsmouth College has introduced a new course for the language, a hybrid of English and Hindi, that has been spoken on both continents since the 17th century. It is widely used today in Indian business, films, music, and advertising.
Hinglish is a fusion of the two languages that is preferred by India’s booming business community, meaning learning it could be suitable for students looking for international opportunities in the world’s seventh largest economy, which is growing more rapidly than any other.
Portsmouth College said Hinglish in turn was the fastest growing language on the South continent.
Films are being watched by a lot of Indian people and right from the titles to the script, everything is in Hinglish, teacher Viraj Shah explained.
James Watters, a department head at the college, said: "It’s great to hear that our future generation of workers are taking into account things that are happening around us."
He said the course would make them "socially aware and better prepared for situations they may be faced with."
According to Collins English Dictionary, a number of common English words have in fact been influenced by Hinglish. These include the words "shampoo", from the Hindi word for massage or knead; "cushy", which stems from the Hindi word for pleasant; "cot" which originates from the Hindi word for hammock or bedstead; and "thug" from the Hindi word for cheat or thief.
Common Hinglish phrases, with borrowed British words, include: "Time kya hua hai?" - which means "what is the time right now?"; and "I have hazaar things on my mind right now" which means "I have a thousand of things on my mind right now."
While there is evidence of Hinglish being around since the 17th century, and featuring in poetry in 19th Century, it took off notably as part of popular culture in the 1990s with the rise of music channels like MTV. It is now said to be ubiquitous in Bollywood film.
