News reports from the sub-continent suggest that growing numbers of Indians might be attempting to Americanize their English in order to make themselves more attractive to U.S. corporations, and to access new job opportunities created by outsourcing. This is especially true in the hi-tech field, and is most prevalent among those in their 20s and early 30s — a burgeoning age group keenly concerned about future employment prospects. Some are taking advantage of special courses designed to familiarize them with American vocabulary, pronunciation and spelling.

This is a significant development because ever since colonial times British English has been the language of officialdom and the elite in India, serving as it has as lingua franca in a country with no fewer than 17 constitutionally recognized national and regional languages. If we then consider the fact that these 17 mainstream tongues are actually spoken in some 1600 dialects, it is not hard to understand why this vast nation has chosen English as its official working language.

What many don't realize, however, is that seen in a longer-term perspective the linguistic influence has not been all one way. Especially UK English has enriched itself with Hindi words such as 'guru' and 'juggernaut', Hindustani words such as 'bungalow' (derived from 'Bengal') and 'gymkhana', Tamil words such as 'mulligatawny', and Urdu words like 'khaki' and 'pyjamas'. Nowadays, however, if one is to believe local newspaper reports, ambitious young Indians might be learning to say 'ranch house' instead of bungalow, and to write 'pajamas' instead of pyjamas.

They are, no doubt, also having to unlearn a whole bunch of expressions still commonly used in India but now perceived as quaint or antiquated elsewhere 

Indians appear comfortable with the easygoing conversational style of American English and perhaps see it as a welcome departure from the rigid grammar-adherence of the British English learned in their schooldays. Nowadays more and more of them can afford to make the odd mistake and expect to get away with it. Nevertheless, British English itself is far from static. Once sacred grammar rules are becoming less strict, and even die-hard conservatives have had to face up to challenges posed by internationalization of the language.

Despite the recent flurry of interest in American English, the BBC continues to attract larger audiences in India than any of the U.S. networks, and this is not likely to change any time soon.