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Indian English in Uganda

The historical sociolinguistics of a migrant community
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Abstract

The Indian community in Uganda represents a special case of migration. During the colonial period, there were several major immigration waves that were sociologically and sociolinguistically heterogeneous. In Uganda, Indian migrants were mostly endocentric and concentrated, often with very little interaction with the British elite and the local African populations, and came to represent ‘a society within a society’, economically successful and socially mobile. Their situation changed dramatically, however, when Idi Amin expelled the community in 1972. In this chapter, we look into the social and socio-demographic history of Indian migrants in Uganda and outline its sociolinguistic consequences. We argue that due to their status, they maintained Indian English features and did not accommodate to British or East African varieties.

Abstract

The Indian community in Uganda represents a special case of migration. During the colonial period, there were several major immigration waves that were sociologically and sociolinguistically heterogeneous. In Uganda, Indian migrants were mostly endocentric and concentrated, often with very little interaction with the British elite and the local African populations, and came to represent ‘a society within a society’, economically successful and socially mobile. Their situation changed dramatically, however, when Idi Amin expelled the community in 1972. In this chapter, we look into the social and socio-demographic history of Indian migrants in Uganda and outline its sociolinguistic consequences. We argue that due to their status, they maintained Indian English features and did not accommodate to British or East African varieties.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Ugandan English - challenges to, and food for, current theories 1
  4. Part I - The context
  5. Towards assessing the space of English in Uganda’s linguistic ecology 19
  6. A social history of English(es) in Uganda 51
  7. Part II - Functions of English in multilingual Uganda today
  8. The sociolinguistic situation of English in Uganda 75
  9. Tensions between English medium and mother tongue education in rural Ugandan primary schools 95
  10. Part III - Features of Ugandan English
  11. Diphthongs in Ugandan English 121
  12. Lexical borrowings and calques in Ugandan English 149
  13. The use of the progressive in Ugandan English 173
  14. The use of ditransitive constructions in Ugandan English 201
  15. Speech acts in Ugandan English social letters 227
  16. Part IV - Ugandan English and beyond
  17. Indian English in Uganda 251
  18. Index 275
Ugandan English
This chapter is in the book Ugandan English
https://doi.org/10.1075/veaw.g59.11rat

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Ugandan English - challenges to, and food for, current theories 1
  4. Part I - The context
  5. Towards assessing the space of English in Uganda’s linguistic ecology 19
  6. A social history of English(es) in Uganda 51
  7. Part II - Functions of English in multilingual Uganda today
  8. The sociolinguistic situation of English in Uganda 75
  9. Tensions between English medium and mother tongue education in rural Ugandan primary schools 95
  10. Part III - Features of Ugandan English
  11. Diphthongs in Ugandan English 121
  12. Lexical borrowings and calques in Ugandan English 149
  13. The use of the progressive in Ugandan English 173
  14. The use of ditransitive constructions in Ugandan English 201
  15. Speech acts in Ugandan English social letters 227
  16. Part IV - Ugandan English and beyond
  17. Indian English in Uganda 251
  18. Index 275
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