The Localization of English in Indian Contexts: A Linguistic Analysis of Kanthapura, The God of Small Things and The Hungry Tide

The book examines the native (Indian) contexts, which facilitate the occurrence of native words and expressions. Based on the occurrence of the socio-culturally rich Indian elements, four major native contexts were identified, namely core-native context, socially interactive context, native narrative context, and native situational context. The texts selected for the purpose include Kanthapura, The God of Small Things, and The Hungry Tide. The various devices chosen for the purpose of analysis include Indian lexical items, code-switching and code-mixing, structural and stylistic deviations, and translation of Indian expressions – words, proverbs, idioms, verses, songs, etc. The analysis of these devices in the textual background shows that in the given contexts, the native language elements can only best communicate the native ideas and expressions.