Approximation of Indian English towards British RP due to increased language contact: Exemplified by actress Aishwarya Rai Bacchan

Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,0, LMU Munich, course: World Englishes, language: English, abstract: Even though language proficiency improves over time naturally, this term paper will try to analyze whether an individual’s Indian English (IndE) will approximate towards the British English Standard due to increased language contact in an international context, especially with regard to the change of pronunciation towards RP. As the person of interest, actress Aishwarya Rai Bacchan, is a native Indian woman who became famous very quickly all over the world, it might be possible to observe a certain development in her language due to the sudden increased contact with English. Due to India’s postcolonial status, the British English variety seems to serve as a model for learners of English in this country, so that this seems to be the right variety to base the analysis on.