Tenglish

Tenglish (Telugu: తెంగ్లిష్), a portmanteau of the words Telugu and English, is the combined usage of Telugu and English in one sentence.

Distribution

This form of code-switching is more commonly seen in urban and suburban centers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, but is slowly spreading into rural and remote areas via television and word of mouth. Many speakers do not realize that they are incorporating English words into Telugu sentences or Telugu words into English sentences. Many times, a word or phrase is just easier to say in English than to say in Telugu. Instead of saying dhanyavadhamulu for "thank you", most people say chala thanks literally translating to "a lot of thanks." This type of Telugu speaking is slowly growing outside of cities like Hyderabad, Vizag, Vijayawada, Guntur and Warangal. As English becomes more and more prevalent, it can be seen in small towns, villages, and even rural areas.

With its growing popularity, Tenglish is being used to publish news online.

It is already the medium for imparting education in many schools across the state. The advent of cable television and its pervasive growth has seen the masses exposed to a wide variety of programming from across the world. Another factor contributing to the spread of Tenglish is the popularity of Tollywood films and TV channels. Tenglish also appears in Indian crossword puzzles, such as those in the Telugu paper Sakshi.

See also

• Indian English
• Regional differences and dialects in Indian English

Further reading

• Krishnamurtisastri Sripada (1866-1960), Mana Sanskriti Issue 86, Vepachedu Educational Foundation