The Role of Bollywood in Shaping Indian English Usage: A Sociolinguistic Analysis

Abstract

This paper examines the significant influence of Bollywood cinema on the evolution and popularization of Indian English as a distinct sociolinguistic variety. Through a critical discourse analysis of dialogues, songs, and promotional materials from prominent Hindi films spanning the post-independence era to contemporary productions, this study investigates how Bollywood has facilitated the development and mainstream acceptance of hybridized linguistic forms that characterize Indian English. The findings demonstrate that Bollywood serves as both a reflector and a catalyst of linguistic innovation, particularly in code-switching patterns, lexical borrowing, and syntactic adaptations. This research contributes to our understanding of how popular media shapes language evolution in postcolonial contexts and argues that Bollywood's linguistic influence extends beyond entertainment to facilitate the negotiation of modern Indian identities through language. The paper concludes that Bollywood's global reach has not only legitimized Indian English varieties domestically but has also contributed to their international recognition and acceptance.