Sociocultural variation in Indian English speech acts

This study examines variation in South Asian English which may be attributed to differences in the social classes of the speakers using the language. The study has the following aims: first, to provide data which substantiate the claim that Westernized speakers of Indian English are more apt to express directive speech acts in the form of questions than are their less‐Westernized countrymen, who tend to express directives in the form of imperative statements; second, to present data that support the contention that Westernized speakers of Indian English are more likely to employ as expressive speech acts the formulaics ‘Thank you’ and ‘I'm sorry’ than are non‐Westernized Indians; and finally, to support the contention that English literature as it is written by authors for whom English may be an additional language is a valid source of data for researchers interested in making cross‐cultural comparisons of the use of English as it is spoken not only around the world but also by people of different sociocultural backgrounds and levels within a particular geographic area.