Hinglish, a mix of Hindi and English, is being taught at a UK college for the first time to help young Britons land businesses in India.
Portsmouth College, a sixth form college, has introduced a course for Hinglish, which has been spoken since the 17th Century.
According to reports, British diplomats posted in India were told back in 2012 that Hinglish would soon become essential for their jobs as well. Apparently, a diplomat would need to know at least a few words in Hindi to ensure he wasn't left out of conversations.
Portsmouth College teacher, Viraj Shah, told The Telegraph: "Films are being watched a lot of Indian people and right from the titles to the script, everything is in Hinglish."
James Watters, a department head at the college, added: "It's great to hear that our future generation of workers are taking into account that things that are happening around us." He added the course would make them "socially aware and better prepared for situations they may be faced with."
According to reports, Indian columnist and novelist Shobhaa De started writing in Hinglish in the 1960s, but the hybrid language gained momentum and became a part of popular culture only in the 90s, due to the rise of music channels such as MTV and Channel V.
Popularity of Bollywood movies abroad, which started sometime in the 90s, aided to Hinglish's widespread use.
It should also be noted that India has probably the largest number of youth population and they comprise the maximum number of Hinglish speakers. When these youth traveled abroad, they took the language with them.
Also, with India gaining more power globally, Hinglish will become an attractive language to know.
Interestingly, Hinglish is not the only English fusion language. Pidgin English is popular among people in countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon.
Though not an official language in any country, a sizable number of Nigerians can understand the language.
John Denham
