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🪶 Indigenous trait 🎨 Brazilian art movement 🇮🇳 Indian English word
Indianism

Indianism

8.6
A word or phrase used mainly in India
  • noun
  • /ˈɪndiənˌɪzəm/
  • Indian
: indianismo
  • Many words we use today, like 'bindi' and 'pukka,' are examples of Indianism that highlight Indian culture.

Examples

  • Using 'chai tea' is a common Indianism that combines the Hindi word for tea with the English language.

  • The phrase 'the perfect teacher' is an Indianism that reflects the high regard for educators in Indian society.

  • Along with these mainstream pretend Indianisms, a number of subcultural groups have appropriated aspects of Native American peoples' identity, from bohemian artists in the thirties to hippies in the sixties.

    Academic text (2000)

Synonyms

Britishism
vsIndianism
1 8.8

A word or phrase used mainly in British English, not American English

is broader, covering that country's English and its cultural practices
Anglicism
vsIndianism
1 8.4

A custom or way of doing things that comes from England

focuses on both the country's language uses and wider cultural traits
Africanism
vsIndianism
1 7.5

A word or custom that comes from Africa

is tied to one country's English and culture rather than a whole continent

Surface Forms

Indianism singular
Indianisms plural

Morphology

Indianism = Indian (transparent) = Indian + ism

Directly formed from 'Indian' + '-ism' to denote features of Indian English or culture, which learners can infer from the components.

Etymology

Indianism combines Indian, meaning 'from India', and the ending -ism, which can mean a 'style' or 'use', like in tourism. So an Indianism here is a word or expression typical of Indian English or Indian culture, for example 'prepone'.