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New Delhi, Oct. 26 (AFP) - Modern-day Indian English or "Hinglish," as the variety of English spoken in India is called, has a distinct time-capsule flavour-harking back to the days of the British Raj.

Phrases that are dying out elsewhere remain in common parlance on the subcontinent, where "sleuths nab" their man, "miscreants abscond," youths engage in "tomfoolery" and politicians say their opponents speak "balderdash."

Now a leading British linguistics expert says Indian English could become the most widely spoken form of the language worldwide.

"Already about 350 million people in India speak English as a second language," more than the number of native speakers in Britain and the United States, said David Crystal, a world authority on English.

And knowledge of English is set to rise in India with the population growing by three percent annually compared to one percent in Britain and the United States, he said.

"With the Internet spreading English like no other tool ever and Indians at the forefont of the IT revolution, Indian English will soon become the most common spoken form globally," he told AFP in a recent interview.

Hinglish is coined from the collision of English and Hindi in the subcontinent where Britain was the predominant power for nearly two centuries.

Crystal, a University of Wales professor who has written over 40 books on linguistics, also said other varieties of English as a second language were spreading and would also have great influence in years to come.

"Mother tongue countries have had their day," said Crystal, who was in India as a British Council guest to speak on the "Future of Englishes".

"It’s the turn of countries where English is spoken as a second language to take the lead," he said. "Internationally- accepted standard English is there but the real language resides in these colourful, creative local varieties."

Indian English is spiced with Hindi words, like "pukka" for real, "Jungli" for uncouth, "chappals" for sandals and "Chuddis" for underwear.

It also has an old-fashioned formality that evokes an era when India was the brightest jewel in Britain’s colonial crown. People offer to "do the needful," people are "wished" on their birthday, the bereaved are "condoled".

It produces mutations like "time-pass" for an activity that is not very gripping but passes the time, appointments that are "Preponed" or scheduled earlier and people who "airdash" by plane.

Sometimes, it’s mixed with English such as in Ford’s slogan for its Ikon sedan billing it as the "Josh" Car — "Josh" is the Hindi word for exciting.

Crystal said India’s British colonial past has given it the edge in creating a booming outsourcing industry. Western firms are increasingly shifting business to India to take advantage of its cheaper English-speaking workforce.

"India has this historical, cultural connection. English is everywhere, even on signs in the smallest shops. This doesn’t happen in China and Russia," other nations seeking to lure outsourcing business.

India’s ascendance as a global economic player also has brought about a "new self-confidence and pride" among Indians in embracing "Hinglish," once disparaged by purists, Crystal said.

Indian writers liberally sprinkle "Hinglish" in articles and books and disc jockeys and TV presenters jabber away in it. "Hinglish would have been very much frowned upon in literary circles. Now its acceptance is a very important sign of Indian English coming of age," he said.

Still, he said there’s a danger the dominance of English, and particularly the feeling it’s a passport to success, could harm smaller languages.

"A language is dying every two weeks somewhere in the world today. Half the world’s languages will no longer be spoken in another century. This is an extremely serious concern and English has to share the blame."

India will have to work to ensure survival of its other languages-the country’s constitution recognises 18, he said, noting in parts of the world where English has been allowed to dominate, it has crushed minority languages.

"It’s up to India to decide which way to go. What I hope is respect for multilingualism. Human beings are naturally multilingual. Three-quarters are bilingual, two thirds are trilingual and monolinguals are the exception."