Position of English in India: three-way categorization

The status of English in countries whereit is spoken has been commonly described in a three-way categorization(i.e. English as a native language, English as a second language, and English as a foreign language). Although drawing a strong distinctive line between thesesettings has become increasingly difficult as a result of changes in the spread of language use and users, strength of the language, identification of the position of English in a given setting is deemed necessary as it affects language acquisition methodssuggested by TESOL professionals. The answer to such inquiryis not usually straightforward. A number of models describing the spread of language use and users assign varied positions to English in India. The present study is to examine this position in light of the literature with sociolinguistic perspective. The authors also draw on the language models, the definitions provided for each categoryin the three-way categorization as well as the catch-all real-time functionit plays in the given setting