The rise of Hinglish and hybrid identities in urban India

Dhanbanti Chanchal

doi:10.69968/ijisem.2025v4i3467-473

Authors

Dhanbanti Chanchal Department of Sociology Govt PG College Fatehabad Agra

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.69968/ijisem.2025v4i3467-473

Keywords:

Hinglish, Language Hybridization, Urban India, Hybrid Identity, Code-Switching

Abstract

This is a review paper that discusses the emergence of Hinglish, and its contribution to the formation of hybrid identities in urban India. The article, based on works published in the timeframe of 2016-2025, discusses Hinglish as a language hybridization based on sociolinguistic processes like code-switching and code-mixing. It examines the major forces behind its adoption such as media, technology and globalization and the major role of the youth in its production and spread. The paper also explores how Indian culture and diaspora have helped the Hinglish language to spread the world over. The results of the research show that Hinglish is not only a convenient means of communication, but also the measure of changing cultural identity, the bargaining between tradition and modernity. The paper concludes that Hinglish is a dynamic and adaptive linguistic phenomenon that can be of great use to understand the language, culture, and identity intersections in the modern urban society.

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