IT IS a form of English that echoes a more polite and formal age. English speakers in India talk of “doing the needful” when they feel they must do something, ask “what is your good name?” when making introductions and refer to “Eve teasing” instead of sexual harassment.

People are “felicitated” on their birthdays, “condoled” on sad occasions and if they want to be really insulting, they will dismiss an argument as “poppycock”.

Hinglish, as the variety of English spoken in India is known, may seem a little old-fashioned but according to a leading British expert it could soon become the most common spoken form of the language.

Professor David Crystal, the author of more than 50 books on English, says 350m Indians speak it as a second language, exceeding the number of native speakers in Britain and America.

He argues that the growing popularity of Indian culture around the world, including Bollywood movies, means that Hinglish will soon become more widely spoken outside the continent.

Indian expertise in writing computer software also means that Hinglish will spread via the internet, said Crystal, honorary professor of linguistics at the University of Wales.

“Certain phrases are bound to become global with so many Indians working in information technology. As more Indians talk in chat rooms and send e-mails, the phrases and words they use to describe their lives will be picked up by others on the internet,” he said.

Hinglish contains many words and phrases that Britons or Americans might not easily understand. Some are archaic, relics of the Raj, such as “pukka”. Others are newly coined, such as “time-pass”, meaning an activity that is not very interesting but passes the time.

India’s success in attracting business has recently produced a new verb. Those whose jobs are outsourced to India are said to have been “Bangalored”.

Even the largest international companies have been forced to bow before the power of Hinglish. Ford sells the Ikon by calling it the “Josh Car” — Josh is Hindi for exciting and powerful.

English has long enjoyed a special status in India because of the country’s colonial history. It is still the language of the government, the elite and the media. It is also the only language that unites Indians in a country that has 14 official ones and more than 1,600 dialects.

The phenomenal popularity of English can be seen in every town and city. The poor are desperate to ensure that their children learn it in school because it represents a passport to jobs and prosperity.

Most Indians seem to enjoy using Hinglish and local attitudes towards imperfect English have changed. A previous longing to acquire a British or American accent has disappeared along with the sneers once prompted by mispronunciation. Now, whenever an Indian habit or idiosyncrasy is being discussed, the standard reaction is to laugh and say: “We are like that only.”

Hinglish may be catching, but it could be a while before a British man says to his wife in the morning: “Darling, can you prepone (bring forward) my meeting with the bank manager or ask my secretary to do the needful? I have to get the dent in the dicky (boot) repaired at that time. And can you pass me my chaddis (underpants)?”

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