Sociolinguistics research in India
Encyclopedia
Sociolinguistic research in India is the study of how the India
n society affects and is affected by the languages of the country
.
India is a highly multilingual nation, where many languages are spoken and also studied, both as part of linguistics
and with the aim of aiding community development. Though theoretical
and comparative linguistics
have a long history in the country (dating back to perhaps the first millennium BCE), few researchers have concentrated on the sociolinguistic situation of India.
"(5 BCE);Yaska
in his Nirutka (500 BCE); Patanjali
(200 BCE); Bharata
in his
Natyasastra (500 CE);and Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak
in his Ain-e-Akbari (C16th CE).
The classification of languages, particularly with regard to regional differences and to so-called 'hybrid' languages, continued to progress during the 19th century. From 1881, language information was explicitly sought in the census, which found a total of 162 languages in the country (116 Indian languages and 46 foreign languages). Questions about language continued to be included in the 10-yearly census in the following years, and in 1896 George Abraham Grierson
began his Language Survey of India, in which he tried to classify Indian languages based on the distribution of morpho-phonemic differences.
Jules Bloch
published a study on caste dialects in 1910, however this was not followed up for some decades.
Early Indian research into sociolinguistics can be said to have begun in the early 1960s. Charles A. Ferguson
published Diglossia (1959) on variation as a developmental and functional phenomenon of language, while John J. Gumperz
published on the linguistic aspects of caste differentiation in 1960. Both topics were quickly picked up by Indian linguists. In the mid-1960s, William Labov
added an interest in variation within the speech of a caste.
A seminar on "Language and Society in India" was held in 1967 and in 1969 the Central Institute of Indian Languages was founded, which had a particular success into drawing young linguists into applied studies. In 1972 the University of Delhi introduced the first sociolinguistics course.
Almost a hundred years after Grierson's survey, the International Centre for Research on Bilingualism completed its sociolinguistic Survey of India (1983-86), covering 50 major and minor languages in the country. Originally it had been intended to cover all the written languages except Sanskrit and English, but not enough data were collected for the other 47 languages reviewed.
, in an attempt to discover the origin and method of transmission of caste dialects, and by A. K. Ramanujan
, comparing the kinds of language innovation between Brahmin
and non-Brahmin dialects of Tamil. Researchers have studied both the degree of association between caste distinctions and linguistic differences, and the methods and reasons for maintaining these differences.
", whereby languages exhibit two or more distinct styles of speech in different contexts, and a number of studies looked into the phenomenon in more depth. Much of this research was focused on Tamil, but diglossia in Sinhalese and in Telugu was also studied.
Shanmugam Pillai attempted to analyse code switching among Kanyakumari fishermen (1968) with regard to the hierarchy of the caste structure. Other research into code switching has studied it in the context of minority-majority interactions, urban and tribal transactions, and other special settings.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n society affects and is affected by the languages of the country
Languages of India
The languages of India belong to several language families, the major ones being the Indo-European languages—Indo-Aryan and the Dravidian languages...
.
India is a highly multilingual nation, where many languages are spoken and also studied, both as part of linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and with the aim of aiding community development. Though theoretical
Theoretical linguistics
Theoretical linguistics is the branch of linguistics that is most concerned with developing models of linguistic knowledge. The fields that are generally considered the core of theoretical linguistics are syntax, phonology, morphology, and semantics...
and comparative linguistics
Comparative linguistics
Comparative linguistics is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness....
have a long history in the country (dating back to perhaps the first millennium BCE), few researchers have concentrated on the sociolinguistic situation of India.
Context
India is a particularly challenging and rewarding country in which to conduct sociolinguistic research due to the large number of languages spoken in the country (415 are listed in the SIL Ethnologue).History of sociolinguistic research
Variation between Indian languages has been noted for millennia: by Tolkāppiyar (Tamil) in his "TolkāppiyamTolkappiyam
The Tolkāppiyam is a work on the grammar of the Tamil language and the earliest extant work of Tamil literature. It is written in the form of noorpaa or short formulaic compositions and comprises three books - the Ezhuttadikaram, the Solladikaram and the Poruladikaram. Each of these books is...
"(5 BCE);Yaska
Yaska
' ) was a Sanskrit grammarian who preceded Pāṇini , assumed to have been active in the 5th or 6th century BC.He is the author of the Nirukta, a technical treatise on etymology, lexical category and the semantics of words...
in his Nirutka (500 BCE); Patanjali
Patañjali
Patañjali is the compiler of the Yoga Sūtras, an important collection of aphorisms on Yoga practice. According to tradition, the same Patañjali was also the author of the Mahābhāṣya, a commentary on Kātyāyana's vārttikas on Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyī as well as an unspecified work of medicine .In...
(200 BCE); Bharata
Bharata Muni
Bharata was an ancient Indian musicologist who authored the Natya Shastra, a theoretical treatise on ancient Indian dramaturgy and histrionics, dated to between roughly 400 BC and 200 BC. Indian dance and music find their root in the Natyashastra...
in his
Natyasastra (500 CE);and Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak
Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak
Shaikh Abu al-Fazl ibn Mubarak also known as Abu'l-Fazl, Abu'l Fadl and Abu'l-Fadl 'Allami was the vizier of the great Mughal emperor Akbar, and author of the Akbarnama, the official history of Akbar's reign in three volumes, and a Persian translation of the Bible...
in his Ain-e-Akbari (C16th CE).
The classification of languages, particularly with regard to regional differences and to so-called 'hybrid' languages, continued to progress during the 19th century. From 1881, language information was explicitly sought in the census, which found a total of 162 languages in the country (116 Indian languages and 46 foreign languages). Questions about language continued to be included in the 10-yearly census in the following years, and in 1896 George Abraham Grierson
George Abraham Grierson
Sir George Abraham Grierson OM KCIE was born to a prominent Dublin family in 1851. His father and grandfather, both also named George, were well-known printers and publishers.-Biography:Educated at St...
began his Language Survey of India, in which he tried to classify Indian languages based on the distribution of morpho-phonemic differences.
Jules Bloch
Jules Bloch
Jules Bloch was a French linguist who studied Indian languages, and was also interested in languages in their cultural and social contexts.- Bibliography :...
published a study on caste dialects in 1910, however this was not followed up for some decades.
Early Indian research into sociolinguistics can be said to have begun in the early 1960s. Charles A. Ferguson
Charles A. Ferguson
Charles Albert Ferguson was a U.S. linguist who taught at Stanford University. He was one the founders of sociolinguistics and is best known for his work on diglossia. The TOEFL test was created under his leadership at the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, DC...
published Diglossia (1959) on variation as a developmental and functional phenomenon of language, while John J. Gumperz
John J. Gumperz
John Joseph Gumperz is an American linguist and academic. Gumperz was, for most of his career, a professor at the University of California in Berkeley. He is currently affiliated with the University of California, Santa Barbara...
published on the linguistic aspects of caste differentiation in 1960. Both topics were quickly picked up by Indian linguists. In the mid-1960s, William Labov
William Labov
William Labov born December 4, 1927) is an American linguist, widely regarded as the founder of the discipline of variationist sociolinguistics. He has been described as "an enormously original and influential figure who has created much of the methodology" of sociolinguistics...
added an interest in variation within the speech of a caste.
A seminar on "Language and Society in India" was held in 1967 and in 1969 the Central Institute of Indian Languages was founded, which had a particular success into drawing young linguists into applied studies. In 1972 the University of Delhi introduced the first sociolinguistics course.
Almost a hundred years after Grierson's survey, the International Centre for Research on Bilingualism completed its sociolinguistic Survey of India (1983-86), covering 50 major and minor languages in the country. Originally it had been intended to cover all the written languages except Sanskrit and English, but not enough data were collected for the other 47 languages reviewed.
Caste dialects
Following Bloch's 1910 work on caste dialects, further studies were carried out in the 1960s by (among others) William McCormackWilliam McCormack
William McCormack , was Premier of Queensland, Australia, from 1925 to 1929.He was born in Purnam, Queensland and died in Brisbane on 21 November 1947....
, in an attempt to discover the origin and method of transmission of caste dialects, and by A. K. Ramanujan
A. K. Ramanujan
Attipat Krishnaswami Ramanujan was a scholar of Indian literature who wrote in both English and Kannada. Ramanujan wore many hats as a Indian poet, scholar and author, those of a philologist, folklorist, translator, poet and playwright. His academic research ranged across five languages: Tamil,...
, comparing the kinds of language innovation between Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
and non-Brahmin dialects of Tamil. Researchers have studied both the degree of association between caste distinctions and linguistic differences, and the methods and reasons for maintaining these differences.
Diglossia and Code switching
Ferguson (1959) first used the term "diglossiaDiglossia
In linguistics, diglossia refers to a situation in which two dialects or languages are used by a single language community. In addition to the community's everyday or vernacular language variety , a second, highly codified variety is used in certain situations such as literature, formal...
", whereby languages exhibit two or more distinct styles of speech in different contexts, and a number of studies looked into the phenomenon in more depth. Much of this research was focused on Tamil, but diglossia in Sinhalese and in Telugu was also studied.
Shanmugam Pillai attempted to analyse code switching among Kanyakumari fishermen (1968) with regard to the hierarchy of the caste structure. Other research into code switching has studied it in the context of minority-majority interactions, urban and tribal transactions, and other special settings.
Language planning
With help from the Central Institute of Indian Languages, language planning became a subject in Indian linguistic courses. Institutes in Language Planning were held in 1977, 1980 and 1987, and the New Language Planning Newsletter began in 1985.Others
Other social variables have also been studied, such as urbanness and education; informal friendship contacts; and occupation and residence.Important researchers
Besides those already mentioned, the following researchers have been instrumental in the development of Indian sociolinguistics:- William BrightWilliam BrightWilliam Bright was an American linguist who specialized in Native American and South Asian languages and descriptive linguistics....
who, along with A. K. Ramanujan, wrote early work on phonetic and phonemic innovation in Brahman and non-Brahman dialects. Bright also wrote on semantic structural differences among speakers. - Murray Barnson EmeneauMurray Barnson EmeneauMurray Barnson Emeneau was an emeritus professor and founder of the Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley.-Early life and education:...
, who had written the classic paper India as a Linguistic Area, also wrote on ritual language and ritual culture. - Prabodh Bechardas Pandit focused on sociolinguistic aspects of convergence and language shift.
Contribution of sociolinguistics to Indian society
Sociolinguistic research has contributed to language in education, administration, and codification efforts of language standardisation.External links
- http://logos.uoregon.edu/explore/socioling/
- http://www.languageinindia.com/may2005/jennifermissinglinks1.html
- http://www.sagepub.com/booksProdDesc.nav?prodId=Book220703&currTree=Subjects&level1=400
- http://www.utexas.edu/courses/linguistics/resources/socioling/index.html
- http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1360-6441&site=1
- http://www.sil.org/sociolx/