LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 10 : 1 January 2010
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         K. Karunakaran, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.

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Linguistic Purism and Language Planning in a Multilingual Context
Tamil in Pondicherry

L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.


Preface

Tamil is a dynamic living language with ancient heritage and moorings. Continuously spoken and written for over 2000 years, Tamil offers many interesting dimensions for us to investigate. Arguments in favor of some form of linguistic purism to maintain the distinctive characteristic of Tamil have their roots in an ancient grammar, possibly written two-thousand years ago. That the same tendency comes up with great vigor in modern times is amazing, and deserves a deep study in conjunction with sociological, political, cultural and even economic factors.

In this monograph I undertake this study of linguistic purism in a multilingual context, drawing materials from the Union Territory of Pondicherry, where the majority of the people speak Tamil as their first language.

Pondicherry was a colony of the French, and had been ceded to the Indian Union by the French in 1962. This Union Territory has three enclaves: the Tamil enclave surrounded by Tamilnadu, a Malayalam enclave surrounded by Kerala, where Malayalam is the dominant language, and a Telugu enclave surrounded by Andhra Pradesh, where Telugu is the dominant language. In addition, because of Aurobindo cultus, a good number of Bengalis find their residence in Pondicherry. In addition, since joining the Indian Union, a good number of the speakers of the Indo-Aryan family of languages have arrived to pursue their business and other interests. Again, modern New Age Movement followers from Europe and America make Pondicherry their destination for spiritual and corporate living in Auroville.

Language planning becomes, then, very complex. Added to this mix is the demand and insistence on pursuing linguistic purism in so far as Tamil is concerned. When Hindi and other Indian languages seek their renewal and enrichment deleting commonly used Urdu-Persian-Arabic words and constructions, and drawing heavily from Sanskrit sources, Tamil, another classical language of India, with continuity as its important distinguishing mark, seeks to strengthen and enlarge its domains of use drawing from its own ancient sources, etc.

This book is part of my continuing research interests relating to sociological, political and linguistic processes in Indian languages. I do hope that the readers will find this book interesting and useful to understand the linguistic undercurrents in India.

My grateful thanks are due to the editors of Language in India www.languageinindia.com, who have kindly provided me with this opportunity to publish my thoughts and concerns.


Contents

Preface

Chapter 1 A Study of Language Use in Pondicherry

Chapter 2 Linguistic Landscape Tokens in Pondicherry

Chapter 3 European Impact and Paradigm Shift in Tamil Development

Chapter 4 Multilingualism and Second Language Acquisition/Learning in Pondicherry

Chapter 5 Puristic Idiom: The Case of Tamil

Chapter 6 The Ideology Behind Tamil Purism

Chapter 7 Attitudes towards Tamil Purism: An Evaluation

Chapter 8 The Notion of Tamil Development in Pondicherry - Theory and Practice

Chapter 9 Futuristic Planning & Values of Tamil Language in Cyber Space

References

L. Ramamoorthy


This is only the beginning part of the book. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE BOOK IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.


Linguistic Purism and Language Planning in a Multilingual Context | The Problems of Teaching/Learning Tenses | Language and Literature: An Exposition - Papers Presented in Karunya University International Seminar | Similes in Meghduta - The Absolute Craftsmanship in Language | Culture of the Tamil Society as Portrayed in Ponniyin Selvan | Deconstructing Human Society: An Appreciation of Amitav Ghosh's Sea Of Poppies | Enabling Students to Interpret Literary Texts Independently by Enhancing their Vocabulary | Coping with the Problems of Mixed Ability Students | Displaced Diasporic Identities - A Case Study of Mordecai Richler's The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz | English Language Teaching in Developing Countries Error Analysis and Remedial Teaching Methods - An Overview | Diaspora Literature - A Hybrid or a Hybridized Product? | Anita Desai's Journey To Ithaca - A Manifestation of Vedantic Knowledge | A Study on the Physiological, Psychological and Spiritual Perspectives of Different Selves in a Self with Special Reference to Yann Martel's SELF | Conveniences and Complexities of Computer-Aided Language Learning | The Danger Lurking Within: The African American Woman in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye | Practices and Paradigms of Using Multimedia and Language Laboratory for Teaching Communication Skills to Technical Students | English: A Blessing in Disguise - A Study of Chinua Achebe's Technique of Hybridization | Language Teaching - The Present Day Challenges | Is Literature a Viable Medium for ESL Acquisition? | The Lord of The Rings : Galadriel, The Light Of Middle-Earth | Teaching Reading - A Challenge in Itself | The Silent Way | Translator as Reader: Phenomenology and Text Reception - An Investigation of Indulekha | The Dysfunctional Women in Mary Gordon'sThe Other Side | Utopia and Dystopia, Conflict Between Two Extremes - An Appraisal of Anita Desai's Cry, The Peacock | Reading 'god' Backwards | The Comic Vision in the Stories and Sketches of R.K.Narayan | My Responses to The English Teacher | 'Fall from Grace into Grief': Putting into Perspective the Outrages of Terrorism in Salman Rushdie's Shalimar the Clown | Style and Language in M. G. Vassanji's The Assassin's Song | Affirmation of Life in Lloyd C. Douglas' Magnificent Obsession | Effectiveness of Group Investigation Model and Simulation Model in Teaching English | A Mathematical Treatment of Feministic Literature for the Prediction of Social Trends | Multiple Intelligences and Second Language Learning | Amitav Ghosh's The Circle Of Reason - A Study of Diaspora | The Role of Multimedia in Teaching Writing in English | A PRINT VERSION OF ALL THE PAPERS OF JANUARY 2010 ISSUE IN BOOK FORMAT | HOME PAGE of January 2010 Issue | HOME PAGE | CONTACT EDITOR


L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
Department of Asian Languages and Culture
University of Michigan
202 South Thayer Street, Suite No:5026
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1608
USA
lrmurthy@umich.edu

 
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