Code-Switching in Spoken Indian English: A Case Study of Sociopolitical Talk
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Published:
Jun 20, 2021
Keywords:
Indian English, Hinglish, TV talk show, world Englishes, Conversation Analysis
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Abstract
In India, the prevalence of (Indian) English and code-switching between languages is not new. However, there has been a dearth of research that explores code-switching in Indian English (IE) within the genre of sociopolitical talk in Indian English tv talk shows. The current study is a part of a larger longitudinal study that analyzes code-switching patterns across the previous decade in Indian English tv talk shows and is the first in the series of follow-up studies. This study qualitatively examines an episode of an Indian English tv talk show to determine code-switching (CS) patterns and functions in IE. The study employed linguistic analysis, Meyerhoff’s (2007) accommodation theory, Sacks, Schegloff, and Jeferrson’s (1974) conversation analysis methodology, and a world Englishes framework to discover the forms, functions, and motivations of CS in an English matrix context. Findings confirm Si’s (2010) results that speakers preferred higher number of English alternations and insertions than Hindi code-switches, while Hindi-only turns were relatively few. Functions of analyzed code-switches also indicated intentions to reformulate, repeat, quote, connect with or diverge from other interlocutors, and generate emphasis in discourse. The study concludes with implications for Indian English and avenues for future research.
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How to Cite
Thomas, Suneeta. 2021. “Code-Switching in Spoken Indian English: A Case Study of Sociopolitical Talk”. Journal of Contemporary Philology 4 (1), 7–40. https://doi.org/10.37834/JCP2141007t.
Section
Linguistics
Copyright © 2014 Blaže Koneski Faculty of Philology, Skopje
Journal of Contemporary Philology (JCP)
Современа филологија
References
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Gumperz, J. J. (1982). Discourse strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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Kachru, B. B. (1983g). On mixing. In B. B. Kachru, The Indianization of English, 193-207. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
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Kachru, B. B. (1985). Standards, codification, and sociolinguistic realism: The English language in the outer circle. In R. Quirk and H. Widdowson (eds.). English in the world: Teaching and learning of language and literature, 11-30. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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Schegloff, E. A. (2007). Sequence Organization in Interaction. New York: Academic Press.
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Si, A. (2010). A diachronic investigation of Hindi-English code-switching, using Bollywood film scripts. International Journal of Bilingualism, 15 (4): 388–407. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1367006910379300
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Srivastava, R. and Sharma, V. (1991). Indian English today. In R. Gupta and K. Kapoor (eds.), English in India: Issues and problems (pp. 189–206). Delhi: Academic Foundation.
Thomas, S. (2010). Emergence, usage, and implications of Hinglish in Bollywood films. Paper presented at the 16th International Association of World Englishes conference, Vancouver, Canada.
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Uddin, M. N. and Sharmin, S. (2019). The role of gender in TV talk show discourse in Bangladesh: A conversational analysis of hosts’ interaction management. International Journal of English Linguistics, 9 (6): 22-36. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v9n6p22
Vaid, J. (1980). The form and function of code-mixing in Indian films. Indian Linguistics, 41 (1): 37–44.
Verma, S. K. (1976). Code-switching: Hindi-English. Lingua, 38: 153-165.
Wardhaugh, R. and Fuller, J. M. (2015). An introduction to sociolinguistics. Malden: Wiley Blackwell.
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Charu. (2014). 10 Indian talk shows that hooked the audience. [Online]. Available from: https://www.businessinsider.in/10indian-talk-shows-that-hooked-the audience/articleshow/31999043.cms [Accessed: January 1, 2021].
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NDTV Correspondent. (2009). Yet another award for NDTV’s We The People. [Online]. Available from: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/yet-another-award-for-ndtvs-we-the-people-406095 [Accessed: January 1, 2021]
Atkinson, J. M. and Heritage, J. (eds.). (1984). Structures of social action: Studies in conversation analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Auer, P. (1995). The pragmatics of code-switching: A sequential approach. In L. Milroy and P. Muysken (eds.). One speaker, two languages, 115-135. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bailey, L. (ed.). (2010). Newcastle Working Papers in Linguistics. Volume 16. Newcastle upon Tyne: CRiLLS.
D’Souza, J. (2001). Indian English and Singapore English: Creativity contrasted. In E. Thumboo (eds.). The Three Circles of English, 3–17. Singapore: Unipress.
Gardner-Chloros, P. and Charles, R. (2007). Subiko welcome- Hindi/English code-switching in the British-Asian media. BISAL, 2: 89-122.
Gargesh, R. and Sharma, A. (2019). Indian English in political discussions. World Englishes, 38: 90-104. https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12394
Gumperz, J. J. (1982). Discourse strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hegde, M., Alva, D., Oommen, S. G., and Bhat, S. (2011). Discourse functions of code-switching among normal Kannada-English and Malayalam-English bilinguals—A pilot study, Asia Pacific Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing, 14 (4): 211-216. https://doi.org/10.1179/jslh.2011.14.4.211
Heritage, J. (1984). Garfinkel and Ethnomethodology. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Heritage, J. and Atkinson, J.M. (1984). Introduction. In J. M. Atkinson and J. Heritage (eds.). Structures of social action: Studies in conversation analysis, 1-15. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Jefferson, G. (1978). Sequential aspects of storytelling in conversation. In J. Schenkein (ed.). Studies in the Organization of Conversational Interaction, 219-248. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1978). Toward structuring code-mixing: An Indian perspective. In B. B. Kachru and S. N. Sridhar (eds.). Aspects of Sociolinguistics in South Asia. Special issue of International Journal of Sociology of Language, 16: 27-46.
Kachru, B. B. (1983a). Introduction. In B. B. Kachru, The Indianization of English, 1-14. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1983b). English in South Asia: An overview. In B. B. Kachru, The Indianization of English, 17-65. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1983c). Indian English: A sociolinguistic profile. In B. B. Kachru, The Indianization of English, 66-95. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1983d). Contextualization. In B. B. Kachru, The Indianization of English, 99-126. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1983e). The Indianess. In B. B. Kachru, The Indianization of English, 128-144. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1983f). Lexical innovations. In B. B. Kachru, The Indianization of English, 147-164. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1983g). On mixing. In B. B. Kachru, The Indianization of English, 193-207. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1983). The Indianization of English. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1985). Standards, codification, and sociolinguistic realism: The English language in the outer circle. In R. Quirk and H. Widdowson (eds.). English in the world: Teaching and learning of language and literature, 11-30. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1986a). Institutionalized varieties. In B. B. Kachru, The Alchemy of English, 19-32. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1986b). English in the bilingual’s code repertoire. In B. B. Kachru, The Alchemy of English, 57-80. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1986c). New Englishes and old models. In B. B. Kachru, The Alchemy of English, 115-123. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1986d). Englishization and language change. In B. B. Kachru, The Alchemy of English, 147-155. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Kachru, B. B. (1986). The Alchemy of English. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Milroy, L. and Muysken, P. (eds.) (1995). One speaker, two languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Meyerhoff, M. (2007). Introducing Sociolinguistics. New York: Routledge.
Myers-Scotton, C. (1993). Duelling languages: Grammatical structure in code-switching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Orsini, F. (2015). Dil maange more: Cultural contexts of Hinglish in contemporary India. African Studies, 74 (2): 199–220.
Parasher, S. (1991). Indian English functions and form. New Delhi: Bahri Publications.
Paraskeva, M. (2010). Code-switching in London Greek-Cypriots: A conversation analysis account. In L. Bailey (ed.). Newcastle Working Papers in Linguistics. Volume 16, 108-121. Newcastle upon Tyne: CRiLLS.
Poplack, S. (1980). Sometimes I’ll start a sentence in Spanish y termino en espanol: Toward a typology of code-switching. Linguistics, 18: 581-618.
Psathas, G. (1995). Conversation Analysis: The Study of Talk-in-Interaction. Qualitative Research Methods Series. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Oyeleye, A. L. and Olutayo, O. G. (2012). Interaction management in Nigerian television talk shows. International Journal of English Linguistics, 2 (1): 149–161. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v2n1p149
Sacks, H., Schegloff, E.A., and Jefferson, G. (1974). A simplest systematics for the organization of turn-taking for conversation. Language, 50: 696-735.
Sacks, H. (1984). Notes on methodology. In J. M. Atkinson and J. Heritage (eds.). Structures of social action: Studies in conversation analysis, 21-27. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sailaja, P. (2011). Hinglish: code-switching in Indian English. ELT Journal, 65 (4): 473-480.
Schegloff, E. A. (1984). On questions and ambiguities in conversation. In J. M. Atkinson and J. Heritage (eds.). Structures of social action: Studies in conversation analysis, 28-52. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schegloff, E. A. (2007). Sequence Organization in Interaction. New York: Academic Press.
Schenkein, J. (1978). Studies in the Organization of Conversational Interaction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Si, A. (2010). A diachronic investigation of Hindi-English code-switching, using Bollywood film scripts. International Journal of Bilingualism, 15 (4): 388–407. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1367006910379300
Sridhar, S. N. (1978). On the Functions of Code-Mixing in Kannada. Aspects of Sociolinguistics in South Asia: Issue 16 of International journal of the sociology of language, 16: 141-153.
Srivastava, R. and Sharma, V. (1991). Indian English today. In R. Gupta and K. Kapoor (eds.), English in India: Issues and problems (pp. 189–206). Delhi: Academic Foundation.
Thomas, S. (2010). Emergence, usage, and implications of Hinglish in Bollywood films. Paper presented at the 16th International Association of World Englishes conference, Vancouver, Canada.
Thomas, S. (2021). English in the United Arab Emirates. World Englishes, 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12560
Timberg, B. M. and Erler. R. J. (2010). Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
Uddin, M. N. and Sharmin, S. (2019). The role of gender in TV talk show discourse in Bangladesh: A conversational analysis of hosts’ interaction management. International Journal of English Linguistics, 9 (6): 22-36. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v9n6p22
Vaid, J. (1980). The form and function of code-mixing in Indian films. Indian Linguistics, 41 (1): 37–44.
Verma, S. K. (1976). Code-switching: Hindi-English. Lingua, 38: 153-165.
Wardhaugh, R. and Fuller, J. M. (2015). An introduction to sociolinguistics. Malden: Wiley Blackwell.
Wei, L. (2002). “What do you want me to say?” On the conversation analysis approach to bilingual interaction. Language in Society, 31: 159-180.
NDTV (2010, January 3). Best of We The People. [Video]. NDTV Available from: https://www.ndtv.com/video/news/we-the-people/best-of-we-the-people-121524 [Accessed: January 1, 2021].
Charu. (2014). 10 Indian talk shows that hooked the audience. [Online]. Available from: https://www.businessinsider.in/10indian-talk-shows-that-hooked-the audience/articleshow/31999043.cms [Accessed: January 1, 2021].
Klingler, A. (2017). Changes in code-switching behaviour among Hindi-English bilinguals in Northern India. [Online]. Lifespans and Styles, 31 (1): 40-50. Available from: http://journals.ed.ac.uk/lifespansstyles/article/view/1827 [Accessed: February 1, 2021].
NDTV Correspondent. (2009). Yet another award for NDTV’s We The People. [Online]. Available from: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/yet-another-award-for-ndtvs-we-the-people-406095 [Accessed: January 1, 2021]