Languages of Minority

Description

This study endeavours to understand the construction and perception of minority languages in India from the colonial era to the contemporary period. Through illustrative examples, it seeks to delineate the evolution of orality and writing, the concept of vernacular, and the dynamics of translation, which is essential for a nuanced understanding of a linguistic phenomena. Emphasizing the pivotal role of English, the work challenges conventional perspectives on multilingualism, urging a re-evaluation of the desire for English among minoritized populations. It also addresses diverse axes of power that shape or dismantle linguistic communities. Furthermore, it redefines the relationship between orality, writing, vernacular, and historical contexts in the Indian milieu. By scrutinizing prevalent notions surrounding multilingualism, the book argues that communities that are invested with the power of writing actively construct notions around language and these have certain implications on the languages of the minority, including the ways in which negotiations and resistances emerge.

About the author

Sowmya Dechamma C C is a Professor at the Centre for Comparative Literature, University of Hyderabad. Prior to this, she taught in Jamia Millia Islamia through 2003-4. She has been a Commonwealth fellow and a Fulbright fellow. Her teaching and research interests are in Comparative Indian Literatures, Cultural Discourses in Contemporary India, Literatures of India, Translation Studies, Minority Languages and Cultural Discourse, and Kodava Performative Cultures.

Table of contents

Preface and Acknowledgements
Introduction: Some Thoughts on the Many Aspects around Language
1:Colonial and Nationalist Construction of Language: The Minority Question
2:Traversing through Translation: Comparative Literature, Language, Ethnography
3:Three Writers, Three Languages, and the Contradictions of a Kodava Identity
4:For English and for Tongues, Our Own
Conclusion: Mother Tongues