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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Style and Language in M. G. Vassanji's The Assassin's Song

C. Amutha Charu Sheela, M.A., M.Phil., M.B.A.

"You Taught Me Language: And My Profit On't
Is, I Know How To Curse." The Tempest, 1611.

Colonialism and Decolonization

In the history of colonialism and decolonization, the literary dimension is apparent not only in the themes and preoccupations of literary producers, but also and more profoundly in their chosen medium of expression, English. Literary writers use English language as an instrument to convey or to express widely differing cultural experiences and also in their struggle against decolonizing the mind or, as Raja Rao says in his famous Foreword to Kanthapura:

… to convey in a language that is not one's own the spirit that is one's own … we cannot write like the English .We should not. We cannot write only as Indian's. We have grown to look at the large world as part of us. Our method of expression therefore has to be a dialect which will some day prove to be as distinctive and colorful as the Irish or American. Time alone will justify it.

Colonial Language in the Hands of the Colonialized

There is support for Rao's statement. The empire started writing back with vengeance. Postcolonial literature has given rise to Diaspora Literature. One's affection towards one's homeland and attachment towards one's culture, tradition, religion and language saw the emergence of Diaspora Literature.

Vassanji and Diaporic Literature

Diasporic literature discourse often incorporates expressions of alienation, powerlessness, longing for their homeland, loss of identity and subjugation. In immigrant writings, language has become a marker of identity and a carrier of culture. M.G.Vassanji believes that,

I have a much more aggressive view towards language; if we were invaded, then I now see myself as part of an invading force, or part of an invading culture from the Third world, which is now helping to transform the cultures that invaded us. So what I do is use the language, but change it and add on to the literary traditions here. What I attempt is to bridge different literary traditions. I see the whole process as much more positive. (M.G. Vassanji's interview with Chelva, 1991: 24)

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE 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

C. Amutha Charu Sheela, M.A., M.Phil., M.B.A.
Department of HSS
Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering
Sriperumpudur 602 105
Tamilnadu, India
acsheela@svce.ac.in

 
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