LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 13:7 July 2013
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.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Factors Responsible for Code-Switching in Gulgulia

Sneha Mishra, Ph.D.
M. Rahman, Ph.D.

Abstract This paper briefly discusses the factors which contribute in code-switching in Gulgulia language which is the mother tongue of the Gulgulia community. The Gulgulias are a nomadic community, widely distributed in the states of Jharkhand, Bihar and Bengal who live by arranging shows of monkeys and bears, begging and even petty thieving. While exploring the ethno-linguistic vitality of Gulgulia, a research-worthy aspect was detected where Gulgulia exhibits a consistent pattern of multilingualism, such as in situational code-switching where domains determine the language of choice. The members cease using Gulgulia and adhere to Hindi/ Khortha etc. during social domains like religious practices and in other festive celebrations. This is an interesting phenomenon that there is somewhat different language use in some specific domains and it is very likely that this phenomenon will become a threat to the existence of Gulgulia in the future. Combining the general description of the Gulgulia people, Gulgulia language and its use in society with the pattern of code-switching in Gulgulia under certain domains, this paper delves widely into the factors that contribute in such code-switching thereby channelizing our concentration towards the influence of this code-switching upon the existence of Gulgulia language in the future.

The Gulgulia Community

The Gulgulias are a nomadic community, often found on the outskirts of villages, near railway stations or forests. They are chiefly distributed in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Bengal. They speak Gulgulia which is the mother-tongue of the community reported in the paper, ‘Mother Tongues of India according to the 1961 Census’ by B. Mallikarjun. Since they are nomadic people, they have picked up other languages being used in the region and show traits of multilingualism.

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

Sneha Mishra, Ph.D.
Research Scholar
Department of Humanities and Social Science
Indian School of Mines
Dhanbad 826004
Jharkhand
India
sneha.daffodils@yahoo.com

Dr. M. Rahman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Humanities and Social Science
Indian School of Mines
Dhanbad 826004
Jharkhand
India
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