text messages Hinglish: code-switching in Indian English Pingali Sailaja Downloaded from

Introduction by Jill In this issue’s Text Messages, we look at Indian English and in particular at and Charles Hadfield the use of Hinglish: code-switching between Hindi and English. Western (series editors) audiences have seen some examples of code-switching in the well-known

film Monsoon Wedding; here we look at the much more extensive use of code- http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/ switching in a popular Hindi film. Our commentator is Pingali Sailaja from the University of Hyderabad, who is the author of Indian English (Edinburgh University Press 2009).

Jab We Met: English Jab We Met, a ‘blockbuster’ Hindi film released in 2007, is interesting for its in a Hindi film use of language and in particular, for the manner in which Hindi–English code-switching is used throughout the film. Hindi–English code-switching

is popularly known as Hinglish and has been written about and commented at Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin on June 14, 2016 on in various articles. This paper comments on the use of English in this film. As can be seen, the title itself is code-mixed: Jab We Met, ‘When we met’. The title was chosen after a public opinion poll was taken—even before the film was released. The choice was among Ishq via Bhatinda (‘Love via Bhatinda’), Mail,andJab We Met (see 2007). One way or another, all the titles are code-mixed indicating the popularity of the use of Hinglish in India. Four scenes are taken up particularly for analysis: 7, 19, 24, and 31. The script of the film is available online (Raj 2009). It will be noticed that the script is written in English and that only the dialogues are written in Hindi (in transliteration). This indicates the immensely important role that English plays in Hindi film-making. The script available online, however, does not precisely match the dialogues in the film. Especially from Scene 64 onwards, the script, including the dialogues, is entirely in English, whereas there are Hindi dialogues in the movie. It is possible that the writer was in a hurry towards the end of the scriptwriting exercise. The protagonists meet for the first time in Scene 7 in a train. Geet (the female lead character) is extremely talkative and Aditya Kashyap (the male lead) is in a state of depression and totally disinclined to talk. A series of incidents makes them get out of the train and repeatedly miss it, and their journey to Geet’s home is replete with incidents. Once there, Geet runs away from home to escape a marriage to Manjeet and to find her boyfriend

ELT Journal Volume 65/4 October 2011; doi:10.1093/elt/ccr047 473 ªª The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved. Advance Access publication August 1, 2011 Anshuman whom she intends to marry. Aditya helps her to reach the place where Anshuman lives and leaves without meeting him. In the short time that they spend together, Geet has effected a transformation in Aditya and he falls in love with her. In the meantime, Geet is rejected by Anshuman, but she does not return home. Aditya learns about this from her family, finds her, and is instrumental in restoring her to Anshuman and her family. In the end, Geet finds that she loves Aditya and not Anshuman. The scenes/texts are analysed for their use of English and the contexts of that use. The relevant portions of the texts are quoted below, with my translations. The dialogues below are from the film.

The texts Geet Ticket dikhaana please. Downloaded from Scene 7 (Please show me your ticket.) Aditya is looking down, in a trance. Geet Hello ...Aap se baat kar rahi hoon. Arey? Ye seat meri hai. http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/ Twenty three. Kamaal hai. O boss ... (Hello. I am speaking to you. Hey. This is my seat. Twenty three. This is funny. O boss ...) ...

Geet Ye passage waali seats koi nahin lena chahta, magar main insist karti hoon ki bhaiya passage waali seat hi do. Reservation waale uncle bade hairaan pareshaan sa ho jaate hain magar mera at Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin on June 14, 2016 funda ye hai ... (Nobody wants to take these seats in the passage. But I insist, brother, please give me the passage seat. Reservation uncles get flustered but my principle is ...) Geet (OC) Hostel, hostel, hostel ...St Teresa’s boarding school hostel in , Missionary Hostel for College girls in Bombay Central ...

Scene 19 Aditya, looking into his wallet. Geet is standing next to him. Aditya doesn’t have much cash.

Aditya Credit card accept karte ho? (Do you accept credit cards?) Receptionist No credit. Only cash. Aditya (trying to explain) Credit card ...(gives up) Tariff kya hai? (What is the tariff?) Receptionist Aah? (What?) Aditya Ek din ka room ka kitna paisa lete ho? (How much do you charge for a room per day?)

The man looks at Geet ... He looks back at Aditya.

474 Pingali Sailaja Receptionist Aapko room ghante ke hisaab se chahiye? (Do you want the room by the hour?)

Aditya looks up, understands.

Aditya Jitna pooch raha hoon utna hi jawab do, samjhe. Ek din ka room ka kitna? (Just answer to the point, understand. What is the charge per day?) Geet (butts in) Din bhar ke liye kyon chahiye? Humein kaun sa din bhar rehna hai? (Why do we need it for a day? We are not staying the day.) Aditya Suno. Main baat kar raha hoon. (Listen. I am speaking.) Downloaded from Geet Haan, bahut kamaal baat kar rahe ho. Paise vaise bhi kam hain aur ... (to receptionist): Hum room ghante ke hisaab se lenge. (Yes, you are speaking very well. As it is, cash is short ... [to receptionist]: We will take the room by the hour.) http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/ Aditya Geet, you are not understanding what he is s ... Geet Be practical yaar. Ismein sharmaane ki kya baat hai? Humein kuch hi ghanton ka kaam hai. Hum room per hour pe lenge. (Be practical, friend. What is there to feel ashamed about this? We have need only for a few hours. We will take the room per hour.)

She turns to the receptionist. The receptionist looks at Aditya. Aditya turns to at Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin on June 14, 2016 the receptionist, looking down, indicating agreement.

Scene 24 Aditya and Geet are sitting on a branch of the tree, eating guavas. Water is flowing beneath them. Geet Hmm ...(looks down at the stream) Pani achcha hai na? (The water is good, isn’t it?) Aditya Haan. (Yes) Geet (idea) Tumne pehle kabhi aise lake mein jump kiya hai? (Have you ever jumped into a lake like this?) Aditya turns sharply to her, tries to read her. Aditya (insecure) Geet, I think hum logon ko utarnaa chahiye. (Geet, I think we should get down.) Geet Try karna chahiye. Bahut mazaa aayega. (We should try it. It will be a lot of fun.) Aditya (serious) Ek second, ek second. Mujhe tumse kuch poochna tha. Tumne kabhi kisi psychiatrist ko consult kiya hai? (One second, one second. I have been meaning to ask you. Have you ever consulted a psychiatrist?) Geet Oh shut up. Aditya Nahin nahin, tumhein zaroorat hai, Geet. (No, no, you require it, Geet.)

Text messages: Hinglish: code-switching in Indian English 475 Geet Bakwaas band karo and let’s jump. (Stop talking nonsense and let’s jump.) Aditya Achha ek second, relax, just listen to me. (Ok, one second, relax, just listen to me.) Geet Socho, aisa kaam karne ka mauka shayad phir kabhi na mile. (Just think. We may never get another chance to do such a thing.) Aditya Arey aisa kaam karna hi nahin hai yaar. Tumhara ...Pagal ho gayi hai kya? (Hey. I don’t even want to do such a thing, friend. Your ...Have you gone mad?) Geet Tumne bachpana try kiya na? Mazaa aaya na? Ab pagalpan try karo.

(You have tried childishness, haven’t you? You enjoyed it, didn’t Downloaded from you? Now try madness.) She holds his hand. Aditya Arey Geet relax, arey listen to me.

(Hey, Geet, relax, hey, listen to me.) http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/

Geet takes him by his hand and both jump into the water stream with a loud scream. They frolic and play in the stream. They get out of the water, wearing all their clothes and shoes, shivering ... As they walk out of the stream:

Geet Mazaa aaya na? at Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin on June 14, 2016 (It was fun, wasn’t it?) Aditya You need a psychiatrist.

Scene 31 Geet and Manjeet meet. Geet Hello. Manjeet How are you ji? Geet Fine. Long time. Manjeet Three years almost. Geet Jaspreet ki shaadi ke baad. (After Jaspreet’s marriage.) Manjeet Haan ji. Aur Bombay ke kya haal chaal? (Yes. And, what news of Bombay?)

Language notes The use of English in these extracts falls into all the following categories—vocabulary, set utterances, phrasal/clausal code-switching, discourse features, and pronunciation. There are several subcategories under vocabulary. First is the use of English borrowings in Hindi. As they speak, the characters use a sprinkling of English words such as ‘ticket’, ‘passage’, ‘seats’, ‘hostels’, ‘reservation’, etc., which are borrowings into Hindi. Most of the times, these English words are used since there are no Hindi equivalents for them, or even if there are, their use is rare or archaic and they would sound artificial. ‘Naming items’ of several different types are also available only in English. A word like ‘credit card’ does not have a Hindi equivalent. Similarly, occupations such as

476 Pingali Sailaja ‘psychiatrist’ can be expressed only in English. Names of institutions and establishments are generally in English: ‘St Teresa’s Boarding School’ and ‘Missionary Hostel for College Girls in Bombay Central’ fall in this category. On the other hand, there are words used here that are not really required, in the sense that there are common enough Hindi equivalents for them: ‘relax’, ‘room’, ‘lake’, and ‘second’. In Hindi, the word kamra would be used quite commonly for ‘room’. Yet, such words as ‘room’ are also used freely in Indian languages and would lie on the borderline between borrowing into the language and nonce borrowings, that is, words that are borrowed for that occasion. Therefore, these words are problematic in their status in the language. The distinction between nonce borrowing or code-switching and borrowings into the lexicon of a language is quite difficult to make as Winford (2003) points out. Words of this type are used throughout the film. Downloaded from The words ‘please’ and ‘uncle’ belong to a different category altogether. Although these are borrowings, they carry a special status. There are no colloquial equivalents in Hindi for ‘please’. This is true of most Indian

languages. The word krupaya is too high in style for everyday use. Hence, http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/ ‘please’ has become an Indian word, just as ‘thanks’ and ‘sorry’ have. Relationships are rather well defined in Indian languages. So, a word like ‘uncle’ will have a Hindi equivalent. But in Hindi, a distinction is made between a maternal uncle (mama) and a paternal uncle (chacha). This, however, is irrelevant here because ‘uncle’ and ‘aunty’ are address forms common in India for people older then oneself. Indian culture does not permit the use of names in talking to older people, so they are addressed as

‘uncle’ and ‘aunty’. When referring to older people also, these ‘fictive at Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin on June 14, 2016 relationships’ are used. When there is no known name, such expressions as ‘driver uncle’ and here, ‘reservation uncle’ are used (see D’souza 1988 and Sailaja 2009). ‘Hello’ is another interesting word in Indian English. This word, while being a greeting that is uttered when people meet, is also used in a particular context. When calling someone whom one does not know,this word is used. It is often used rudely with strangers. The word funda is a unique Indian construction shortened from ‘fundamental’. This word, which originated in educational institutions, is considered to be slang. It has a wide range of meanings associated with it, but seems to mean ‘basics’ most of the time. There is a very productive process in Indian languages of using English verbs with a verbal operator (Agnihotri 1998) by which English words become available in Indian languages. In Hindi, the common operator attached is the verb karna, ‘do’. Thus, insist karti, accept karte, try karna, jump kiya,andconsult kiya are the English verbs ‘insist’, ‘accept’, ‘try’, ‘jump’, and ‘consult’ used with inflected forms of the verb karna. ‘No credit. Only cash’ is a set expression often seen in shops. It is such that even speakers whose English is not that proficient can use it. Expressions such as ‘I think’ are fairly common. This brings us to constituents that are inserted or embedded into sentences. Some phrases and clauses used in code-switching are set expressions like ‘I think’; others are not set expressions. There is intra-sentential code-switching in Geet, I think hum

Text messages: Hinglish: code-switching in Indian English 477 logon ko utarnaa chahiye and in Bakwaas band karo and let’s jump. Such cases in this film adhere to the constraints noted in the literature on the topic. Switching takes place only at the end of a constituent and never inside a constituent. Poplack (1980) states this as the equivalence constraint: code-switches will tend to occur at points in discourse where juxtaposition of L1 and L2 elements does not violate a syntactic rule of either language, i.e., at points around which the surface structures of the two languages map onto each other. (p. 586) At the level of the discourse, complete English sentences occur without interfering with the structure of Hindi. Sentences such as ‘Oh shut up!’ and ‘You need a psychiatrist’ are examples of this. These, too, conform to the

equivalence constraint. Downloaded from In Scene 31 where Manjeet and Geet meet after a long time, they use some set expressions in their greetings that are once again quite common in the speech of bilinguals. Manjeet uses ji, an honorific expression, and this also is an instance of code-switching adhering to the equivalence constraint. http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/ In ‘You are not understanding what he is s ...’, we have a stative verb in the progressive form. This type of usage is considered to be quite typical of Indian English. However, see Balasubramanian (2009) for evidence that it isnotascommonasisbelieved.

Commentary Several linguistic aspects of the use of English in India are exemplified in these extracts. The film uses three languages: Hindi, English, and Punjabi.

Hindi is used to the greatest extent in the film. However, the two at Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin on June 14, 2016 protagonists have a Punjabi background. Geet is a Punjabi speaker and Aditya Kashyap is half Punjabi. The two characters are comfortable with all the three languages that the film uses. This is best exemplified in Scene 30 where all three languages are used to different degrees. The characters are particularly comfortable with English. The protagonists use a mix of English and Hindi with each other.Apart from another character who is an office associate of Aditya, no one else uses English as much as the protagonists do, not even the original suitor of Geet for whose sake she runs away from home. The difference between these two characters and the rest is brought out not only in the use of language but also in their general conduct. They are both urban in dress and outlook and have been educated in ‘English’ schools. Neither Anshuman nor Manjeet speaks English the way these two Bombay-ites do. In Scene 32, Manjeet says, Ho sakta hai main bade sheher waalon ki tarah smart nahin hoon, magar aankein hain mere paas. Dekh sakta hoon main, ‘Maybe I am not as smart as city people, but I have eyes, I can see’, thus reinforcing the difference between the urban and the non-urban. In Scene 19, the receptionist evidently has only a smattering of English. While he is able to say, ‘No credit, only cash’, he does not know what a credit card is. Since the town in which the two characters are stranded is small, the lack of knowledge (even in a hotel) of what a credit card is, is not surprising. The receptionist understands the word ‘credit’ and responds with the stock phrase, ‘No credit, only cash’. Aditya then continues the talk in Hindi but still uses a word that he might use in a city like Bombay: ‘tariff’. This too

478 Pingali Sailaja poses a problem because the receptionist does not understand the word that belongs to a higher register than he would know. Aditya is forced to rephrase his question in Hindi. This is not an uncommon situation and is one a city- bred person is very likely to encounter in a small town or even in smaller establishments in cities. In this scene, the difference in the proficiency levels of the protagonists and the receptionist is brought out. On the one hand, the two men have a mutual understanding and the woman is the outsider who does not understand the subtext that is part of the communication. On the other hand, the differing degrees of knowledge of English lead to a situation of humour. When Aditya says, ‘You are not understanding’ he moves to English, and this serves to establish a connection between the two lead characters while excluding the receptionist. This type of code-switching would fall into Downloaded from ‘communicative code-mixing’ as described by D’souza (1992). Here, English is used as a strategy and serves to place two speakers in a higher position and exclude one of the interlocutors. However, the woman still misses the point and continues in her usual fashion, so that Aditya is forced to give up. http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/ For the unexpected, non-standard usage ‘You are not understanding’, different explanations are possible. One may conclude that Aditya is so flustered that he slips into this non-standard expression. This type of variation which is related to performance factors is possible. On the other hand, it just might be seen as a feature that is part of his English. Even so- called proficient users of English have features that are not considered to be standard and this might be one such example (Sailaja 2009). It is also at Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin on June 14, 2016 possible that the structure is reflective of the speech of the actor rather than the character,especially in a context where the dialogues in the script and the film are at variance with each other. In Scene 24, when Aditya first says, ‘You need a psychiatrist’ he pronounces the word ‘psychiatrist’ as /saikiætrist/. But on their way out of the stream, he pronounces it with emphasis and as /saikaiætrist/ here. This variation in the pronunciation of the same word indicates different things in the Indian context. First, a pronunciation that is not steady is an indicator of a lack of a stable accent. Next, it could indicate that the speaker is trying to be different when using the second pronunciation, which would be considered to be American. Use of American pronunciation is not yet that common in India and it may be done deliberately by speakers for some special effect. In the current context, it indicates embarrassment because the act was not done with the character’s consent, yet he evidently enjoyed it. Scene 31 is a long one and this bit is the part where Geet and Manjeet meet at their pre-engagement festivities. This conversation happens in English, whereas all other conversations in the film involving Manjeet are in Hindi. In using the honorific ji, a very typical Punjabi expression, the difference between Geet and Manjeet is brought out clearly. Manjeet is the rustic person whereas Geet, by not using this Punjabi expression, comes through as an urban individual. Overall, there is considerable use of English in the film. To an extent, this use of English takes away from the fact that this is a Hindi film. But since the

Text messages: Hinglish: code-switching in Indian English 479 protagonists are urban and educated, their use of it is completely natural, and this adds the required authenticity to the characters in terms of their confident use of English rather than simply dabbling in it. The greatest influence of English on Indian languages (and of Indian languages on English) is in the vocabulary. The regular use of English vocabulary in the dialogues by all the characters demonstrates the extent to which English has permeated everyday use. In conclusion, Jab We Met is a film that exemplifies the use of English in its various forms in India. It is particularly noteworthy for the completely natural manner in which the various linguistic forms that make up Indian English are used.

References The Times of India. 2007. ‘Kareena-Shahid starrer Downloaded from Agnihotri, R. K. 1998.‘Mixedcodesandtheir has a title’. Available at http:// acceptability’ in R. K. Agnihotri, A. L. Khanna, and timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India_Buzz/ Kareena- I. Sachdev (eds.). Social Psychological Perspectives on Shahid_starrer_has_a_title_/articleshow/ Second Language Learning. New , India: Sage 2292639.cms (accessed on 17 February 2011).

Publications. Winford, D. 2003. An Introduction to Contact http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/ Balasubramanian, C. 2009. Register Linguistics. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Variation in Indian English. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. The author D’souza, J. 1988. ‘Interactional strategies in Pingali Sailaja was with the Department of English, South Asian languages: their implications University of Hyderabad, for over two decades. She for teaching English internationally’. World Englishes has recently moved to the newly established Centre 7/2: 159–71. for English Language Studies in the same university.

D’souza, J. 1992. ‘The relationship between code- She teaches English language courses, both at Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin on June 14, 2016 mixing and the new varieties of English: issues and linguistics and language teaching, and supervises implications’. World Englishes 11/2–3: 217–23. research in language studies. Her research interests Jab We Met. 2007. Produced by Shree Ashtavinayak include the areas of phonology and morphology. She Cine Vision. Directed by . is also interested in the historical, educational, and Poplack, S. 1980. ‘Sometimes I’ll start a sentence linguistic aspects of English in India, and the in Spanish y termino en espan˜ol: toward a teaching of English as a second language. She has typology of code-switching’. Linguistics 18/7–8: published articles in the areas that interest her. 581–618. A couple of her more recent books are English Words: Raj, S. 2009. Jab We Met script.pdf. Available at Structure, Formation and Literature (: http://www.box.net/shared/7yqhv254zp (accessed Pertinent Publishers 2004) and Indian English on 27 December 2010). (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press 2009). Sailaja, P. 2009. Indian English. Edinburgh: Email: [email protected] Edinburgh University Press.

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