Code-Mixing and Literal Translation in Nepal's English Newspapers
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NELTA Code-Mixing and literal translation in Nepal’s English newspapers Sagar Poudel Tribhuvan University, Nepal Abstract This study examines the texts published in English newspapers in Nepal to find out the code mixing and literal translation of Nepali language. For the study, the data were taken from the secondary sources. Mainly two English newspapers, The Himalayan Times and The Kathmandu Post published in Nepal were taken as the sources of the data purposively. Code mixing is the use of code from one language into another language in the course of using it in communication. Similarly, literal translation is translating the source language text into the target language text with the equivalence of structure, lexicon and morphology. Such code mixing and literal translation brings variation into target language. The study found out that the codes, which are associated with religion, particular culture, local context and situations are mixed with English language. Similarly, the popular expressions among the Nepalese context were found literally translated. Keywords: Code-mixing, literal translation, context, social situation, culture communities are improvised and Introduction marginalized. As a result, linguistic minorities have remained socially Nepal is a multiethnic, multicultural and excluded from harnessing national multilingual country. It is small in area, benefits in the fields such as politics, but has complex cultural diversity economy, education, employment and so including linguistic plurality. The on. Despite its foreign language status, number of languages spoken in the English language is increasingly used in country varies in different census reports. Nepalese context. It is used in almost all However, 123 languages are officially sectors such as education, trade, tourism, recognised by CBS (2011). Despite being international affairs and so on. Though a multilingual nation, Nepal has English is not used as native tongue in accorded power, recognition, and Nepal by any speech community, its use prestige to a single language i.e. Nepali, is growing day by day. Its increasing use while as a corollary, the remaining may have contributed to the minority languages and their development of Nepali English. Journal of NELTA, Vol 24 No. 1-2, November 2019 191 NELTA In the Nepalese context, English is taught disappear. In other words, with the and used as a foreign/second language; increasing use of English, one can find English has been an increasingly popular all three types of users within a given foreign language among the Nepalese. context. For example, Giri (2014) As Khati (2013) says English is not limited suggests that traditionally English was only in classroom purposes rather it is used as a foreign language in the heavily used in other sectors like media, Nepalese context but because of various polities, commerce, and human rights. socio-political contexts, and pedagogical It is adopted as the language of business, implication; its status needs to be diplomacy and employment in the reconsidered on its use in local context international context whereas Nepali is and its role redefined. widely used as the official and working language at the national level. Nepal was In the context of Nepal, English has brought into a global world by the occupied a significant role in the academic colonial influences of the British in India, field. It has been taught as a compulsory particularly through the establishment of subject from grade one to bachelor level. Durbar high school in 1854 (Bhatta, 2012). As Nepal is multilingual, the regular use Globally, English language is also used of two or more languages is a common to establish diplomatic relation with most social phenomenon. Because of its of the countries of the world by some of growing effect, English has been used in the internationally recognized each and every sector, as people are, organizations like UNO, UNICEF and so directly or indirectly, compelled to use on. Due to the rapid growth of industrial English language. According to Bhatta development, trade, transportation, etc. (2012) “There is strong evidence that the demand of English in present day is more and more Nepalese people are increasing, and it has become the world adopting English as their language at language. Anyone who speaks English home, workplaces and at places of can keep in touch with the world, but study” (p. 3). Many young and educated without the knowledge of English, it is Nepalese are fond of speaking English impossible to achieve success. to show their level of sophistication and to demonstrate that they are educated Kachru (1985, as cited in Holmes 2008) and knowledgeable. For many the ability uses a three-circle framework to explain of speaking English is a status symbol. the development and spread of English. For many others speaking local English, according to him, is used as a languages may even be an indication of mother tongue by inner circle countries, backwardness. as a second language by outer circle countries, and as a foreign language by However, the English language that is expanding circle countries. However, in used in the Nepalese context is not as the global scenario, the number of users ‘pure’ as the English of the inner-circle of English language as lingua franca are countries is. The languages of the user higher than the native speakers countries are influencing English (Seidlhofer, 2006). As its use within a language, as a result there marked country increases, the circle- boundaries variation in the language. The Englishes 192 Journal of NELTA, Vol 24 No. 1-2, November 2019 NELTA that are used in outer-circle and many languages in the world. It is very expanding-circles are different from difficult to find monolingual or those of the inner countries. Even in the unilingual people in the multilingual context of South Asia there are country. So is the case in Nepal. Being a differences in the English languages used member of a multilingual country, we in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and speak more than two or three languages. Nepal. There are variations in different While taking part in communications, we levels of languages, like phonology, speak mixing the languages and shifting morphology, syntax, and pragmatics. from one language to another which is The differences may be attributed to termed as code mixing. various factors such as the social norms, values, traditions and particularly the Code mixing can be defined as a mixing local language of the community. If we of two codes or languages, usually take Nepal as a speech community, then without a change of topic. Hudson (1996) Nepali language may influence the use asserts, while a fluent bilingual talking of English language creating a separate to another person changes language variety which is different from the without any change at all in the situation, Standard English. The new variety of this kind of alteration is called code Nepali English has been termed mixing. In the similar vein, Verma (1998) differently by different authors, but most state that if one uses a language and notably which Rai (2006) calls it mixes words, phrases and sentences Nenglish. from another language, then it is called as code mixing and Talaat (2002) says The study explores the English that is code-mixed speech is less conscious or used in Nepal to examine it from the unconscious where the user cannot perspective of code mixing and literal clearly categorize the verbal repertoire translation from Nepali into English. in terms of functions and roles. For example: Aaja weather ramro chha. Here, the word ‘weather’ is in English language Literature review and the rest is in Nepali language. Similarly, in the expression; I don’t like Code mixing that achar (I don’t like that pickle). Here, the Nepali word achar (pickle) is used in Trask (1999) says that the term code is English language. So, in these examples used to denote any identifiable speech some codes are used or inserted in the variety, including both a particular same utterance which is called code language and a particular variety of a mixing. So, Wardhaugh (2008) says code language. Similarly, Richards and mixing occurs when participants use both Schmidt (1999) state code as a term which languages together to the extent that is used instead of language, speech they change from one language to other variety or dialect of a speech community. course of a single utterance. Considering these views, code can be used as a broad term which may denote By observing the above definitions given a dialect, register or language. There are by different linguists, it can be concluded Journal of NELTA, Vol 24 No. 1-2, November 2019 193 NELTA that code mixing is the shift of one says that Nepali terms are being used in linguistic code into another within a English language to express native sentence and very often, we find the concepts and culture. In the same way, lexical items of one language mixed to he further adds suffixes are being the structure of another language. attached to Nepalese words and vice versa which is a sing of developing new Because of the regular uses of code variety. In this context, Giri (2015) puts mixing in the present day’s his views that in order to consider communication, it has become an Nepalese English as a separate variety; unavoidable feature of any it must meet local socio-linguistic communicative events. When people conditions and serve local communicative mix codes for a long time, it becomes purposes. However, as Crystal and Rai their automatic habit to switch words of say the mix of one variety into another another language. It is not only the case variety creates the new variety, the mix of using Nepali codes into English of the features and words of Nepali language.