A Studywith Special Reference to the Assamese Language
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Journal of Xi'an University of Architecture & Technology ISSN No : 1006-7930 GLOBALISATION,ADVERTISEMENTS ANDTHEIRIMPACTONASSAMESECULTURE: A STUDYWITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE ASSAMESE LANGUAGE Shikha Moni Saharia 1 Ph.D. Research Scholar,Department of Assamese Gauhati University, Assam, India ABSTRACT This paper is an analytical discussion on the impact of advertisements ,chiefly digital ,on Assamese culture ,particularly on the Assamese language . Globalisation opens up the scope of free trade and global marketing in the economic sector of India .This competitive economic scenario leads to the expansion of advertisements .The paper traces how such advertisements impact on the cultural aspects of a society ,especially upon the regional languages .The inter- mingling and code switching of languages in the advertisements often lead to serious linguistic threats before the native languages as English is found to be the most dominating language in such commercial practices. The paper is formulated in an analytical manner .Goodnumbers of contemporary digital advertisements are selected to develop the analysis. The original language of the advertisements is used for the analysis which is transcripted into English. Key Words - Globalisation, advertisement, Assamese, language, impact, English Volume XIII, Issue 5, 2021 Page No: 457 Journal of Xi'an University of Architecture & Technology ISSN No : 1006-7930 INTRODUCTION Globalisation is a inclusive process by which the world is becoming increasingly interconnected as a result of massively increased trade and cultural exchange. Globalisation has completely changed the traditional concept of the globe and presents it in a changing manner .Originally ,the concept of Globalisation was related to economics. But with the passage of time, globalisation extends its impact upto every aspect of the universe. It encompasses all possible sectors within its reach and hence, defining globalisation ina sentence or short is a hazardous task. It is a multifaceted and complex phenomenon which is widely used to describe a variety of economic,cultural, social and political changes that have shaped the world over the last six to seven decades. India became a partner of the Globalisation when it consented over the concept of free trade .Since the last decades of the twentieth century; India has experienced the impact of globalisation, mostly in the economic sector. Now-a-days, India has its strong presence in this changing geo-political territory, popularly known as global village. Economy shapes the world. This economy is now shaped by the phenomenon of globalisation. Hence, this is an inter-connected nexus which cannot be studied separately. In this fast, competitive economic scenario, existence of any commodity needs different tactics of survival. Advertisement is one of those tactics of commercial existence through which a product or a commodity is presented and projected before the targeted consumers and the market value is established. Though advertising is also used to spread public message or to create awareness, advertisement, in general refers to the methods to sell a good .Though advertisement or advertising is not a new phenomenon, its characteristics, manner and impact has drastically beenchanged in the era of globalisation. Advertising, before and after globalisation, is totally different. In a globalised socio-economic world, advertisement has a totally new,wider and influentialspace .It turns out to be a integral part of the day-to-day lives of contemporary human beings.. In general, advertisements are available in two major formats –print and visual. The visual advertisements again fall into two categories –live and digital.The digital advertisements are available both in audio and audio-visual formats. The print advertisements refer to advertisements available in printed and physical formats like newspapers,magazines, periodicals, signboards,banners,posters, mural etc.Audio-visual digital advertisements are aired through Volume XIII, Issue 5, 2021 Page No: 458 Journal of Xi'an University of Architecture & Technology ISSN No : 1006-7930 television, films, serials, different social Medias like Facebook, Twitter and all internets based platforms. Audio-visual materials have more persuasive, informative, appealing and entertaining capacity which increases the level of engagement between the audience /consumer and the producer /sellers. Hence they are considered to be very effective and impactful tool. Due to globalisation, the boundary of native or foreign is blurred. Anyone from any part of the world can taste any product irrespective of their origin of production country. The growth and popularity of online shopping is the perfect example of this changing phenomenon. In this process ,advertisings play a very significant role .It is the advertisements that introduce the consumers with the product he /she is looking for ,its benefits ,features ,price and even the mode of its transportation. In a world of razor-sharp mercantile competition, advertisements are created in such creative, appealing and convincing manner that they compel the consumer to sit ,watch and to buy. Advertisements thus turn out to be a very powerful cultural component in this era of globalisation.If is undoubtedly an inseparable part of the modern human society. This interrelated dynamics of globalisation is strongly felt even in the Assamese culture. The Cambridge dictionary defines Culture as the way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs of a particular group of people. It is the pattern of learned and shared behaviour and beliefs of a particular collective entity. Cultureis transformative and it changes with the passage of time. Human life is determined by the culture he/she belongs to. Our entire personality is shaped by the culture we are part of .The drastic changes brought by globalisation undoubtedly affects the traditional infrastructure of culture .In this process advertisement also plays a crucial role. OBJECTIVE OF THE PAPER This paper is an attempt to trace out the impact of advertisement upon the Assamese Culture, especially on the Assamese language, in the contemporary period. METHODOLOGY This paper examines some selected contemporary digital advertisements for this study. The advertisements are evaluated from their linguistic and figurative aspects. In this Study, mainly data from primary sources are used for the research findings. Volume XIII, Issue 5, 2021 Page No: 459 Journal of Xi'an University of Architecture & Technology ISSN No : 1006-7930 LANGUAGE AND ADVERTISEMENT Language is the medium or the channel through which advertisements contact with the consumers or audience. The use of language is of crucial significance because without the clever, correct and sensitive use of language, advertisements would not be able to attract the audience. Language is used for a specific objective in the advertisements.Unlike films, serials or articles. Advertisements have to attract and inform the consumers within a very short period of time.Secondly the language should have the persuasive or convincing capacity.Therefore the use of language in advertisements need deeper, careful,introspective efforts.It should be informative, entertaining, correct and persuasive.It is undoubtedly a matter of serious concern. LANGUAGE OF ASSAMESE ADVERTISEMENTS This paper is an attempt to verify whether this seriousness is maintained in the Assamese advertisements or not. The phrase Assamese Advertisement stands for two major types – advertisements designed natively for native products and translated or dubbed advertisements.The second type of advertisement refers to those advertisements which are originally available in a different language, but translated into Assamese for its regional broadcasting. The first category of advertisements is produced in Assamese language for products produced or sold within the state. Every language has its specific morphological, phonetic linguistic or figurative characteristics. So, whenever something is translated or dubbed into a language, its grammatical and stylistic characteristics should be maintained properly. The process of code mixing or code switching is not applicable for the first category of advertisements .But the second category of advertisements offer an interesting scope of research as these two processes are widely used in such advertisements. This shifting nature of the use of language in the period of globalised mercantile socio-economic scenario offers newer possibilities of examination and evaluation. Volume XIII, Issue 5, 2021 Page No: 460 Journal of Xi'an University of Architecture & Technology ISSN No : 1006-7930 DISCUSSION AND FINDINGS To start the analysis, example is cited of the advertisement designed by the company Steel& Style. Steel&Style is a leading steel furniture brand of residential and office furniture which are stylish, durable and reliable. Their products include almirah,filing cabinets,lockers, tables,book shelves.The tagline of the Assamese advertisement of Steel&Style is as follows – “Aiya Stylisticseriesrshowcase ,aiya showery seriesr dressing table ,aiya elegant seriesrbaby almirah..aiya bookish seriesr book almirah …” . In this advertisement, aiya is the only Assamese word that stands for the word this in English.Apart from this word, not a single Assamese word is used in the tagline of this advertisement.The letter ris used after the English words to make them function like the preposition OF. The Assamese advertisement of the