Marwari in Mumbai a Thesis Submitted in Partial
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CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE Family Language Planning in a Diaspora: Marwari in Mumbai A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Arts in Linguistics By Mrinalini Watson May 2017 The thesis of Mrinalini Watson is approved: ________________________________________________ ____________ Dr. Sharon Klein Date ________________________________________________ ____________ Dr. Terrie Mathis Date ________________________________________________ ____________ Professor Cynthia Hagstrom, Chair Date California State University, Northridge ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, without Dr. Klein’s guidance, mentorship, encouragement when I wanted to give up, and refusal to accept my excuses about being too old, I would not be writing this ‘acknowledgement’. Though language attrition is not her area of specialization (or interest) she graciously agreed to be on my thesis committee and by giving me an ‘outsider’s’ perspective she frequently compelled me to look at the content through a different lens: and for that I am eternally grateful. In the past four years we spent numerous hours together working on different applications, conference presentations, and term papers, which all eventually filtered into this text. Additionally, on behalf of the very long list of students whose lives you have enriched … Thank you! As a committee member, Dr. Mathis’s honest feedback, patience with my punctuation challenges, and guidance with my organizational handicap made the process more manageable and the product much more readable, for which I (and in case anyone else reads it) am very thankful. I would also like to acknowledge and thank Professor Hagstrom who, as my committee chairperson, very kindly took over the position after Dr. Field’s medical emergency and continued to encourage and guide me even after she retired from CSUN, sometimes compelling me to step outside my comfort zone to explore topics more completely. A special note of gratitude to Dr. Salikoko Mufwene for his kindness in guiding my initial exploration into language ecologies, heritage language loss, cultural identities, and the distinction between heritage languages versus mother tongues—his wisdom continues to guide my thinking. iii This acknowledgement would be incomplete without thanking a key contributor to the successful completion of this work—CSUN’s Graduate Studies department. In addition to providing me with the travel grant that enabled me to do my fieldwork in India, and arranging workshops that facilitated the writing process, they were always generous with their time as well as kind in their responses to my numerous questions. Finally, to my friends (especially R. S. and Purnima Rathore), relatives (especially Santosh Bhabhi), and the other participants in this study who answered my never ending questions about the Marwari language and allowed me into their lives - a very heartfelt khamagani. My eternal thanks to my cousin, Sunita (who I cannot thank enough for her unwavering support) and her entire family - without your generous and unrestrained participation during the interview process this thesis (and numerous papers and presentations) would have been extremely bland. And, to my mother and children – thank you for your patience, your support and for being understanding when I was unavailable. iv DEDICATION I dedicate this tome to Tom, my husband, without whose ever supportive and nurturing presence, this effort would have been so much harder. Thank you for catering to me, for picking up the slack in every other aspect of our lives, and for putting almost everything and everyone else on hold so I could complete this degree. As the saying should go, “Behind every successful woman there is a man”—you are the man behind my success! v TABLE OF CONTENTS Signature Page ii Acknowledgements iii Dedication v List of Tables xi List of Figures xii List of Transcriptions xiii Abstract xiv Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Literature Review 12 2.1 Introduction 12 2.1.1 Language policy 12 2.1.2 Language shift 14 2.1.3 Intergenerational language transfer 15 2.1.4 Language choices 16 2.1.5 Family language policies 18 2.1.6 Prestige of English 19 2.1.7 Impact of Colonialism 19 2.1.8 Globalization 20 2.1.8.1 Irish-Gaelic 21 2.1.8.2 Hebrew 21 2.1.8.3 Hebrew versus Irish-Gaelic 22 vi 2.1.8.4 Other minor languages 22 2.1.9 Socio-economic reality 24 2.1.10 Practice versus policy 24 2.2 Language Practice 26 2.2.1 Motivation 27 2.2.2 Functionality 28 2.2.3 In-group marker 29 2.2.4 Survival 29 2.2.5 Peer group influence 30 2.2.6 Prestige of accents 31 2.2.7 Communicating with relatives 31 2.2.8 Language between siblings 32 2.2.9 Parent’s education and family’s socio-economic status 33 2.2.10 Acculturation of the parents 33 2.2.11 Family cohesiveness 34 2.2.12 Generational variance in domain separation 35 2.3 Language Ideology 36 2.3.1 Parental Expectations 36 2.3.2 Post-colonial institutional policy 37 2.3.3 Urban versus suburban communities 38 2.3.4 Gendered motivation 39 2.3.5 Language attitudes 39 2.3.6 Generational preferences 41 vii 2.4 Language Management 42 2.4.1 Formal plan or informal strategy 43 2.4.2 Caretakers as policy makers 44 2.4.3 Supportive community 45 2.4.4 Mothers’ ethnic identities 46 2.4.5 Fathers’ parenting roles 46 2.4.6 Academic environments 47 2.4.7 Intergenerational transfer strategies 48 2.4.8 Size of the speech community 48 2.5 Summary 49 Chapter 3: Methodology 50 3.1 Participants 51 3.2 Procedure 56 3.3 Questionnaire 65 3.4 Interview questions 68 Chapter 4: Analysis 74 4.1 Does birthplace influence linguistic identity and heritage language use? 75 4.2 Is language choice reflective of the participant’s cultural quotient? 76 4.3 Does the participant’s level of education influence language use? 84 4.4 Does the participant’s medium of education influence language use? 85 4.5 Does living in a multi-generational family influence language choice? 89 4.6 What factors are potentially most influential in the implementation of IGT? 93 Chapter 5: Discussion 95 viii 5.1 Introduction 95 5.2 Language practice 98 5.2.1 Academic environments 98 5.2.2 Cultural practices 99 5.2.3 Maintaining traditions 103 5.2.4 Peer-group influence 103 5.2.5 Sibling influence 104 5.2.6 Family communication 106 5.3 Language ideology 107 5.3.1 Prestige 107 5.3.2 Attitudes 109 5.3.3 Ethnolinguistic identity 112 5.3.4 Mothers as decision-makers 113 5.3.5 In-group marker 115 5.3.6 Socio-economic advantage 115 5.4 Language management 116 5.4.1 Institutional policies 116 5.4.2 Cultural norms 119 5.4.3 Family expectations 120 5.5 Summary 120 Chapter 6: Conclusion 122 6.1 Future modifications 124 6.2 Future research questions 126 ix Bibliography 128 Appendix A: Transcription notation 139 x LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 The participants 54 Table 3.2 Family A 58 Table 3.3 Family B 59 Table 3.4 Family C 60 Table 3.5 Family D 61 Table 3.6 Family F 61 Table 3.7 Family G 62 Table 3.8 Family H 62 Table 3.9 Family I 63 Table 4.1 Cultural awareness and ethnic identity 78 Table 4.2 Membership in cultural organizations and ethnic identity 79 Table 4.3 Accessing Marwari media and ethnic identity 80 Table 4.4 High cultural quotient – Rajasthani identity 80 Table 4.5 Intermediate cultural quotient – Rajasthani identity 81 Table 4.6 Low cultural quotient – Rajasthani identity 81 Table 4.7 Low cultural quotient – Indian or Mumbaikar identity 82 Table 4.8 Cultural quotient and intergenerational language transfer 82 Table 4.9 Elementary school medium of instruction and HL use 86 Table 4.10 Impact of medium of instruction on IGT 88 Table 4.11 Family structure with reference to participants 90 Table 4.12 Family structure and intergenerational language transfer 90 xi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1 Distribution of languages spoken to children by age category 91 Figure 4.2 Distribution of languages spoken to parent by age category 92 xii LIST OF TRANSCRIPTIONS Transcript (1) “the principal was VERY strict” 98 Transcript (2) “khaat” and “chumna” 100 Transcript (3) “international foods” 101 Transcript (4) “ab generation” 101 Transcript (5) “seethla saatham” festival 102 Transcript (6) “Hindi is more lively and respectful language” 106 Transcript (7) “it’s a RATRACE” 107 Transcript (8) “Marwaris are nowadays better” 108 Transcript (9) “ethics, finance, status” 109 Transcript (10) “not to speak in Gujarati” 110 Transcript (11) “Marwari takes his business very seriously” 110 Transcript (12) Stereotypically speaking 111 Transcript (13) “a very convenient issue” 113 Transcript (14) “very FLUENT in English” 114 Transcript (15) The “interview process” 116 Transcript (16) “dur: ke nahin bolte” 117 Transcript (17) “you’ll get PUNISHED” 118 xiii ABSTRACT Family Language Planning in a Diaspora: Marwari in Mumbai By Mrinalini Watson Master of Arts in Linguistics To identify the factors that influence linguistic choices and to examine the consequences of different generations in a family having mutually incomprehensible primary languages, this thesis will use Spolsky’s (2004, 2005) language policy theories to scaffold the analysis of the language plans of Marwari-speaking families in Mumbai (a diaspora for this speech community). Methodological triangulation—questionnaires, interviews, and observations—used to determine what were the primary influences on the language choices of participants from this speech community, revealed a complex interplay of internal and external factors on linguistic choices.