CHAPTER 4- SPEECH ACTS IN "COOIJE"

4.1 Preliminaries It is exciting as well as enlightening to study the selected speech acts from 'Coolie', the novel of epic dimension. It is twice as long as the earlier novel 'Untouchable', and its action is not confined to a particular place. It takes us to the different places in India describing the cross sections of Indian society. What is remarkable about the novel ^Coolie'' is the element of pathos. The protagonist is an orphan boy Munoo who is made a shuttlecock by the property owners and even by his relatives.

The present chapter is devoted to the study of carefully selected speech acts. The speech acts related to diminutives, abuses, power semantics, solidarity semantics, honorifics etc will be thoroughly examined and analyzed with respect to the theory of speech acts as propounded by Austin and Searle. Since the major factors that govern the speech acts in 'Coolie' are power semantics and solidarity semantics, the contemporary social reality has been taken into account. Similarly, face-saving and face-threatening strategies will be touched upon. The phenomenon of code mixing and code switching will also be examined in a proper perspective.

4. II Abuses

The novel 'Coolie' is of epic dimension for it takes the readers to different places of India where we come across people belonging to

176 different age groups, castes and classes, occupations and professions and where we come across the variation in the use of the register. What is striking about this novel is an element of contrast showing the rich and the poor, rural and the urban, English people and the Indian people. Therefore, the novel 'Coolie' is multicultural in nature offering the scope to construe the selected speech acts in terms of power and solidarity semantics. The speech acts which include terms of address, abuses, diminutives, endearment, honorific registers, etc are also worth studying beyond communicative aspects. The socio- cultural, strategic competence, and discourse competence are much more important than the linguistic and communicative competence. If the speech act theory is applied to the novel 'Coolie', one understands the linguistic utterances beyond the grammatical boundaries.

Since the novel 'Coolie' is primarily based on the class- consciousness, it would be interesting as well as noteworthy to study, interpret and analyze the carefully selected speech acts. The importance of social relationships in determining address forms is, in fact the subject of independent research. It is interesting as well as surprising to note that abuses are used as a form of address. The use of abuses is common to all cultures. Gujri, Munoo's aunt in the novel 'Coolie', for example, flings abuses at him shouting at the top of her voice:

Munnoo ohe Munooa! Where have you died? Where have you gone, ominous orphan? (p. 9)

17/ The utterance was uttered with a shrill, hoarse voice standing at the low hills of Kangra valley trom where one could see the silver line of the river Beas surrounded by the mango-grove, ferns, weeds and bushes. Munoo had been grazing cattle on the banks of the Beas. The address terms she uses are partly diminutives and partly endearments; diminutives in the sense that they are used to express disapproval of Munoo; endearment for they are the deviations in the name itself. The illocutionary force of the utterance indicates that his aunt wanted Munoo to come home as early as possible because his uncle was leaving for Sham Nagar and he must go with him to earn his livelihood. Her intention behind the utterance also indicates that she wanted to get rid of Munoo by sending him to the town. She uses taboo words to describe Munoo. She calls him 'ominous orphan' because Munoo's parents had already gone to the heavenly abode. Both his uncle and aunt wanted Munoo fend for himself. The perlocutionary effect of the utterance shows that he was terribly frightened to hear the voice of his aunt. Though he heard the shouting of his aunt calling him back from the valley, he did not reply. He simply turned from the shade of the tree where he sat hidden. Panic- stricken he wanted his aunt to disappear into the hut.

The above speech act is an example of code switching for the sentence structure is Hindi whereas the words used in the sentence construction are English. One of the reasons for using the code-switching device is to convey anger and annoyance strongly. The expression ''Where have you died?" is taken from the Hindi phrase "kidar marr gaya" and is used to express anger for the person who is wanted urgently but

178 not available on time. Despite the repeated shouting calls of his aunt, Munoo would not respond on purpose. Therefore, the utterance involving code mixing is used to emphasize Hhe exigency of the situation. In the Indian context people make use of two languages simultaneously which is known as bilingualism. S. V. Parasher (2001) says:

"When people of widely different cultural and linguistic background live together in a geographal region over a considerable length of time, sharing common, socio-economic and political activities of the communitiystable bi- or multi­ lingual societies are created. " (p. 14)

The phenomenon of code mixing and code switching is the result of bilingualism. In the novel 'Coolie' one notices the borrowing of Hindi words or phrases. For example, Chota Babu says to Munoo:

'ShabaslShabasI' (p.34)

The word ' 'Shabas' has been repeated to show appreciation and surprise. When Sheila brought to the notice of her uncle that Munoo was dancing like a monkey, he was delighted and surprised. The word ' 'Shabas' creates a perlocutionary effect on Munoo and he continues his monkey dance. The words of praise and the swear words do have various dimensions of meaning.

The swear words either in Hindi or English are extensively used by the characters ranging from children to grown ups. At times, they are used as diminutives whereas occasionally they are used as

179 endearments. The study of the following example will illustrate the fact:

'Have you no manners, you savage, that you let your aunt shout herself hoarse and don't answer her?' (p.lO)

Jay Singh, son of the village landlord, is Munoo's rival for leadership of Bishambar and other village boys. He wants Munoo to go away from the village forever so that he would get a chance to lead the boys in the absence of the latter. The term of address he uses is 'you savage', which apparently is an abusive expression, but in reality, it is an endearment. The term is used by Jay Singh to show close proximity. However, there are a number of abusive words and phrases in the novel. Some people use abusive language in the name of some animals. Animals are powerful symbols of certain qualities- good or bad. We either admire or despise people using animal metaphors. Let us examine the following utterance of a young man:

'Look out, you son of a donkey?' (p.l8)

The above utterance cannot be understood unless it is put into the context. In pragmatics, the context determines the meaning of a linguistic expression. Here, the rider of a bicycle uses the utterance. As the donkey is looked upon as a stupid or brainless animal, Munoo is given the qualifications of a donkey. When he saw Munoo in his way walking carelessly disregarding the warning bell of the bicycle, he gets angry and reminds him to be cautious while walking.

!80 The above expression is an indirect speech act and is intended to create a perlocutionary effect on the mind of the hearer. Here, in this case, Munoo is the hearer and he steps aside and barely escapes being knocked down into the gutter. The man, to save the boy from any injury, uses the abusive expression, 'son of a donkey'. The implied meaning one gets from the phrase is the boy in the context is so silly like a donkey that he cannot understand the rules of traffic in a town or city.

The abuses are not only in the name of animals but they are also related to sexual characteristics. For instance, Munoo's uncle makes him aware of the impending danger of the bicycle to which Mulk Raj Anand calls two-wheeled steel horse. The abusive terms used by Munnoo's uncle in the following expression make this clear:

'Ohe, illegally begotten!' you will get killed! Idiot!' (P. 18)

On seeing a two-wheeled steel horse coming towards Munoo at a terrific speed his unkind uncle addresses Munoo as illegally begotten and calls him idiot to avert the accident. The illocutionary force of the utterance was so strong that boy was terrified. As a result, the boy became frightened and could not understand what to do in this situation. Had the toy-seller not dragged the boy to a safer place, the cyclist would have knocked him down. His uncle, unmindful of the boy's plight, continued his verbal abuses without stopping for a breath:

181 Walk quickly, rascal! You will get killed before long if you don't look out. '(p.l8)

Daya Ram, uncle of Munoo, having said this utterance struck him on the face. Munoo began to cry. He was very disheartened because he thought that his uncle had a stony heart. Nevertheless, he had no option than to follow his uncle mutely. Thus, it becomes clear that Munoo is a mute sufferer. The term 'rascal' is used in the sense of an abuse as well as diminutive. It is an abuse because the utterance is uttered in a harsh tone, which makes the boy realize that he should be cautious while walking on the city road. Usually, the term 'rascal' is used in the sense of disapproval of somebody's way of doing the things. In this sense, it is a diminutive. Here, in this case Munoo's manner of walking is disapproved.

Munoo's journey into the new world is full of struggle, disappointment, trials and tribulations. He suffers not only at the hands of his own relatives but his masters who assign him different odd jobs also oppress him. For example, Munoo is ill treated by his uncle who wants to get rid of the boy. He considers the boy a burden in the family. Therefore, he expects the boy to do some work for his daily bread. He takes the boy to his master and asks him to pay respect by joining hands. His uncle says:

'Join your hands, pig, and say, "I fall at your feet" (p. 23)

Munoo's uncle flings an abuse in the name of pig. The above speech act is directive in the sense that Munoo is ordered to do some thing.

182 The boy's arrival at Daya Ram's mistress in Sham Nagar is marked by the abusive language. The boy is ordered to join hands as the mark of respect. In India, people give respect to the superiors or elderly people by joining their hands. Munoo is asked to do so by his uncle to get favour of Bibiji, the mistress of Babu Nathu Ram. Since Munooi is a teenager, he dutifully obeys his uncle and joins his hand to show that he respects the woman.

As soon as Munoo begins his work as the houseboy, he is profusely abused by the landlady:

'Eater of your masters! Strange servant you are that you fall asleep before the sun sets! What is the use of a hoy like you in the house if you are going to do that every day? Wake up! Wake up! Brute! Wake up and serve the Babuji his dinner. Or at least you eat your food before you sleep, if sleep and die you must.' (p. 2 5)

Munoo is at the lower rung of the ladder of social hierarchy. In other words, he belongs to the category of servants. Bibiji and Munoo share master-servant relationship. The speaker enjoys the right of calling her servant 'brute'. The abusive expression, 'Eater of your masters' is the literal translation of the Hindi expression, 'Namak haram!' which is used to show that the person in whose case the socially forbidden words are used is not trustworthy. Bibiji, the wife of Babu Nathu Ram let fly the abuses. At one point Bibiji says to Munoo:

183 'Yay, shameless, shameless, vulgar, stupid h ill-boy f May the vessel of your life never float in the sea of existence! May you die! What have you done! Why didn 't you ask me where to go? May you fade away! We didn't know we were taking on an animal in our employ, an utter brute, a savage! What will the sahibs think who pass by our doors every morning and afternoon! The Babuji has his prestige to keep up with the sahibs. Hai! What a horrible, horrible he has made outside my house! '(p. 8)

Munoo did not know where he should go to relieve himself. There were houses all around. He hurriedly went to the wall outside the kitchen lest he could not control himself any longer. The landlady was seething with anger when she saw him releasing the stools. She could not bear the sight.

The above utterance of Bibiji indicates that she was extremely angry with the boy for relieving outside the kitchen. She calls him 'vulgar, stupid boy'. She also uses indirect speech act and calls him an animal. Here, the landlady regards Munoo an animal because he does not even know where to relieve himself In another incident, Munoo is regarded as monkey. Chota Babu says:

'Youpaws, you monkey!' (p.33)

The above expression apparently looks like an abusive expression but at the pragmatic level, it is an example of endearment. Munoo is addressed as monkey by Chota Babu. Here, it must be mentioned that

184 Chota Babu and Munoo share friendly relations. Besides being a doctor, Chota Babu is also one of the members of the house where Munoo works. The Babu treats Munoo in a friendly manner. He allows Munoo to come into his room and listen to music. Munoo wants to listen to musical notes created by the singing machine. When he enters the room without dusting his feet and hands after throwing the rubbish outside of the house, Chota Babu utters the above speech act as an endearment. In the same speech event, we come across another term of endearment, this time in the name of some bird. Babu calls Munoo:

'Ohe, son of an owl,' have you dried your feet before entering the room? '(p.32)

Here, the address term is in the name of a bird, which has derogatory connotative meaning in the Indian context. The bird named 'owl' is associated with a person with beady black eyes, whose appearance is ugly and who becomes a laughing stock. At this point, Munoo is addressed as the son of an owl for not cleaning and drying his feet before entering Chota Babu's room. However, in this case the address term is endearment.

On the contrary, Bibiji, the mistress of the house constantly nags Munoo for the latter is careless in doing the household duties. The ill treatment meted out to Munoo makes him disheartened and dejected. Bibiji at one point in the novel calls names and gives him a resounding slap on the face. Here, we are reminded of Bakha, the protagonist of the novel "Untouchable" who also receives the slap on

185 his face. Both the characters Bakha and Munoo represent the lowest caste and the class of the Hindu social structure based on hierarchy respectively. Bibiji's speech act is worth studying here:

'Spoiler of our salt!' 'You have brought bad luck to our house! Beast! And I have tried hard to correct you.' (P. 59)

The address term 'Spoiler of our salt!' is an abusive expression as well as a diminiitive, it is an abuse because it is aimed at bringing humiliation to Munoo for not doing the house work according to the wishes of Bibiji, it is a diminutive for it is aimed at bringing disgrace to Munoo. The phrase "Spoiler of our salt" is an example of code switching. The Hindi phrase of abuse 'namak haram' has been borrowed using English rephrasing. The Hindi abusive term is often used in India to indicate the person who is poor and who works at his master's place betraying his master.

Munoo is called a beast because he is poor and miserable. He is harassed due to his low class. Mulk Raj Anand deliberately makes his characters use abusive language and thus makes a new experiment in the use of language. He uses language as an action. The effective use of abusive language creates a perlocutionary effect on the hearer. Most of the abusive expressions are related to the animal imagery, the sexual activities, and the class distinction. Following are some of the speech acts where abusive language is used in the name of animals:

I. 'You impertinent little rogue! So you dare to ask me for accounts, eh, son of a swine! This is the reward I get for

186 keeping you so long, and for finding you a job! Money, money, money you M'ant all the time!' (uncle to Munoo) page-6}

2. 'Son of a bitch! How can I get you the clothes you want, and shoes, if you spend all the pay money which I am keeping for you? ' (uncle to Munoo) page-60-61

3. 'Why, oh swine! Why don't you answer me?' (Babuji to Munoo)page- 73

4. 'Get on with your work, ohe inquisitive swine!' (The goat face to Munoo) page-] J5

5. 'Son of a dog!' (Babuji to Munoo) page- 73

6. 'Get out of my way, swine!' (Ganpat to Munoo) page-125

7. 'Get away you hill dog! '[striking him on the face] 'Go to your coolies, you dirty coolie.' (Ganpat to Prabha) page-125

8. 'Shut up, demented swine, ignoble wretch!' (Ganpat hurled his last abuse at Prabha) page-126

9. 'Stop howling, dog, and don't follow me. I tell you I have made up my mind. I am through with such scum as you. You are not my class. You belong to the^ street, and there you shall go. I spit on you. ' (Ganpat to Prabha) page-126

10. 'Son of an ass! Heathen! (Pathan to Hari) page-236

11. 'Stupid bullock' (Jimmie to Hari) page-199

187 12. 'You lie swine! I went down my self yesterday and there was no water. ' (Chimta Sahib to Hari) page-229

13. 'Surka bacha! Why didn 't you inform me before you moved out of those huts? (Chimta Sahib to the coolies) page-229

In the above examples, the underlined words are animal abuses. It is noticed that these animals have bad connotations in Indian culture. The abuses are not only in the name of animals but they are also in the name of illegitimate sexual relations. The abusive speech acts showing the illicit relations are in plenty in this novel. Following are some of the examples:

14. 'Come out! Come out and face us, upstart hill-man! Come out, lover of your mother! Y page-J 26)

15. 'Ohe, lover of your mother,' 'Ohe, illegally begotten, who asked you to lift the cask, you who have hardly emerged from your mother's womb? Run away, little rascal! I didn't see you go in to lift the weight or I should have stopped you. Do you want to have me sent to jail for murder? Get away, little wretch!' (The merchant to Munoo) page-]44

16. 'I know he is ill. Of course, he would be ill, with so much money on his conscience. But go and bring him, or we will come and drag him out, the illegally begotten!' (One of the creditors to Munoo) page-127

188 17. 'Go, go, seducer of your sister, go and get him.' (a merchant to Munoo) page-127

The abusive expression in the 14, 'lover of your mother' is taken from the Hindi expression, 'Madar Chod' which means 'mother fucker' in English. The creditors to Prabha call him names because he has not been able to repay their debts. The Lallas have come to the doorsteps of Prabha Dayal to demand their money. On seeing the house locked, the creditors knock at the door and abuse him profusely.

Similarly, the directive speech act as stated in 17 indicates the nature of relationship between the addressee and the addresser. Here, the addresser, of the abusive expression, 'Go, go, seducer of your sister, go and get him', is a merchant who has come to the doorstep of the house of Prabha who has become bankrupt. The merchant asks Munoo to fetch his master who has been hiding in the house for fear of being beaten. The merchant addresses Munoo as the seducer of his sister. It is an example of code switching and is taken from the Hindi phrase, 'Behan Chod' that means the person has illicit sexual relationship with his sister. This type of abuse is very common among the working class of India. Probably, this is the reason why Mulk Raj Anand makes use of speech acts of code mixing and code switching involving abuses showing illicit relations between kith and kin. It is remarkable that Mulk Raj Anand recreates reality by the use of authentic linguistic expressions taken from the ground realities existing at the time when the novels "Untouchables" and "Coolie" were being written. The use of abusive terms as well as diminutive expressions is worth studying from the point of view of pragmatics

189 because the study of language as an action really helps the reader to arrive at an authentic interpretation.

4. Ill Diminutives

In the beginning of the novel "Coolie ", one comes across Gujri, the ruthless and cold-blooded aunt of Munno, the protagonist of the novel, addressing him as Mundu, which looks like an endearment term, but actually, it is a diminutive expression. Let us study the following speech act of Munoo's aunt:

'Munoo ohe Munooa oh Mundu! Where have you died? Where have drifted, you of the evil star? Your uncle is leaving soon. You must go to the town. '(P. 9)

Munoo's aunt shouts repeatedly calling Munoo to come home for his uncle was leaving for Sham Nagar. She wanted Munno to earn money and support himself. She also had desire to have her own son and wanted to get rid of Munoo. His uncle thought that Munoo had become a grown up and therefore, must fend for himself. As she called Munoo shouting his name at the highest pitch of her voice, there was a frightening effect of all its bitter content. Munoo had gone for grazing cattle on the banks of the Beas. No sooner did the buffaloes and cows in his charge enter the low waters than he heard the piercing soprano. The address terms 'Munoo', 'Munooa', or 'Mundu' are not used as the terms of endearment but they are used as diminutives because her intention is to send this hill boy to the town with his uncle so that she can enjoy peaceful life in the village. Gujri's

190 shouting could be heard all over the places sun-ounding the village. Initially, Munoo did not respond to the call given by his aunt even if he heard the shouts. The diminutive speech act is basically aimed at belittling some one in the social status but here, in this case it is aimed at creating fear in the mind of the boy. The perlocutionary effect on the boy makes him drive the cattle home. When Munoo heard the repeated calls in his name, he got up and called his cattle a little more quickly that day than never before.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia on the internet defines diminutive as follows:

"A diminutive is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness, of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy or endearment. "(Google, com- p. I)

Let us examine the speech act of Chota Babu in this respect:

'What are you looking at, you owl?' (p. 39)

The above diminutive is uttered by Chota Babu for addressing Munoo. It is an indirect speech act which includes the address term "you owl". Chota Babu calls Munoo an owl while the latter stands absorbed looking at the shaving machine being used by burra Babu. Munoo has never seen the wonder machine with the teeth before. This is the maiden experience for Munoo to see the most wonderful machine. He was further tempted to ask a question whether that

191 machine cost a lot of money. The term 'you owl' is an endearment as it shows Chota Babu's friendly attitude.

It is interesting to note that most of the husbands in the orthodox families do not address their wives using their names. Instead, they use the indirect speech act to announce the names of their wives. Following diminutive is worth studying:

'Oh, I say, the mother of my daughter, bring another cup. Babu Ram Lall has come.' (P. 38)

The above speech act involves diminutive as well as endearment. Burra Babu is the speaker of the above utterance and Bibiji is the hearer. The relation of the speaker and the hearer is that of husband and wife. Instead of using his wife's first name for addressing her, the husband uses the phrase 'the mother of my daughter'. This usually happens when the husband wants to address his wife in the presence of elders or strangers. This is an example of code switching because the Hindi expression 'mere baccheki maa' has been switched to English changing the syntax.

Similarly, one comes across a number of such diminutive speech acts in the novel under consideration. For instance, the following speech act containing a diminutive is worth studying:

'Ari, mother of Moti, sit down and rest a while. ' (Hari Har to his wife) page-185

192 Hari Har who comes to Bombay in search of a job in some factory utters the above Unguistic utterance. Hari Har along with his wife and the newly acquainted boy (Munoo) walks past the vast masses of big business houses and the dome shaped great buildings. On seeing his wife lagging behind a little distance away because of her long walking, he addresses her as the mother of Moti. He does not address using her proper name. It is the historic fact that wives of orthodox families were addressed in relation to their kiths and keens in the past. It is still practised in the small villages in India where most of the population is uneducated and orthodox.

Sometimes, we discover that in close association there are deviations in the use of address terms between master and servant. Let us consider the following diminutive expression:

Come here, you fool,' the wound will become septic with those filthy ashes. Come and show it to me. '(P. 66)

In the above directive speech act, the hearer is addressed as 'a fool'. The addresser is Chota Babu and the addressee is Munoo. Both the characters share friendly relations. Dr. Prem Chand or Chota Babu, who is a doctor by profession, is kind and compassionate to Munoo who is a servant in the house. Chota Babu is the younger brother of Babu Nathu Ram, the sub-accountant in the Imperial Bank in the town named Sham Nagar. He represents the modern educated man who has concern and commitment to the society. He has a soft comer for Munoo. Therefore, the term of address 'you fool' is an endearment. Actually, Munoo is not a fool in the real sense of the term but a

193 miserable person who is the victim of the class-ridden society. That Chota Babu's jolly and playful nature is indicated by the above speech act. The doctor wanted to treat the wound and therefore he fondly addresses Munoo as 'a fool' on seeing that the latter was shy to approach him. Sometimes, we use nicknames to describe a person.

A nickname is a name, any kind of name, that one is called in place of one's real name. Some nicknames are affectionate phrases used to describe a person. "Diminutives" are formed by corrupting, shortening, or otherwise changing a person's given name into something different. This happens in a variety of ways. People belonging to higher class are most often seen looking down on the people below their rank. The rich may address the poor using diminutive expressions. For instance, Lady Todarmal is the wife of Rai Bahadur Sir Todar Mai who enjoyed the prestigious position in the British India. He had held the position of public prosecutor and had amassed a huge wealth. His wife was very much boastful about her higher social status. She at one point in the novel addresses Ganpat using peculiar diminutive expression. She says:

'Vay, eater of your masters! You mean one! That you should grudge us ajar of rose-leaf jam! And we have been so kind to you, in spite of the fact that your smoke is a nuisance to us. We should really have had you ejected. But we gave you money when you needed it. We even let you have a part of your house for those fdthy women to work in. Ungrateful wretches! Don't they say truly "Whose friend is a man of the hills, he comes, he eats the rice and dal at your house and goes? '"(p. 117)

194 Lady Todar Mai addresses Ganpat using the strange diminutive phrase 'eater of your masters' which is indicative of the fact that the lower class people have no voice. They cannot retort their masters; neither can they rejoin because they are at the mercy of their superiors. In this case, the nature of interpersonal relationship is to be understood. The relationship they share is that they are the neighbours of each other. Lady Todar Mai is from the rich class whereas Ganpat is from the poor class. He is the partner of Seth Prabha in a pickle factory. When the factory was on the verge of collapse, she extended her financial help and thus rescued them from bankruptcy. Therefore, she has the right to ask for a jar of rose-leaf jam. She uses the diminutive to indicate that Ganpat is an ungrateful, wretched person. Moreover, she is angry and annoyed due, the nuisance caused by the smoke emitted from the pickle factory. The term of address 'eater of your masters' is taken from the Hindi expression "NamakHaram " and used in English rephrasing the entire phrase. The switch of the code creates some kind of authenticity in the nature of interpersonal relationship. The western readers may fail to arrive at an authentic interpretation due to lack of the knowledge of address terms in the Indian context.

There are also terms of address in the Indian context, which show kinship relations. For example, most of the Indians address the strangers as uncle, aunty, sister or brother. Tulsi says:

'Abusing nobody, brother', only these mosquitoes. ' (P. 138)

195 Tulsi was a servant in the pickle factory but due to the Hquidation of the factory he had to take sheher somewhere along with Munoo. Tulsi, decided to work in the grain market as a coolie. Munoo and Tulsi left Prabha's house in the hot and humid night and came to square courtyard where they began to search for the place to lie down. As soon as they came to the comer of the market, they found that every nook and comer of the grain market was overcrowded with sleeping coolies from various sections of the Indian society. They wanted to lie down, as they were tired of walking the long distance that night. There were Kashmiri Muhammadan labourers, Hindu hill coolies, Sikh coolies and others. These sleeping coolies were making strange noises in their restless sleep. There were swarms of misquotes that were sucking the blood of the coolies. The hovering and biting of the mosquitoes also troubled Tulsi and Munoo. They began to slap their bare arms and legs where the mosquitoes would sit and bite. They started abusing the mosquitoes. They said, "Oh, these mosquitoes, the seducers of their daughters!" One of the coolies got angry and wanted to know the abuser.

The above speech act used by Tulsi addressing the stranger-coolie as brother. It is a polite form of expression. The interpersonal relation between the two persons is that they belong to the category of coolie. The only difference between them is that Munoo and Tulsi are entrants in the world of coolies whereas the hearer of the utterance is the seasoned coolie. The above utterance led the other coolie who was awake make further inquiries about Tulsi and Munoo.

196 The next day Munoo and Tulsi start working as coolies. Their journey ahead was full of catastrophic experiences and utter misery. Munno first works in the vegetable market earning barely eight annas a day. He starts saving money in the hope of settling in the big city. He has a strong desire to become rich and live comfortable life but the destiny frowned upon him making his life more difficult and ugly. He is forced by the circumstance to travel from place to place in search of bread and chutney (butter would be too costly!).

Munno comes to Bombay hiding himself in the special circus train to toss his fate. As the train passes, he surveys the greenery and scenery, mountains and valleys, standing crops and open fields with his curious eyes. This reminded him of his childhood experiences in Bhishampur and the Kangra Hills at Sham Nagar and Daulatpur. Passing Ratlam and Baroda stations the train comes to the then Victoria Station, Bombay (now Shri Chhatrapiti Shivaj Terminus). He gets down the train unnoticed and starts walking along the pavements looking at strange people coming from cross sections of the Indian society including the white Europeans with their immaculate suits, boots and basket hats. As he walks a long distance hurriedly, he begins to sweat. He feels thirsty as he sees a restaurant where he sights the row of colored soda water. He is tempted to drink one. He knows that there is one rupee tied in his loincloth. As he sits on an empty table, he begins to feel elated but his pleasure did not last long. The tall man in muslin comes to him and says:

'Coolie?'(p. 181)

197 Here the address term 'Coolie' is a diminutive expression aimed at scomfulness and strong disapproval. The perlocutionary effect on Munoo is that he is flabbergasted. Munoo confesses he is a cooHe by uttering the word' 'Han'. He realizes that he has committed a mistake by sitting on the chair that was not meant for him. He becomes class conscious and sits on the cemented floor without saying a word. He was full of fear. He immediately gets up from the chair with nervousness and fear gripping his mind. The word 'coolie' creates ripples of feelings in the mind of the hearer. The hearer is Munoo who feels extremely guilty for having encroached on the rich people's world. The speaker of the above utterance is also a person from the lower class of the society. He is the waiter in the restaurant. It is interesting to note that within the lower classes also there is a hierarchal order. One poor person looks down upon the other. Thus, the speech act is a tool to explore into the different layers of interpersonal relationship. Apart from diminutives the power, solidarity, humbleness, arrogance are also some of the influencing factors in determining the relationship between interlocutors.

4. IV Power Semantics, Solidarity Semantics,

Humbleness, (humility). Arrogance

4. IV.A Power semantics

Power and solidarity are the two governing factors in interpersonal relationship. It is true that language helps people understand the speaker's attitude and mind-set. Making the use of language in a

198 subtle way, people define their relationship to each other. They also identify themselves as part of a social group. Therefore, the study of address forms is necessary because it undoubtedly highlights the importance of power semantics and solidarity as a part of the speech act theory in an interaction. Therefore, there is a growing interest among the researchers to study the address systems in different languages. Ashok Thorat (2002) rightly says:

"Terms of address and reference in Indian English are markedly different from those we come across in British or American English. Indian speakers of English and Indian novelists in English make use of Indian or Indianized strategies of politeness. As far as address and reference terms are concerned, the determining or governing factor is 'maryada', which means limitation or constraint", (p.84)

Linguistic choice is largely determined by social factors. The power semantics is non-reciprocal because two people cannot have power over each other in the same area at the same time. Different societies will have different rules about what constitutes solidarity, and even within one society, there will be a range of factors influencing choice. In the novel under consideration, we come across the address terms involving power and solidarity.

In an ordinary situation, a teacher while controlling the class exercises the virtual power. For instance, a student says to the teacher, "Sir, I am sorry for my misbehaviour in the class" and the teacher says, "Don't to this again". Here, the teacher is the leader and he has the

199 power to control the behaviour of his student. The interpersonal relationship between the two is governed by certain social and ethical principles. Similarly, in well-organized groups like military the power is gained by ordering the group members to obey. For instance, the commander in chief says to the soldiers, "Fire" all the soldiers have to obey the orders because they are abided by the laws of the land. The power semantics makes one powerful and the other submissive.

Brown and Oilman conducted the most significant study in 1960. It was their maiden study in this area of pragmatics. For the first time they used the concepts 'power' and 'solidarity' in the field of sociolinguistics. They identified their correlation and the pronominal usage. They not only analyzed the address system of American English but they also interpreted the dimensions ranging from acquaintance to intimacy as scales of 'solidarity'.

The principles of power and solidarity require the speaker to decide whether the receiver of the address term is a friend or colleague and whether the sender of the address term is in higher rank or lower rank. The address forms can be regarded as linguistic signals of the power- solidarity relations between the interlocutors. The linguistic signaling of power and solidarity can be seen as the way in which speakers locate themselves in the social world. According to Fasold (1990):

"When people use language, they do more than just try to get another person to understand the speaker's thoughts and feelings. At the same time, both people are using language in subtle ways to define their relationship to each other, to identify

200 themselves as part of a social group, and to establish the kind of speech event they are in Power and Solidarity" (p.4 5)

The above reference is applicable to the speech acts, which occur in the novel 'Coolie'. Since the novel depicts the lives of the economically low class people i.e. coolies, it is imperative to study and analyze the linguistic utterances of some of the characters, which determine and establish the relationship between the addressee and the addresser. The addressee has to use politeness markers, which are chosen to satisfy the authority in power and maintain social distance. Let us study the following interaction between Daya Ram the fourth class servant and the head peon of the Imperial Bank at Sham Nagar:

Daya Ram: "Salaam, Pir Din "

In reply to Daya Ram's greting

Pir Din: Salaam, salaam, you are late (p. 19)

As soon as Daya Ram approaches the entrance of the high-pillared hall of the Imperial Bank, with Munoo, he uses the mode of address as "Salaam, Pir Din " which indicates that the person who is addressed is slightly higher in social rank because he wishes him articulating his name. The addresser knows that the person whom he is addressing is from Muslim community and thinks that the hearer would be pleased if addressed in the Muslim fashion.

201 From the above interaction, it becomes clear that the first speaker uses politeness markers to indicate that he has respect and regard for the hearer. Power semantics compels the addresser to use such expressions that would please his hearer. Here, the addressee is the head peon of the Imperial Bank and the addresser is the chaparasi (peon), the fourth class servant. Thus, power semantics establishes hierarchal relationship. The mode of address used by Daya Ram indicates his rank and file i.e. his low social standing in the hierarchal system. As the interaction between the two continues Daya Ram says to Pir Din, "Han, Mian Sahib " in order to flatter his senior colleague in the bank. In fact, the mode of address "Mian Sahib " is reserved for high class Muslims in India. Thus, terms and modes of address help identify the hierarchal relationship between the interlocuters. The selection of mode of address is largely influenced by the historical, cultural and social factors. It is noticed that in India people are addressed in several ways. They are addressed using name of caste, personal names, kinship terms, professional terms, names by which exalted status of the person is revealed, non-respectable terms etc. Here, Daya Ram uses the mode of address "Mian Sahib " according to Islamic tradition in India to highlight the exalted status of the addressed person.

High-ranking terms are extensively used in Indian context as a mark of respect. There are many address terms like swami, huzoor, gurudev, Saheb or sahib, pujariji, mai bap, sir/saar, maharaj, anna, appa, accharya, sawkar, janab, etc. The use of suffixes like 'rao' or 'ji' after the names is very common in India while addressing a person of

202 high and dignified social status. For example, for addressing the Prime Minister, people will say, "Manmohan Singhji". Mulk Raj Anand makes use of some of the terms of address peculiar to the north Indians. For instance in the novel " Coolie" one comes across the following speech act of Daya Ram:

7 bow my forehead to you, Babuji.' (P.20)

Daya Ram being a fourth class employee of the bank addresses his employer as 'Babuji' bowing his forehead as a marker of politeness. Babuji is actually not the name of the addressed person. His real name is Babu Nathoo Ram and he is the sub-accountant in the Imperial Bank of India of Sham Nagar. He is in a powerful position as far as his social standing is concerned. Therefore, his subordinate Daya Ram, the uncle of Munoo, addresses him in the most respectful way. The higher the social status the more respectable the term of address (honorifics) one uses in the Indian context. For example, Daya Ram says to Mr. England:

'Salam, Huzoor'(p.22)

Munoo's uncle addresses Mr. England, the European who is the chief cashier of the bank using the word, 'Huzoor' having illocutionary force of the utterance in the mind. Here, his intention is to please his master in the most respectful manner. Further, he says to Munoo, 'he is the burra Sahib of the bank'. It is obvious from the manner in which Daya Ram addresses his superior that his linguistic behaviour is

202 controlled by power. One can interpret his linguistic behaviour in terms of fear, humility and reverence.

In another significant speech event, one comes across Hari, a coolie who addresses Jimmie Thomas, an Englishman who symbolizes the colonial exploitation. The Englishman is the supervisor of one of the biggest cotton mills in Bombay. He is popularly known as 'Chimta Sahib'. Hari says to him:

'Han Huzoor, mai-hap' 'and I have brought my wife and child also to work, and a young man from the North '(p. 198)

The above speech act of Hari speaks volumes of his respect for Chimta Sahib. The word 'mai-bap' indicates that Hari is the servant in the cotton factory and the hearer is his master. In other words, Chimta Sahib is the employer and Hari is the employee or a mere worker. Hari knows the power and authority of the addressee. The addressee is the powerful person who has the authority to engage workers in the factory. He is like a father figure and god for the workers and coolies in the mill. Therefore, Hari uses the honorific term to show that he has high respect and regard for his protector, the giver of food and shelter. When Hari comes back to seek employment in the mill, Chimta Sahib is surprised. He says to Hari, "Turn harry", "You come back". In reply to Chimta Sahib's inquiry, Hari uses the politeness strategy by using the most respectful terms in the Indian context. The terms 'Huzoor' and 'mai-bap' have locutionary force in them. They are uttered by joining hands, which again implies more politeness. The literal meaning of the term 'mai-bap' is that the addressee is a father

204 (guardian) and mother (sympathizer) at the same time. Chimta Sahib is the father as well as mother for Hari who begs for the work. He is the guardian of the workers in the sense that he intermediates between the workers and the employer. On the contrary, the address term used by Chimta Sahib is 'Turn Harry', which indicates his formidable power. The term 'turn' in Hindi is used to show disrespect for the lower class people. The term 'aap' is used to show respect for the elders and the respectable people in the Indian society. The use of personal name is indicative of the low social position. Thus, we come to know about the interpersonal relationship between the addressee and the addresser. The principle of power works exactly contrary to the principle of solidarity. The more the social distance the more power it indicates. The less the distance the more solidarity it establishes. Accordingly, there is a relation between power and distance. It leads us to think that power semantics is governed by non- reciprocation strategy.

The power semantics is non-reciprocal in the sense that the poor have no voice of their own. For instance, Munoo is taken to the house of Bibiji by his uncle. He works there as a houseboy in order to keep his body and soul together. Munno has to obey and please everybody. He is helpless for he has no power. He has no right to listen to the music nor can he enter the room of Choat Babu. In this connection, let us study the utterance of Bibiji:

'Your place is in the kitchen. You must not enter the sports of the Chota Babu and the children. You must get on quickly with work in the house. There is no time to lose. Babuji has to go to

205 the office at ten o' clock. Sheila has to go to school. We have employed you not to delay the work in the house, but to help to get it done. Since you are being paid a good wage, more money than you ever saw in your whole life in the village-more money, in fact, than your mother or father ever saw-it would be good for you to do a little work for it. And I warn you that you are never to relieve yourself outside of my house. When the sweeper comes, ask him to show you the servants' latrine at the foot of the hill. And don't you ever touch my utensils without washing your hands. Your body is dirty and you keep touching it. Your clothes are filthy, too. I saw you wipe your hands on your shirt. And oh! I suppose you dried your body with your tunic after your bath. God! Why didn 't you ask me for a towel? Brute! You ought to be ashamed of yourself! Sheila, Sheila, go, my child, get a towel out of the box and give it to this savage. Do you hear, you are not to touch anything in this house without washing your hands. Now, have you touched anything dirty since you had your bath?' (P. 34-35)

Here, the addresser is Bibi Uttam Kaur, the shrewd wife of Babu Nathu Ram, the clerk in the bank. The addressee is Munoo, the servant in the house. She addresses Munoo in such a way that her feeling of superiority is revealed through her speech act. She does not allow Munoo to play with her children. The fact is that she is a middle class woman coming from the village but she poses to be a woman from the affluent class. She is the representative of the middle class where servants are maltreated and gagged profusely without any

206 rhyme or reason. Her speech act points out that she has neither sympathy nor compassion for the dependent and powerless people. She makes it clear that Munoo's place is in the kitchen. Munoo is confined to the kitchen due to his lower economic status. After hearing the speech act of his mistress, Munoo simply says, Wo, Bibiji'. It indicates that the poor cannot speak the way their masters speak. One notices that Bibiji belongs to the superior class. Therefore, she uses the kind of language, which is contemptible. The power semantic establishes the relationship between Munoo and Bibi Uttam Kaur. Munoo follows the quantity maxim of the cooperative principle and speaks not less- not more for the desired purpose of communication. Thus, it fulfils one of the functions of social stratification. It also reveals the psychological distance between the speaker and the hearer. The social and psychological distance becomes less in solidarity principle. Now let us examine the principle of solidarity

4. IV. B Solidarity Semantics

To begin with, solidarity can be understood as an attitude of people towards one another, of a single individual towards a group or community. Solidarity as an attitude involves two components - a cognitive and an emotional one. In terms of semantics, if one is a member of a family for example, one is connected with the other members by the natural semantic relationship - one is a father, a mother, a son, a daughter a husband, a wife, etc. The address terms related to kinship are varied in nature in India. For instance, in India,

207 one may address his /her father in one of these several ways- pappa, daddy, dad, abbajan, pitashree, nana, anna, dada, bhau, bapu, appa, nanaji, etc. that certainly indicate solidarity. The social distance is determined by socio-cultural factors such as solidarity and power semantics. The propensity to use positive politeness forms, which emphasizes closeness between the addressee and the addresser, is perceived as solidarity strategy.

It is interesting to note that the term 'power' covers the terms such as 'status', 'dominance', and 'authority' whereas solidarity includess 'intimacy', 'familiarity', 'like-mindedness', and 'closeness'. The words 'power' and 'solidarity' are contradictory because power indicates the distance and solidarity gives an idea of closeness. For instance, two friends may address each other using the first names whereas the two adult strangers may address each other using the surnames or the title names. In this respect, George Yule (2002) says:

"Linguistically, such a strategy will include personal information, use of nicknames, sometimes abusive terms (particularly among males), and shared dialect or slang expressions", (p. 156)

What forms the basis of solidarity depends largely on the value system of the speech community. Specific groups will have their own ways of speaking. Since language reflects society, it should be possible to identify speech communities on the basis of their speaking. In simple society, solidarity may be based around kinship and shared values. Kinship is one of the most basic principles for organizing

208 individuals into social groups, roles and categories. In Indian context, people do address each other either using kinship terms or the surnames (last names) or the socially recognized titles. Which term of address to be used, primarily depends on the relationship of the interlocutors and the context.

Context has great imporatance in meaningfully describing any perticular interaction between two people. Meaning itself results from interpersonal interaction. In the novel 'Coole' we come across the modes of address which show solidarity and thus help know the relationship between the interlocutors. Exploration into the solidarity principle in conversational discourse of the sociological novel 'Coolie' is highly interesting as well as revealing. Brown and Levinson (1987) remark:

"Discovering the principles of language usage may be largly coincident with discovering the principles out of which social relationships, in their interactional aspect, are structured: dimentions by which individuals manage to relate to others in particular ways "

Solidarity represents mutually close interpersonal relationship. In close solidarity people tend to address using the first names or the nicknames. In the novel 'Coolie' we come across certain characters addressing the close relations in typical Indian fashion. For example, Burra Babu addresses his wife:

209 'Oh, I say, the mother of my daughter' (p. 3 8)

The above mode of address is typical of a traditional husband in Inidan context. Burra Babu wants to drink another cup of tea. Therefore, he calls his wife using typical idiomatic expression. The husband here, does not use the first name of his wife while addressing her. On the contraty, he uses the typical address term 'the mother of my daughter' to show his solidarity with his wife. In other words, he addresses his wife in the archaic convention of Indian family life. The above term of addres shows close kinship. It also provides the further information that they have a daughter.

We also come across the personal names as the terms of address that establish solidarity. For instance, Bibiji addresses her two daughters using the first names as Sheila and Kausalya, respectively. The first names are slightly modified to show solidarity. For instance Chota Babu says: "Come here, ohe, Mundu" (p.66)

Chota Babu is a doctor by profession whose real name is Prem Chand. He has compassion for Munoo, a servant in the house. On seeing the boy's head injury, he calls him for diagnosis using the above mode of address. This shows that there is close solidarity between Munoo and Prem Chand. On the contrary, Munoo uses the honorific term 'Han, Babuji' to show love and respect for his master who cares for him. Similarly, Munoo is addressed in his personal name by his friends in the pickle factory. For instance, Tulsi and Bonga address Munoo

210 using the first name which are the markers of solidarity. Similarly, Hari who comes to Bombay in search of a job meets Munoo accidently. They soon become friends because both of them have shared goals. Hari says: "Ram, Ram, brother" (p. 193)

The kinship term 'brother' is used to show solidarity. Hari gets up early in the morning and greets Munoo in the most Indian fashion. Actually, Munoo is not a blood relation but the term 'brother' is used to show intimacy and closeness. Munoo also addresses Hari as 'Hari brother' (p.222) which again shows solidarity between the two coolies. All the coolies address each other as 'brother'. For instance, while addressing the gathering of the coolies Onkar Nath, President of the Union says 'Brothers' (264) which indicates solidarity. Apart from the examples of solidarity, we discover a number of speeh acts expressing humbleness and humility.

4. IV. C Humbleness (Humility) Language, society, culture and literature cannot be separated. They are complimentary to each other. However, every culture has different patterns of linguistic behaviour. The linguistic behaviour of an individual depends on the cultural values. These values are reflected in literature. Indian social system is bound to be reflected in its literature. Indian social system is hierarchal in nature. Some people are at the higher step of the social ladder whereas others are given the low social position. The people who are at the lower level have to please everybody and act upon everybody's order. They have to use

211 politeness strategy while interacting with their superiors. Humility or humbleness is the quality of being respectful to others. It is a face saving strategy in pragmatics. Arrogant words inflame hatred and prejudice whereas words containing humbleness make the relations smooth. It is true that words can create war or peace. Words can make or break relations. There are a number of factors, which influence the way speakers use language in an interaction. The use of language depends on age, social position, social context, gender, class, caste, ethnicity, etc. The person at the lower ring of the social system tends to use polite language whereas the person from the higher social rank, status or age is likely to use less polite forms of expression. It is observed that people are acutely aware of the use of speech patterns according to their social standing. They often adjust their style depending on the addresser. In the course of the novel 'Coolie', we notice that Daya Ram, a fourth class servant of the bank says to Babu Nathu Ram:

'Maharqj,' I have brought my little nephew for your service.' (P.20)

The nature of interpersonal relationship between the speaker and the hearer is that of servant-master. The speaker of the above utterance is the 'chaparasi', the fourth class employee and the hearer is the sub- accountant in the Imperial Bank of India. Daya Ram, the speaker of the above utterance wants his nephew to get a job as a servant in the house of Babu Nathu Ram. He is full of servility, becomes humble and begs for his benevolence. It becomes quite clear from the way he uses the honorific term 'maharaj' to get a favor from his master.

212 In another speech situation, we come across Prabha Dayal, who is humble and full of humility. Following speech act of Prabha Dayal is worth examining: "Oh mother, mother, forgive us. I join my hands to you. I will fall at your feet. I will draw a hundred lines on the earth with tip of my nose. 1 will do any penance you may impose on me. But please forgive him. Forgive him, for God's sake, forgive him about it. Now go and rest. You know we are your children and you are our mother. Now cool yourself. Forgive us. " (p.ll7)

Prabha Dayal is the owner of the pickle factory. He comes from a very small village. With sheer hard work and integrity, he climbs the ladder of success and owns a pickle factory. He is helped by the Todar Mais, his neighbours in his entrepreneurship. He is extremely modest, humble and hospitabl. Since he has no son of his own, he treats Munoo as his own son and showers on him love and affection. One day a quarrel takes place between Mr. Ram Nath, the son of Rai Bahadur, Sir Todar Mai, and Ganapat, the partner of Seth Prabha, in the pickle factory. Prabha Dayal goes to Lady Todarmal and begs for mercy. He becomes so humble that he is ready to draw a hundred lines on the earth with tip of his nose. He wants Lady Todar Mai to forgive Ganpat for his arrogant behaviour with her son.

It is interesting to note that Prabha uses the address term 'mother' to indicate that he has high regard for the lady. The expressions 'I join my hands to you', and 7 will fall at your feet' are the typical Indian

21: ways of displaying humility and humbleness. He further says that the woman is like a mother to them all and they are her children. This can happen in India alone where a woman is considered as the mother to all people. Moreover, the words 'please', 'forgive' make it amply clear that Seth Prabha Dayal is humble and has an unassuming nature. He is also seen begging for pity and mercy at the feet of Rai Bahadur: 'Forgive us, Rai Sahib, forgive us this once,' 'It will never happen again. You are our father and mother.' (p.ll9)

The above linguistic expression of Prabha Dayal makes it clear that he is modest in his behaviour. Rai Sahib is angry for two reasons; one reason is that the smoke emitted from the pickle factory has spoiled his whole estate; the second reason is that the servants of the factory are resentful in giving ajar of rose-leaf jam as a mark of gratefulness. Rai Sahib is not angry with Prabha but he is angry with Ganapat, his partner in the factory. Therefore, being humble and self-effacing he uses the face saving strategy to please Rai Sahib. The expression 'You are our father and mother' is typical as far as Indian English is concerned. Here, the expression means that Rai Sahib is their protector and life giver for father gives physical support and mother gives emotional support. When Ganpat leaves him making him bankrupt, he goes to the police station because his creditors have lodged a complaint against him. Prabha says:

214 'Forgive me, oh, forgive me,' 7 am only a humble workman, a coolie. I didn 't know that Ganpat would go away and leave me like this. (P. 129)

The above utterance implies that Prabha is very docile and submissive. He wants Lallaji and the 'Thanedar' (in-charge of the police station) to forgive him for he was let down by his partner. He is humble because he is powerless. He did not know then that his friend would go away from him leaving him huge debts. The circumstances have forced him to become humble. He considers himself a coolie because when he came from the hills, he started working as a coolie in the town of Daulatpur. The addresser is the borrower and the hearer is the lender. Therefore, the relationship between the speaker and the hearer of the utterance is the result of social stratification, which is brought out through the linguistic behaviour of Prabha Dayal. Here, the relationship between the haves and haves not is shown by the linguistic experiment made by Mulk Raj Anand. There is a good combination of humbleness and arrogance in the novel under consideration. Let us examine and analyze the speech acts related to arrogance.

4. IV. D Arrogance Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary defines arrogance as 'an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumptions'. Some of the psychologists consider arrogance as dysfunctional or a mental illness. In pragmatics, it is related to extra^ linguistic forces that lead to the

215 context of the utterance. Arrogance is influenced by social stratification. In other words, it is the impolite form of linguistic behaviour. It also indicates hierarchal order in the society. The lower the person in social position, the more polite forms of expressions he/she uses while interacting with the people in higher social and economic class. The higher the rank and social position the person enjoys, the less polite he/she becomes towards the people from the lower class. Since the novel 'Coolie' is based on class distinction, it is imperative that there are bound to be speech acts, which involve arrogance. It is noticed that power and arrogance may go hand in hand. The more powerful people may become arrogant to less powerful people due to their egoistic nature. The powerless people cannot necessarily become arrogant because they are at the mercy of their superiors. In the novel 'Coolie', we come across certain characters that use the speech acts threatening the face of the listener. The people in the power or higher authority use face threatening strategy whereas the poor or the destitute use the face saving strategy in an interaction. According to Brown and Levinson (1987):

"Positive politeness addresses positive face concerns, often by showing pro-social concern for the other's face. Negative politeness addresses negative face concerns, often by acknowledging the other's face is threatened. Anytime a person threatens another person's face, the first person commits a face- threatening act (FTA). Face-threatening acts come in four

216 varieties, listed below in order from most to least face threatening:

1. Do an FT A baldly, with no politeness (e.g., "Close your mouth when you eat you swine."). 2. Do an FT A with positive politeness (e.g., "You have such beautiful teeth. I just wish I didn't see them when you eat. "). 3. Do an FT A with negative politeness (e.g., "I know you're very hungry and that steak is a bit tough, but I would appreciate it if you would chew with your mouth closed."). 4. Do an FT A indirectly, or off record (e.g., "I wonder how far a person's lips stretch can yet remain closed when eating?"). An indirect FTA is ambiguous so the receiver may "catch the drift" but the speaker can also deny a meaning if they wish.''

Let us examine the following utterance of Daya Ram: 'Don 't you bark.' I didn 't talk to you. ' 'Go your way, or I will have to put you into the prison. Don't you know that I am a government official!' (p.l5)

It is an example of face threatening act with positive politeness. The language used by Daya Ram implicitly reveals the relationship between him and the cart driver. Here, the linguistic choice made by Daya Ram indicates that he is superior to the cart driver. He gets angry with the cart driver for the latter's unsolicited advice. The boy is tired of walking a long distance in the sweltering heat of the sun. A cart driver advises Daya Ram to allow the boy to travel by his cart. Instead of doing so, he threatens him of severe consequences. As a

217 result, the cart driver simply says, "Acha, enjoy yourself and moves on. Here, the cart driver is powerless; therefore, he cannot give a befitting reply to Daya Ram.

In another incident in the novel, we come across Bibiji who not only uses filthy language to address her servant but she also wags her tongue with dexterity to address her neighbours who are equal in rank. Following speech act is worth studying:

'Eaters of their masters! They have raised their heads to the skies! They think that just because they have prestige in this world they can do anything. We may not be getting as much pay as they do, but we are as good as they are, any day! If they are big people they must be big in their own house, we are in ours... ' (p.67)

Bibiji's utterance is an indirect speech act aimed at Verma and his employers. She indirectly tells the neighbouring Judge's wife that she also has the prestige but, at the same time, she realizes that her economic status is not at par with the wife of the judge. She uses the above speech act because of the quarrel between Munoo and Varma, her servant. On hearing Bibiji abusing, the neighbouring Judge's wife comes out and starts abusing:

'These low babus are getting so uppish. Let my husband come and we will show you what it is to insult your superiors! They are getting so proud just because they have an uncouth boy from the hills come to be their servant!' (p. 667)

218 Here, the wife of the judge considers herself superior to Bibiji. Therefore, she is incHned to use the words 'low babus' which are suggestive of her intention. The wife of the judge does not Hke Bibiji's growing economic status. She is rather reluctant to accept Bibiji as her equal neighbour. Moreover, she does not like to listen to the insulting words of Bibiji, her neighbour. The power semantics makes us aware of the nature of relationship between the judge's wife and Bibiji. It also indicates that the interlocutors are jealous of each other.

In a conversation, the first speaker makes the comment and the second speaker responds to it by rephrasing it with a different degree of intensity. This process of rephrasing produces solidarity between the interlocutors. It is interesting to examine study and analyze the speech acts connecting the solidarity principle. Speech act theory is based on the assumption that language is an action resulting from social behaviour, which is controlled by certain set of rules.

Munoo's uncle wanting to get rid of him says to Munoo:

'Mischievous and self-willed and obstinate, you imagine yourself hardworking. Brought a complaint from the Babu on my head! I was considered a good servant here in the Bank till you came. I've had to work hard for my living, and I've built a reputation here by pleasing my masters. And here you come complaining about the treatment you get at the house of our noble Babuji. You go and stick it, if you value your life, or I will kill you! Leave off that reading habit of yours and

219 lazing, swine! And get back and ask Bibiji to give you some food. I have neither sympathy nor food for you!' (p.62)

It is an example of face threatening act with no politeness at all. Munoo's uncle has been very harsh on him for the simple reason that he had come to him (his uncle) for some food because he was hungry. Daya Ram, the uncle of Munoo ill-treats him and uses filthy language to express his anger. He also severely beats him, throws him out calling him mischievous, obstinate and swine. Moreover, he says that he has neither sympathy nor any food for him.

Small children also use arrogant expressions to show that they are superior to those who come from the poor families. Shaila and Kausalya are small children who use arrogant language for showing their contempt for Munoo. Shaila and Kausalya say:

'You are a servant; you must not play with us' (p. 46)

Shaila is the daughter of Babu Nathu Ram and Bibi Uttam Kaur. Kausalya is their neighbour's daughter. They belong to the middle class family. The girls are class conscious. Provoked by the feelings of superiority, they do not allow Munoo to play with them. The utterance is a face-threatening act aimed at Munoo who is a mere servant in the house and he has no voice of his own. He is made servile and nincompoop by the forces of circumstances. He belongs to the poorest of the poor class. Therefore, he is denied even the right to childhood. He should have been in school but the unfortunate circumstances compel him to toil for getting his daily bread. The

220 above utterance has deeper meaning at the level of pragmatics. Apart from arrogance, we discover the curses and blessings in the novel under consideration, which are worth studying from the point of view of pragmatics.

4. V Curses and Blessings Blessings and curses have an implicit hierarchy of social power in the performance. In every culture, we come across curses and blessings. The nature of curses and blessings depend of social power, social rank and existing social customs. Curses and blessings are used in an interaction to have an effect on someone's face or honour. Curses are the face threatening strategy aimed at bringing disgrace to the listener. On the other hand, blessings are the face saving strategy aimed at creating good will in the mind of the hearer. Both the strategies are based on hierarchal social relationship of the interlocutors and they are context dependent. Since meaning is multifaceted notion having three layers, referential, social and affective, curses and blessings are to be studied from the point of view of pragmatics.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia,defines curse as the effective notion of some power distinguished solely by the quality of adversity it brings. A curse may result from some magical power, witchcraft, or prayer. From the ancient past people have been using the different expressions as curses to threaten the face of some one. There are curses in Ramayana and Mahabharata, the great epics of India. Similarly, there are curses in Bible and Koran. In literature, the writers have made use of curses very effectively to throw light on the

221 contemporary social realities. The pragmatic study of the curses is one of the ways of arriving at the authentic interpretation of the fictional discourse. In 'Coolie', we come across several examples of curses as speech acts, which need to be examined and interpreted in the socio- cultural context. At one point in the novel Bibiji says:

'Vay! May you die! May the vessel of your life never float in the sea of existence! May you never rest in peace, neither you nor your antecedents! That you should attack the honour of child! Only a little child, too! Lustful young bull from the hills. How did we know we were taking on a rogue and a scoundrel? Let the Babuji come home! you ought to be handed over to the police. (P.71-72)

Bibiji, the middle class homemaker utters the above speech act involving curses. She is a stem woman full of unkindness and obduracy. She has a strong desire in her mind to go into the higher class. Due to her egoistic tendencies and a sense of superiority, she does not allow Munoo, a servant in the house to play with her children. She also forbids him to touch her daughter. Kausalya, one of Sheila's friends tells Bibiji that Munoo bit her daughter on the cheek. On seeing the red cheek of her daughter, mother's anger knows no bounds. She begins to curse Munoo in peculiar Indian fashion.

On close examination of the above speech act, which includes curses, it is noticed that Bibiji exercises the social power to threaten the face

222 of Munoo. In other words, she uses the face-threatening act to tarnish the image of Munoo. The curse 'may you die' has a tremendous illocutionary force. Here, the intention of the speaker is to bring dishonor to the hearer. In addition to this, the speaker intends to say that the hearer has no right to live. The Indian social reality is revealed through the curse that the poor are to be wiped out from the face of the earth. The speech act has the universal application in the sense that the poor have no choice and the right to live. The very existence of the poor is despicable to the rich. Being poor and helpless, Munoo only stands bending his head with heart throbbing. He does not speak a word.

Another important fact is that Bibiji is an elderly woman and Munoo is a rustic adolescent boy. In Indian context, it is elderly people who fling curses to the younger ones. On the contrary, small children generally cannot curse the elders. Bibiji is seen not only flinging curses at Munoo, her servant, but she is also seen using curses for her own child who troubles her crying the whole day. Bibiji addresses partly to the child and partly to Sheila:

'Oh be patient! You dead one! What has happened to you? May the witches come and devour you! What curse upon your head makes you howl all day? Even though I got you an amulet from the fakir! God! When will I get some rest? I slog, slog all day! I can 't even get time to dress. Or to sit down with the neighbours for a chat. Or go to the shops. Last night I went to bed at two o' clock, washing and cleaning up. And now... ni, Shaila, ni, dead

HZ one, go and look after your little sister for a while instead of running about the house and making noise. Go'. (p. 32)

The above speech act involves a curse, 'May the witches come and devour you'. The speaker is the mother and the hearers are the daughter and the child. It is interesting to note that the mother curses the child who does not understand at all. The illocutionary force of the utterance is aimed at Sheila for she does not look after her little sister. There is no perlocutionary effect as far as the child is concerned but certainly, there is a perlocutionary effect on Sheila, the other hearer present while the speech act of curse was being uttered.

It is interesting to know that in India usually the mothers silence their crying babies with some typical expressions. For instance, a mother may say to the crying child, 'Stop crying otherwise, a tiger will come". Actually, the tiger is not expected to come and devour the crying child. Here, the intention of the speaker is to make the child stop crying. Here, the connotative meaning has to be taken into account.

In the above speech act, the relation between the speaker and the hearer is that of mother-daughter. The intention of the mother in using the curse is not aimed at harming the child. She does not mean that the witches should come and eat away her child. It is not the genuine feeling of the mother to invite the witches and ask them to eat the crying child. She only expects the child to stop her crying so that she can perform her other household duties. Thus, parents some times curse the children without meaning harm.

224 Similarly, in India the so-called upper caste people consider that it is their right to curse the lower class/caste people. A Brahmin (a high caste Hindu) curses Munoo, the protagonist of the novel, at one point in the novel. The Brahmin at the shrine of Har Das says to Munoo:

'May the misers fade away.' (pi 54)

Munoo was being cursed for not throwing a copper coin after quenching his thirst as was done by those who drank water at the hands of a Brahmin who was supposedly distributing free water in flat brass cups.

A devout Brahmin who is engaged in the free distribution of water speaks the above speech act of curse. Munoo, being thirsty drinks water without throwing a copper coin at the feet of the holy man. Therefore, the Brahmin gets angry and starts cursing the boy. The Brahmin's utterance has the strong illocutionary force in it. His intention is to show that the Brahmins should be given money for they are holy people. Another intention of the speaker is that the miserly people like Munoo have no right to exist. The perlocutionary effect on Munoo is that he does not mind being cursed by the Brahmin because he is used to curses and abuses. He no longer believes in the magical effect of the curses like this.

The people from the higher economic class curse the people whose economic status is lower. In the novel 'Coolie', we notice that Lady Todar Mai curses Prabha Dayal in the following way:

225 'Come vay, open the door! Where have you absconded now? Where are you? May the vessel of your life never float in the sea of existence!' (p. 128)

Lady Todar Mai is the wife of Sir Todar Mai who was a public prosecutor in the Angrezi Sarkar. She belongs to the higher economic class. She has the air of superiority. Prabha Dayal is one of the owners of a pickle factory. As compared to the economic status of Lady Todar Mai, he is poor. His traditional pickle factory is located adjoining the house of Lady Todar Mai. The smoke emitted by the factory always reaches her house and disfigures it. She speaks from the terrace of her fourth storey to the crowd who has gathered to demand money from Prabha. She also demands from him her five hundred rupees.

The speaker of the above utterance is Lady Todar Mai who comes from the affluent class of the society and the hearer is Prabha Dayal, who has gone bankrupt recently due to his partner in the factory. The curse 'May the vessel of your life never float in the sea of existence', indicates her attitude to Prabha. She also says, 'May you die, May a snake bite you' for she is angry and irritated at the behaviour of Prabha. These are typical ways of cursing the people in Indian English. Curses and blessings are expressed in idiomatic expressions, which are culture specific. There are also typical forms of blessing in the novel under consideration.

Blessings are used as a positive politeness strategy. The main purpose of this strategy is to generate a feeling of approving interpersonal

226 social environment. In the novel 'Coolie' Prabha Dayal was about to leave Daulatpur for ever. He was a very honest man but due to Ganpat, his partner in the pickle factory, he had to suffer. He became bankrupt; therefore, he wanted to go to his village where he came from. Munoo and his servant in the factory came to the railway station to bid him farewell. Earlier, Prabha Dayal and his wife Parbati treated Munoo as their son. Since they had no son of their own, they treated him with love, sympathy and kindness. When the train was at the platform and the departure time approached, both Prabha and his wife become emotional. Munoo also became emotional. He looked at his master and mistress with the feeling of sadness. They were sitting in the train with Tulsi, his co-worker in the factory. He felt that he was cut off from his own people. On noticing Munoo's plight Prabha gave him a silver coin dragging his hand out of the window. Munoo was full of gratitude and love. Prabha, his once master, puts the hand and stroking gently says:

'May you live child' (p. 152)

The above speech act functions as a blessing and it creates emotional bond between the addressee and the addresser. Here, the addresser wishes the longevity of the addressee. Parbati caresses Munoo's cheeks and gives blessings as well in the similar fashion wishing him a long life. The caressing of Parbati is a nonverbal act, which plays a supportive role. It is complementary to the blessing.

227 There is another occasion in the novel where a woman for saving her daughter's Hfe blesses Munoo. The woman says:

'Oh, may you live long, may you live long, may you live, my son' (p. 183)

On noticing a panic-stricken girl child in the middle of the road trapped in the traffic, Munoo immediately rescues her. The mother of the girl child was overwhelmed with gratitude. She blesses Munoo wishing him a long life. She also regards him as her son. Actually, Munoo is not her real son but she addresses him as her son because he happens to save the life of her little daughter. In order to show her genuine gratitude, the woman repeats the blessing for three times consecutively. The repetition of blessing has a strong illocutionary force, which reveals the intensity of the feelings of the speaker.

It is observed that all the curses and the blessings begin with the modal auxiliary verb 'May' expressing a wish. The wishes are expressed in the distinctive Indian style. In Indian English, we come across many examples where people make use of repetition. They also tend to use code mixing and code switching to show the cultural identity.

4. VI Code-Mixing and Code-Switching

As stated earlier, there is a close association between context of utterance and the language behaviour. When a person wants to express his/her genuine feelings, he/she tends to take support of the

228 mother tongue. It is observed that most of the speakers of Indian English employ the strategy of code mixing and code switching by inserting the words, phrases or idiomatic expressions taken from the vernacular languages in the context of the utterance. Indian writers also make use of the mixing of code and switching of code intermittently to denote the cultural or social value.

Code mixing can occur at three levels- noun, verb, and a clause or the sentence. For example in the novel 'Coolie' Ratan says:

7 will show you a tamasha today'. (p. 240)

Here, the word 'tamasha' is a Hindi word and is used as a noun in the English construction. Ratan and Munoo are friends who go together on the outings on Saturdays in Bombay. One Saturday they decide go to the lanes of Bhendi Bazzar where the prostitutes are engaged in the flesh trade. On the way, they happen to sit in a toddy shop where Ratan spoke to Munoo using the word 'tamasha'. Here, the word 'tamasha' stands for the gaudily dressed prostitutes who were sitting on the low stools in the windows of the balconies, smiling strange smiles and winking at the male crowd below the street. In fact, the word, 'tamasha' stands for the spectacular sight of the prostitutes. At some point in the novel, Prabha says to Ganpat: 'Shanti! Shanti! You must not let anger possess you like that.' page-98

129 Here, the word 'shanti' has been repeated for creating an emotional effect. It is due to the insertion of a noun 'shanti '(peace) it becomes an example of code switching. Ganpat is engaged in a hot quarrel with Ram Nath, the son of Sir Todar Mai. To make Ganpat calm down his anger Prabha uses the word 'shanti'.

Mulk Raj Anand describes the friendship between Munoo and Ratan using the strategy of code mixing as follows: They were now calling each other 'friends-since-the-days-they- wore-langoties-in-their-craddle'. ( P. 238)

The word 'langoties' is taken from Hindi and used here as a noun in the above expression. The word 'langoties' stands for loin clothes.

In another incident, Prabha uses the word 'sarkar' indicating the exalted status of the person addressed. Prabha says:

'It is the truth Sarkar. It is the truth.' (p. 152)

Prabha was taken to the police station on the charges of non-payment of debt. The police ruthlessly beat him. The police wanted him to confess the crime. He spoke the truth but the police would not stop the beating. The word 'sarkar' is used for showing the respect to the police. Actually, the meaning of the word 'sarkar' is government if translated into English but here it indicates exalted social status of the police. It is also an honorific term in the sense that the addressee is a police office on duty.

230 Munoo at the time of Prabha Dayal's departure says "Jay, deva'. When Prabha gives him a silver coin at the railway station, he says the words 'Jay, deva', which mean, 'victory to God'. Here, Munoo does not find the words in other language to thank the providence. He takes the help of his mother tongue to express his genuine feelings. Therefore, code mixing is the result of bilingualism, which is a universal phenomenon.

Code switching occurs when there is a switching of the code from one language variety to another language variety. For example, at some point in the novel, a Sikh peasant says to a Muhammadan peasant on the train:

'Wah Guru! Wah Guru! Strange are the ways of Wah Guru!' (p. 78)

The Sikh peasant did not like the linguistic behaviour of the Muhammadan peasant who saw Munoo at Prabha Dayal's feet on the train. He was in consternation because he saw that the condition of the boy was miserable, as he was unable to speak a single word. The Sikh peasant switches the Hindi code to English and again goes back to Hindi. His code switching is the result of his surprise. There is a tone of sarcasm in his utterance. He sarcastically said the above expression to show indirectly that the Muhammadan peasant was unkind to the boy who was on the verge of dying.

231 From the above discussion, it can be deduced that speech act theory is a handy tool to study and analyze the fictional discourse. The application of this device helps the reader to interpret more than what is communicated by the writer. Mulk Raj Anand's sociological novels offer a tremendous scope for discovering the hidden agenda if certain principles of pragmatics are taken into account. The analysis of abuses, diminutives, honorifics, and terms related to power and solidarity, code mixing and code switching firmly establishes the authenticity of interpretation.

4. VII Conclusion It is stimulating as well as informative to study the abuses, diminutives, honorifics, terms of power and solidarity employing the principles of pragmatics to the novel of epic dimension. Since the major factors, which influence the speech acts in 'Coolie', are power semantics and solidarity semantics, contemporary social, economic and cultural reality has been taken into account while making the pragmatic analysis of the selected speech acts so that authenticity could be established. Blessings and curses have been thoroughly examined and analyzed in the context of interpersonal relations of the addresser and the addressee. The context of the utterance has been the focal point of the discussion. Then the chapter discusses the code mixing and code switching strategies employed by the writer. Towards the end of the chapter, it has been emphasized that speech act theory is a functional device to understand the fictional discourse. Understanding and interpreting the fictional discourse of the

232 sociological novels of Mulk Raj Anand with the help of speech act theory helps the reader to arrive at the authentic interpretation.

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