Rupesh Chaudhary
Karnataka, India
Abstract
In India, language goes beyond being a simple vehicle of communication; it becomes a powerful tool for articulating identity and representing social stratification. Language plays a significant role in encoding differences between castes and classes, having a tendency to represent entrenched inequalities in society. The study examines the role of language as a marker of caste and class, employing historical and contemporary analyses. By tracing linguistic practice through education, politics, and the media, the study examines the processes through which language maintains social hierarchies and the degree to which language can enable social mobility. It challenges the complex relations between language, socio-economic status, caste discrimination, and regional inequalities. The study utilizes a wide variety of sources, including ethnographic research, linguistic surveys, and media representation, and thus provides an in-depth analysis of the interconnected functioning between language and the systems of caste and class in India.
Keywords
Caste, Class, Language, Social Stratification, Identity, Discrimination, Regional Disparities, Social Mobility, Linguistic Practices, India.
References
- Banerjee, S. (2013). Language and caste: Linguistic practices and social stratification in India. Oxford University Press.
- Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and symbolic power. Harvard University Press.
- Chakravarti, A. (2007). Media, caste, and class: The linguistic landscape of modern India. Cambridge University Press.
- Deshpande, S. (2003). Language, caste, and social exclusion in India. Economic and Political Weekly, 38(33), 3479-3487.
- Fishman, J. A. (2004). Language and ethnicity: The role of language in ethnic identity. In A. R. K. P. McKay & W. A. F. R. L. (Eds.), Language and ethnicity (pp. 3-25). Oxford University Press.
- Gal, S. (1979). Language shift: Social determinants of linguistic change in bilingual Austria. New York: Academic Press.
- Hobsbawm, E. (2009). The age of empire: 1875-1914. Vintage.
- Kachru, B. B. (1983). The Indianization of English: The language in India. Oxford University Press.
- Labov, W. (1972). Sociolinguistic patterns. University of Pennsylvania Press.
- Trudgill, P. (1974). Sociolinguistics: An introduction to language and society. Penguin Books.
- Tannen, D. (2001). Talk in the workplace: Studies in the sociology of language. Cambridge University Press.
- Yadav, S., & Roy, D. (2015). Language and social inequality: A study of caste and class divisions in India. Journal of South Asian Linguistics, 11(2), 185-200.