language in india - M.MOAM.INFO (2024)

Jul 7, 2012 - technology and gross materialism have changed our attitudes to life to ...... that the rest should learn Tamil, Telugu, Kanarese and Malayalam in ...... R.K.Narayan, The English Teacher, http://blog.gaiam.com/quotes/authors/r-k-.

LANGUAGE IN INDIA Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow Volume 12 : 7 July 2012 ISSN 1930-2940 Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D. Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D. Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D. B. A. Sharada, Ph.D. A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D. Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D. Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D. S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D. G. Baskaran, Ph.D. L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D. Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

Contents List Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta ... Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba 1-27 Materialism and Ecological Views of Wordsworth ... Asha Jain, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate

28-34

University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context ... Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D. and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. 35-60 Amitav Ghosh’s River of Smoke - A Tribute to an Ex-Era of Globalization ... Daisy, Ph.D.

61-70

The Washback Effect of Cloze and Multiple-Choice Tests on Vocabulary Acquisition ... Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate and Noraini Ibrahim-González, Ph.D. 71-91 Numerals in Thadou ... Elizabeth Lamkhovah Haokip, Ph.D. Scholar

92-99

Teacher and Learner in Humanistic Language Teaching ... Davoud Amini, Ph.D. Candidate and Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate

100-112

Cognitive Dissonance of the Cordite Mayoites in The Playboy of The Western World ... C. Ganga Lakshmi, Ph.D. Candidate and G. Baskaran, Ph.D. 113-119 Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 List of Contents

Outlining Saraiki Phonetics - A Comparative Study of Saraiki and English Sound System ... Muhammad Safeer Awan, Ph.D., Abdul Baseer, M.Phil, Ph.D. Candidate 120-136 Muhammad Sheeraz, M.Phil, Ph.D. Candidate Gandhi and His Hindustani ... Ganpat Teli, M.Phil.

137-144

English Language Learning Strategies Employed by Jordanian Students at Yarmouk University ... Abdel-Basit Mohammad Al-Khasawneh, Ph.D. Candidate and Fadi Maher Al-Khasawneh, Ph.D. Candidate 145-154 Janus Myth With Reference to Amulya Malladi’s The Mango Season ... Ghayathry D., M.A., M.Phil.

155-166

British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman ... C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar 167-186 Portrayal of Middle Class Women in Bapsi Sidhwa’s Ice-Candy Man During the Catatonic Times of Partition ... N. Gunasekaran, M.A., M.Phil. and V. Peruvalluthi, Ph.D. 187-196 Conventional Implicatures ... Iftikhar Haider Nagra, Ph.D. Student

197-212

A Brief Survey of Indian Nationalism in the Novels of R. K. Narayan ... Shakeba Jabeen Siddiqui, Ph.D. and Hemant Kumar Shukla, Ph.D.

213-222

A Comparative Study on the Performance of Male versus Female Students in the Subject of Mathematics ... Muhammad Siddique Saleem, M.Phil. (Education), Ishtiaq Hussain, Ph.D. (Education), Maqsood Ahmed, M.Phil. (Education), Sarfraz Ahmad, M.Phil. (Education) and Farzana Sardar, M.Phil. (Education) 223-229 The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review ... Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc. (SLP) and Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing)

230-251

Motivation toward Learning English among Undergraduate Students of Pakistan ... Qaisar Khan, Ph.D. Scholar, Nighat Sultana, Ph.D., Arab Naz, Ph.D. and Faraz Ali Bughio, Ph.D. Scholar 252-270 Parsis Moving Beyond Custom and Tradition - Bapsi Sidhwa -A Voice to the Voiceless ... Iftikhar Hussain Lone, M.Phil. 271-279 The Role of Process and Product Approaches to the Teaching of Writing ... Ali Akbar Khansir

280-295

Women in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar ... Iftikhar Hussain Lone

296-303

Using Literature to Foster Competence in Speaking ... Jaspreet Gandhi, M.Phil.

304-312

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 List of Contents

To Correct or Not to Correct - Usual and Unusual Errors among Telugu Speakers of English ... S. Jayasrinivasa Rao, Ph. D. 313-322 Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki ... Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M. Phil. (Pakistan)

323-347

Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs ... Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar

348-366

Empowerment of the Urban Women through SHGs in Coimbatore District – A Study ... S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. 367-384 Puritan and Vietnamese Views on Self, Sin, Love and Moral Mission - Present-Day Vietnamese Readers’ Views at Hue College of Foreign Languages ... Nguyen Trong Nhan, M.A. and Ho Thi Lai, M.TESOL 385-396 Relationship between Morphology and Reading in Kannada ... Kuppuraj, S., Ph.D. Candidate, Abhishek, B. P., Ph.D. Candidate and Prema K. S. Rao., Ph.D.

397-421

The Effect of Strategic Planning on Accuracy, Fluency, and Complexity of Written Narrative Task Production ... Reza Khorasani, Ph.D. Candidate, Ambigapathy Pandian, Ph.D. and Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail, Ph.D. 422-446 Crime Fiction and Crime Detection: Contributions to the Society with reference to Lee Horsley’s Works ... J. John Sunil Manoah, M.A, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate 447-454 Rural Health Planning in India ... M. Marikkani, M.Sc., M.A.., M.Phil., R. Murugesan., M.Sc., M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. and C. B. Muvendhan, M.B.A.

455-477

Strategies of Language Appropriation in Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns ... Muhammad Safeer Awan, Ph.D. and Muhammad Ali, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate 478-496 Quest for the Past in an Alien Land: A Study of Jhumpa Lahiri’s Namesake and Bharati Mukherjee’s Jasmine ... Monica Balyan Dahiya, Ph.D. Scholar 497-504 The Rural Livelihood of South Arcot District with Special Reference to Industrial Potentiality … C. B. Muvendhan, M.B.A., R. Murugesan., M.Sc., M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. and M. Marikkani, M.Sc., M.A.., M.Phil. 505-513 Development and Communication for the Deprived ... Radheshyam Jadhav, M.A., M.J.C., Ph.D.

514-531

Socio-Economic Assistance to Rural Youth with Specific Reference to Their Linguistic Empowerment in English ... Rajashekar, M.A. English 532-538 Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 List of Contents

iii

Kashmiri Culture Lexicon: A Linguistic Analysis ... Shabina, M.A., Ph.D. (Linguistics), M.Ed.

539-550

Development of Speech Material for Punjabi Speaking Children ... Sreevidya Sherla, M.Sc. (ASLP) and Garima Gupta, M.Sc. (ASLP)

551-560

Concurrent Performance of Two Memory Tasks: A Comparison between Normal Children and Children with Stuttering ... Ankitha Vinod, Intern B.Sc. Speech & Hearing, Sneha Kothari, II M.Sc. Speech & Hearing, N. P. Nataraja, Ph.D. Speech and Hearing and Suma Raju, MASLP., and Deepthi M., M.Sc. Speech and Hearing 561-574 Evaluation of English Textbooks of Class XI and Class XII in Assam ... Nilanjana Syam, M.A. (English), M.Ed., Ph.D. Scholar

575-579

Language Learning Disability in Identical Twins ... Swapna Sebastian, Ph.D., Shyamala Chengappa, Ph.D. and Achamma Ballraj, MS., DLO 580-584 Factors Affecting Quality of Teaching-Learning of English Reading at the Secondary School Level ... Vanite Bala, M.A. Education, M.A. & M.Phil. English, B.Ed. Veena Bamba, Ph.D. 585-596 CALL of English ... Nallipogu Vishranthi, M.A. English

597-600

An Elaborate Focus on Kinship Terms ... S. Ruby Ebenezar M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., M.Ed., M.B.A., M. Phil. (HR)

601-627

Object Agreement in Quechua and Nahuatl ... George Bedell, Ph. D.

628-638

Weekly Notes: Practical Ideas for Research & Better Writing ... Creative Works ... Various Authors - Vijaya, K.R., Raji Narasimhan; Bala Devi; Selvi Bunce; Tanu Kashyap, Kiran Sikka, Kaneez Fatima Syeda A PRINT VERSION OF ALL THE PAPERS OF JULY, 2012 ISSUE IN BOOK FORMAT. This document is better viewed if you open it online and then save it in your computer. After saving it in your computer, you can easily read and print all the pages from the saved document. 1-638

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 List of Contents

Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba ===================================================

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

Introduction The varieties of English across the globe are as a result of the adaptation of English language to fit the cultures of different countries around the world. Among these varieties of English language are American English, Canadian English, South African English, Australian English, New Zealand English, and Nigerian English, which is the focus of this study.

The Nigerian variety of English is an acceptable variety that is now the model of English in West Africa. The use of English language in Nigeria has gone beyond a mere matter of linguistic communication. English language has been nativized and adopted to fit the culture of Nigerians. It is an undisputable fact that in a language contact situation, the second language is bound to get influenced by the social environment of the first language. Bamgbose (1987) rightly observes that when two languages come in contact, and one is performing an official role, such language will be influenced both culturally and linguistically in accordance with the reciprocal influence of language variation. This is the case of the existence of English language in Nigeria. There are several varieties of Nigerian English because there are several languages and cultures in Nigeria. These varieties include the Yoruba variety of English, the Igbo variety of English, the Hausa variety of English, the Tiv variety of English among others. Odumuh (1987) states that the three major Nigerian languages which are Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo, contribute to the enrichment of the super-ordinate Nigerian English. He recognizes the efforts of writers of creative literature in the standardization of Nigerian English.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

Nigeria is a country which has the greatest literary output in Africa. There are over fifty active literary artists in Nigeria, who directly or indirectly aim towards expressing the Nigerian way of life and ideology using English. Nigerian writers adopt the Nigerian variety of English in reflecting a linguistic situation that is typically Nigerian. This variety of English captures various aspects of the Nigerian culture. Writers like Ola Rotimi, Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Ahmed Yerima and Buchi Emecheta, among others, use various lexical items that reflect their culture and social background, as English language has been tailored to fit the Nigerian world view. At the lexical level, these writers may transfer words from areas like music, local food, clothing, religious beliefs, as well as institutions and occupations. In reflecting the Nigerian varieties of English, Nigerian writers may use words like afro juju, eba, tuwo, amala, eko, agbada, buba, iro, ogun, sango, otin, babalawo, efo, etc. Adekunke (1985) sheds more light on the use of English in Nigeria, as he states that: “The English language has, as a result of many years of active use in the Nigerian speech community, become part of Nigeria’s contemporary environment and behaviour. It is an artefact whose foreign derived components have in the process of its evolution combined with native Nigerian elements to make it local.”

Lexico-semantics is the study of words and word meanings. Lexico-semantics deals majorly with words. A word is a single unit of language, which means something, and can be spoken or written. Lexico-semantics goes beyond the study of words, as it also deals with the decomposition of word meanings. While phonology is restricted to existing phonemes of a Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

language and syntax focuses on a limited number of grammatical elements, lexico-semantics focuses on the infinite set of words of a language. As innovations occur in a society, new words are added to the existing words of a language. New meanings are given to existing words, thereby expanding the tenets of the lexico-semanticist.

The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

Courtesy: http://www.missioni-africane.org/173__Buchi_Emecheta_

Buchi Emecheta is one of the emergent numbers of African women writers who have set their authorial eyes on the conditions of women living both in their home continent and abroad. She takes her place among great female writers like Tsitsi Dangaremgba, Mariama Ba, Bessie Head, Ama Ata Aidoo, Lauretta Ngeobo, and Lindsey Collen. These writers have formed intense new voice of African womanhood. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

The Joys of Motherhood is among Buchi Emecheta’s most pivotal works, as it offers critical annotations on colonialism, tradition, capitalism, and women’s roles as they come to affect one woman, Nnu Ego, and her family. It is set in a time of great political and economic changes for Nigeria. It is in this novel that Emecheta’s main character defines the legitimacy of her womanhood solely by the success of her children. Through the life of Nnu Ego, Emecheta points out that African women have a different cultural understanding of the role and function of work, identifying themselves as powerful economic forces for families’ income. Nnu Ego’s whole destiny is centred on her motherhood. Nnu Ego places all her hope for happiness and prosperity in her children, yet she is constantly disappointed. As a result, Nnu ego ironically finds no joy in her grown children.

Emecheta has always defended polygamy, or multiple marriages, seeing the system of multiple marriages as a necessary community that aids in the rearing of children. However, she argues that it is not a presumed right that every man holds, especially when the husband is unable to afford and support additional family members. She sees the unquestioning application of repressive attitudes and behaviours as systematically silencing women and barring them from realizing their potential.

The Joys of Motherhood exposes the influence of colonialism. The Owulum family are noticeably influenced by the forces of the colonialist world in which they live. Emecheta ambiguously portrays colonialism in The Joys of Motherhood, as it forces native population to adopt and adhere to systems and beliefs foreign to their own. Capitalism, Christianity and Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

European notions of education and conduct all effectively alter and threaten traditional national culture and languages. The effect eventually touches all levels of society, eroding tradition and trickling down to harm both families and individuals. Without the changes colonialism and its practitioners ushered into Nigeria, Nnu Ego’s joy as a mother and the cohesive and interdependent family she long desired could have remained intact and uncompromised.

Nnu Ego and her husband, Nnaife, give up everything so that their eldest son, Oshia, can have the benefit of an education. The left over money, if there had been any, would go to educate their second son, Adim. There was never any thought given to educating their daughters. Daughters were looked as an investment. Hopefully, they would marry well and bring in good bride price, which would most likely go towards their brothers’ education. Nnu Ego assumes that her sons will come home to live and will care for her as she ages. Her assumptions however, never came to reality.

Cultural Implications of Nigerian English It is a well known fact that differences in culture are reflected in the patterns of language of the relevant cultures. Kachru (1981) asserts that as English undergoes acculturation, it shows various degrees of culture boundness. The more culture bound it becomes, the more distance is created between it and the native varieties. Akere (1987) says that Nigerian English has to be seen as a product of its own general social context. Saphir’s (1914) affirmation of the cultural content of language and his view of culture as the means by which members of the society express their thoughts and ideas to one another supports the anthropological view that basic differences Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

existing in thought processes of individuals give rise to a diversity of patterns of a body of knowledge of each society. This is explored in Saphir-Whorf Hypothesis, which emphasizes the exclusive distinctiveness of each language with its culture or philosophy. This hypothesis consists of two main propositions. The first is “linguistic relativity” which holds that “the world is differently experienced and conceived in different linguistic communities” or that “differences in language equal differences in thought”. The second hypothesis is “linguistic determinism” which proposes that “language is casually related to the psychological difference in our world views”. The ultimate implication of the hypothesis is that languages are so culture bound that it is hardly possible to translate one language into another since each express a distinct world view or thought process. The intermediate position between the two views is that there are certain general concepts and objects which have equivalents in different languages. Some others have no equivalents but may be approximated in other languages through literal translation, calquing or loan translation and loan blends. This issue arises in the use of English language in non-native societies, including Nigeria. Thus, it is a part of Nigerian English that the standard international meanings of certain lexical items are modified to express certain Nigerian practices, concepts and objects which do not obtain in the native speaker societies like Britain or the united states of America. Kachru (1983) has extended these semantic deviations to several non-native Englishes, including those used in literary texts. The semantic alteration may be in form of reference shift, reference expansion and reference restriction or narrowing. These types of semantic dislocations are parts

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

of “nativization” which is a major characteristic of Nigerian English (Bamgbose 1995; Igbosnusi 2006).

Theoretical Framework This study will adopt theories by Efurosibina Adegbija (1989) and Edmund Bamiro (1991) in describing the lexico-semantic features of the Nigerian English. While Bamiro (1991) on one hand asserts that the lexico-semantic variation of Nigerian English illustrates certain types of linguistic behaviour among Nigerian users of English, such as translating directly from Nigerian English, obeying the principles of least effort and economy of expression, revealing inadequate exposure to English and subjecting English language forms and norms to the socio-cultural logic and imperatives of the Nigerian environment. He however suggests that the lexico-semantic features of Nigerian English are classified under ten linguistic categories which are:  Loanshift: The meaning of a word or group of words in the base language is extended to cover a new concept.  Semantic underdifferentiation: The neutralization or underdiffrenciation of emotive distinctions between certain lexical items.

 Lexico-semantic duplication and redundancy: The duplication of lexical items either having identity of reference or belonging to the same semantic field, or use of superfluous modifier for emphasis.  Ellipsis: The deletion of the head word in a nominal group structure.  Conversion: The deliberate transfer of a word from one part of speech to the other without any change in its form.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

 Clipping: The subtraction of one or more syllables from a word, which is also available in its full form.  Acronyms: Words formed from initial letters of words that make up a descriptive phrase or proper name.  Translation equivalent: Translation of mother tongue into English in certain context of situation.  Analogical creation: The formation of new words on the basis of partial likeness or agreement in form or in sense with already existing words, either in mother tongue or in English. 

Coinage: creation of new words.

Adegbija (1989:168,174) on the other hand notes that the existence of direct lexical transfers such as eba, amala, dodo, tuwo, agbada, abiku, etc, from Nigerian mother tongues into English is because of lack of precise equivalents in English. This also includes loan-blends such as kiakia bus, akara balls, and bukateria. Adegbija refers to these lexical transfers and blends as lexical features of Nigerian English.

Adegbija (1989) identifies five major classes of lexico-semantic variation in Nigerian English, and they are: 

Transfer: e.g. bushman for an uncivil, unsophisticated, naive person.



Acronyms: e.g. SAP from Structural Adjustment Program.



Semantic shift or extension: e.g. Machine for Motor cycle.



Analogy: e.g. invitee from invite.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta



Coinage or neologism: e.g. carry over is the repeating of courses already taken and failed.

This study will adopt a combination of the two lexico-semantic theories by Adegbija and Bamiro to analyse the data. Variations from both theorists relevant to the analysis of the lexico-semantic features of Nigerian English in The Joys of Motherhood will be used. These features are selected to suit the context and lexemes of The Joys of Motherhood. These features are: Direct Lexical Transfer, Loan Blend, Coinage, Loanshift and Analogical creation.

Methodology A lexico-semantic analysis and interpretation of Nigerian Emglish usage in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta, using a model adopted from Adegbija (1989) and Bamiro (1991) is presented here. Adegbija, on one hand, notes that the existence of direct lexical transfers such as eba, amala, dodo, tuwo, agbada, abiku, etc, from Nigerian mother tongues into English is because of lack of precise equivalents in English. This also includes loan-blends such as kia-kia bus, akara balls, and bukateria. Adegbija (1989) refers to these lexical transfers and blends as lexical features of Nigerian English. He identifies five major classes of lexico-semantic variation in Nigerian English, and they are: Transfer, Acronyms, Semantic shift or extension, Analogy, Coinage or Neologism. Bamiro (1991), on the other hand, identifies ten lexicosemantic features of Nigerian English and they are; Loanshift, Semantic underdifferentiation,

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

Lexico-semantic duplication and redundancy, Ellipsis, Conversion, Clipping, Acronyms, Translation equivalent, Analogical creation, Coinage.

However, Direct Lexical Transfer, Loan Blend, Coinage, Loan Shift and Analogical creation, have been adopted from both theories in carrying out this analysis. These features will be used in line with the role that culture plays in redefining a language. In an attempt to carry out a successful analysis, clear and concise explanations of non-English words would be rendered.

Direct Lexical Transfer Direct lexical transfer is used especially by Igbo authors of Nigerian English. Odumuh, (1987) and Jowitt (1991) dealt with various aspects of direct lexical transfers, loan words, or borrowings as a process of lexical innovation in Nigerian English, particularly from major Nigerian indigenous languages and pidgin. Such transfers are found in aspects of titles, food, religion and traditional customs. A great amount of direct lexical transfers are found in The Joys of Motherhood because of the lack of perfect equivalents to these lexicons or the effort to reflect a culture that is distinctively Igbo. These lexical transfers are what exclusively mark out Nigerian literature in English as it takes a typical Nigerian of the writer’s tribe to understand the lexicons. Buchi Emecheta conveniently, directly and successfully transfers the Igbo lexical items to reflect the Igbo tradition and customs. The transferred lexicons are italicized and meanings are provided in brackets under each extract.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

1) “Apart from that, had she not been told many times at home in Ibuza that her chi was a slave woman, who had been forced to die with her mistress when the latter was being buried?” (Page 9) In her exhaustion, she dreamed that her chi was handing her a baby boy, by the banks of the Atakpo stream in Ibuza. (Page 45) (“Chi” stands for one’s own personal god). 2) “Why don’t you wear her around your neck like an ona?” (Page 11) (“Ona stands for necklace”). 3) “Your dibia is doing all he can for her, but I don’t think she will survive it” (21) (“Dibia” is the Igbo word for an herbalist or a diviner). 4) “My friend, if you were not an obi like me, and not Ona’s father, I would tell you a few home truths.” (Page24) (‘”Obi” stands for the head of a family or a chief in an Igbo community). 5) “Other than that, pray for Olisa to help us.” (Page 31) He prayed to almighty Olisa to cure his good friend Nwokocha Agbadi… (Page 19) (“Olisa” means God Almighty). 6) “At first Nnaife had greeted her only shyly with a single word, Nnua” (page 43) (“Nnua” means welcome). 7) “Bring the half glass of that ogogoro” (page 70) (“Ogogoro” is a locally made alcohol).

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

8) “Nnu Ego begged the man in her halting pidgin English to please stop the dog from frightening her pikin” (page 96) (“Pikin” is the pidgin word for a child). 9) “They wouldn’t let me eat of their sarah” (page 99) (“Sarah” is a sacrifice in form of food, distributed to children to bring good will). 10) Oshia sighed with relief at seeing iyawo” (page 101) Oshia was always going into Iyawo’s house to help her make cassava into tapioca-like stuff called “kpokpo garri.” (page 102) (“Iyawo” is a Yoruba word for “wife” but it is often used to describe a new bride). (“Kpokpo garri” is a local cassava flour with lumps). The lexico-semantic features of a language may also include names because names are words and they are referential. The names people bear link them to a particular ethnic group or culture. As individuals, names are forms of identity just as language. There continues to remain a close link between names and languages. Nigerians of all tribes often use sentences or expressions as names. For these reason, names of individuals continue to remain important in the semantic analysis of a language. Nigerian writers use names to express their culture. Although they write in English, they try to retain aspects of their culture in the names of their characters. This is the case with Buchi Emecheta in The Joys of Motherhood. She clearly expresses the circ*mstances of most of her characters using their names. In reflecting an Igbo character, she uses an Igbo name, in reflecting a Yoruba character, she uses a Yoruba name.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

However, for her British characters, she uses English names. Below are some selected names and their meanings. As earlier stated, Nigerian writers express their culture through names, trying as much as possible to create a relationship between the names of their characters and the roles they play in a text. Buchi Emecheta adapts this technique as well as there to reflect direct or indirect relationships between the names of her characters and either their roles in the text or the circ*mstances surrounding their birth. 1) “Nnu Ego” means “Twenty bags of cowries”. This name and its meaning go a long way in explaining the circ*mstances surrounding the character’s birth and the fate of her adult hood. Her father named her “twenty bags of cowries” because he considered her to be priceless. Ironically, Nnu Ego did not turn out to be rich at any point in her life. It can be said that Buchi Emecheta uses the irony behind the name ‘Nnu Ego” to show the value of children over money and affluence. 2) “Nnaife” means “Father is important”. Nnaife is Nnu Ego’s husband who is passive and does little to better the livelihood of his family. Although he descends deeper into weakness and alcoholism at every stage of his life, he played very important roles in the life of his children. Buchi Emecheta uses the name “Nnaife” to emphasize Nnaife’s contribution to the education of his first son. Although Nnu Ego played a greater role in bringing up her children, Nnaife gave up all his earnings as a soldier for his first son’s education. As a child, Oshia held his father in high esteem and saw him as being very important. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

3) “Adaku” means “Daughter of wealth”. Adaku is Nnaife’s second wife, given to him as an inheritance from his late elder brother. Buchi Emecheta uses the name “daughter of wealth” to express the ambitious and zealous nature of Adaku. Her wealth and success goes unrecognized because she bears no son, only two daughters. She refuses to remain poor in her husband house, and struggles to become successful. 4) “Ona” means “a valuable neck bead”. Ona is Nnu Ego’s mother and Agbadi’s favourite mistress. Buchi Emecheta uses the name “Ona” to portray the character’s beauty, pride and importance to Agbadi and her father, Obi Umunna. 5) “Oshiaju” means “The bush has refused this.” “Oshiaju” is the Igbo equivalent of an “abiku” which means “one who is born to die again”. After the death of Nnu Ego’s first son, she gives birth to Oshiaju, reflecting the circ*mstance surrounding his birth and expressing the hope for a long life for her child. 6) “Adankwo” means “Daughter of Nkwo” which is a market day. Although The Joys of Motherhood is an imaginative work of literature, Buchi Emecheta uses this name to make the text seem a little more realistic. Through this character’s name, Emecheta enlightens her reader on one of the four market days in all Igbo communities. However, “Adankwo” is a female child born on Nkwo market day, just like “Okonkwo” is the name of a male child born on Nkwo market day. 7) “Adimabua” means “Now I am two.” “Adimabua” is a name often given to the second born male children in an Igbo family. In expressing the Igbo culture, Emecheta uses this name for Nnu Ego’s second child. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

8) “Kehinde” is a name given to the last of the twin to come at birth. There are no explicit explanations of the name “Kehinde”. It is only used for twins who come last at birth. 9) “Taiwo” is a name given to the first of the twin to come at birth. Just like the name “Kehinde”, “Taiwo” also does not have an explicit explanation. It is used exclusively for twins who come first at child birth. These names are Yoruba names but Emecheta uses these names for these Igbo characters to reflect the influence of language even on culture. Though Nnu Ego and Nnaife are Igbos, they give their children Yoruba names due to the influence of the society (Lagos) on their culture. 10) “Malachi” means “You do not know what tomorrow will bring.” Buchi Emecheta uses this name for this character to express Nnaife’s displeasure after her birth. Malachi and Obiangeli are Nnu Ego’s last set of twins, after Taiwo and Kehinde. Naife openly expresses his discontentment over them being girls and not boys. However, Nnu Ego holds on to the dream that her sons as well as her daughters will bring her joy in her old age. Thus, she names her daughter “Malachi” to express her hope. Emecheta uses the name “Malachi” to make an allusion to the Christian religion. Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament and it means “a messenger of God”. Emecheta uses this name for the character to illustrate the influence of Christianity on indigenous traditions. This proves that colonialism did not only influence the Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

Nigerian indigenous languages, but Nigerian religious beliefs as well. Nnu Ego and Nnaife are introduced to Christianity in Lagos and this explains the motif behind the name “Malachi’. Coinages Coinages are newly coined words resulting from the prevailing socio-linguistic factors in Nigeria. Coinages result from the need to expand or enrich the Nigerian English vocabulary. Coinages are usually made of compound English words and they are created for new experiences, especially where the speaker of the language either experiences dearth of correct standard lexical item to express himself. According to Bokamba (1982), coinage involves the derivation of new lexical items via prefixation, suffixation, a combination of both, or reduplication and compounding. At times, a coinage receives public acceptance if it is considered the most appropriate word to capture a concept among a speech community. This is because the meaning ascribed to a word by its use in a particular context will take precedence over its etymological derivation. In a nutshell, what this implies is that it is the use of the words that determines the meanings of the words in a sentence. The coined words identified in the text are italicized and their meanings are explained in brackets. 1) “But she had many waist lappas, and expensive change of coral beads for her neck and waist”. (page 12) (“Lappas” denote a “wrapper”). 2) “…so the medicine man let her attend to him”. (page 15) Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

“Send her my medicine man” (page 21) (A “medicine man” is someone who is believed to have special magic powers, especially of healing). 3) Kolanut and palm wine are here (page 18) “They also knew that palm wine will flow aplenty till the small hours of the morning”. (Page 41) (“Palm wine” is an alcoholic drink made from the palm tree). 4) “He caressed her thigh with his good hand, moving to her small night lappa and fingering her coral waist beads”.(page 19) (“Night lappa” is a cloth used in covering the body in the night from cold). (“Waist beads” are local beads worn by women around the waist). 5) “Agbadi’s senior wife, Agunwa, became ill that very night”. (page 21) “She will be the senior wife”. (Page 30) (A “senior wife” is the first wife, among many wives of a man). 6) “She is my chief wife, I took her to udo the day I became an obi”. (page 22) (A “chief wife” is the first wife, among many wives of a chief). 7) “My daughter has been found an unspoiled virgin” (page 31) (“Unspoiled virgin” simply means a virgin). 8) “You are so thin and juiceless (page 33) (To look “juiceless” means to look sick and dry). 9) “He will get the bride price back.” (Page 38) Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

(“Bride price is a form of dowry that a man pays to the parents of the girl he wishes to marry”). 10) “Nnu Ego my pet child, you know I have been making preliminary arrangements for you to go to another man?” (page 38) (A “pet child” is a favorite child). Loan Blend It has been established in the previous chapter that the Nigerian variety of English is as a result of the contact of English languages and indigenous languages. Loan blend is a lexico-semantic feature of Nigerian English that vividly reflects this contact. In this case, Buchi Emecheta uses a great amount of loan blend to reflect the contact of English language and the Igbo language and tradition. Loan blend is the combination of two different languages to form new meanings. In loan blend, the item from the source language and its partial equivalent from the target language are placed side-by-side to form a nominal group. Below are examples of loan blends extracted from the selected text. The examples of loan blends are italicized and their explanations are in parenthesis. Examples 1) Nnu Ego darted past the Zabo market… (page 1) (“Zabo’ is a name of a market in Lagos where food stuffs and other miscellaneous items are sold). 2) She felt the milk trickling out, wetting her buba blouse… (page 8) Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

(“Buba” is a plain blouse made without a design). 3) By the time she reached oyingbo market, the sun was peeping out from behind the morning clouds. (page 8) By the time he got home, in any case, his wife Ato would be ready to go to her fish stall in Oyingbo market. (Page 58) (“Oyingbo” is a name of a place, and “Oyingbo market” is located at Oyingbo). 4) Agbadi lay silently on his back on his goatskin, sometimes gazing at the bamboo ceiling…(page 19) (“Bamboo ceiling” is a ceiling made of bamboo). 5) Nwokocha Agbadi visited her often in her hut, and slept there many an Eke night when he did not have to go to the farm or hunting. (page 25) “You have to join your age-group at home, dress up on Eke days and go and dance in the market.” (Page 222) (An “Eke day” is the first market day in an Igbo community). 6) She heard from people that he more or less lived in thick, swampy Ude where game was plentiful. (page 26) (“Ude” is the name of a forest at Ibuza, known to be very swampy). 7) “You will be leaving next Nkwo day, then.” (page 38) (“Nkwo” is the fourth market day in the eastern part of Nigeria). 8) “The cook’s wife, the woman who had gone to inform Nnaife of their arrival, welcomed them with pounded yam and okazi soup” (page 42) Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

(“Okazi soup” is an Igbo soup made from thickener, potash and scent leaf). 9) In her exhaustion, she dreamed that her chi was handing her a baby boy, by the banks of the Atakpo stream in Ibuza. (Page 45) (“Atakpo” is a stream in Ibuza where women go to wash and children go to swim and take their bath). 10) Every child had the right to own his own first hand-woven npe cloth, to be wrapped in, after he had been washed from the banana leaves (page 54) (“Npe-cloth” is a hand woven shawl wrapped around a baby). Loan shift Loan shift is also known as semantic shift or extension. Some lexical items have had their conceptual meanings shifted, restricted or extended to fit the Nigerian context. This is a common lexical formation process in Nigeria. Bamiro (1991) explains that loanshift refers to various ways in which English lexical items have acquired a polyvalence of reference and social meaning in the Nigerian geolinguistic environment. In other words, Nigerians transform English words into a new language of expression to reflect the new cultural, social, and pragmatic context in which the language is embedded. When a word or an idiom is employed to express a meaning which it does not hither-to convey, the meaning and referent are said to have been expanded or extended. In other words, a change in the sense of a word causes a modification in the mental content that constitutes the meaning of such lexical item. Examples of loanshift are italicized and their explanations are given in brackets.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

1) “I don’t trust men who can’t make it here in Ibuza.” (page 37) (To “make it” means to become wealthy). 2) “If you turn that corner, you’ll be there.” (Page 40) (“Corner” in this context means a bend in a road). 3) “I shall come and visit you again when you are really mad.” (Page 45) (The meaning of “mad” in this context goes beyond the denotative meaning. In BE it means to be insane or angry. Emecheta extends the meaning of “mad” to refer to the mother of a baby. This is because mothers make funny faces and funny sounds when they are nursing their children). 4) “But please drop me at Ogwash, where my grandparents come from.” (Page 46) (“Drop” in the Nigerian context means alight from public transportation vehicle, especially at undesignated bus stops). 5) In the afternoon, her husband came in for lunch, and later she would back her baby again in time for the evening rush of workers. (page 54) (The meaning of “back” has also been extended to refer to a woman strapping her child at her back). 6) This young man could read and write, and with a good “dash” – a kind of approved bribe- given to the right people such a young man would go a long way. (Page 67) (“Dash” in Standard English means either an act of going somewhere in a hurry, a small amount of something or a punctuation mark used in separating parts of a sentence. In the Nigerian context, “dash” is an act of bribery. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

7) “What of my mothers, his wives, and my sisters and brothers?” (page 76) “Oh mother, you are not as old and dry.” (Page 157) (“Mother” in the Nigeria is not used for a female parent alone, but it is a term used as a mark of respect to any woman that is old enough to be a mother). 8) “The boys have the evening off for their stupid lessons, and they are left off from going to fetch the evening firewood that we have to sell to feed us.” (Page 167) “I’ll back before lesson time.” (Page 176) (The meaning of “lesson” has been extended to mean form of private tuition). 9) All Nnaife gave her by way of presents was five pounds, part of which she used to buy a new piece of the best George material she could find… (Page 188) (While George is an English name of a person, in the Nigerian context, it means a two piece cloth material, tied around the waist by women. It is made of cotton in sometimes silk material, often patterned with brightly coloured checks). 10) “If my daughter has been “touched” by your son, know this: that when these men leave, I shall kill you.” (Page 210) (“Touched” in this context means deflowered). Analogical Creation Analogical creation is like coinage in a way because it deals with the formation of new words. However, analogical creation deals with the formation of new word based on already existing words or partial likeness as Bamiro puts it. Adegbija (1989:172) notes that word formation processes in English such as suffixation and prefixation are productive analogy models in Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta 23

Nigerian English. Below are some examples of analogy creations from the selected text. The created analogies are italicized while the explanations and British equivalents are in parenthesis. 1. “Make sure that her slave and cooking things go down with her.” (Page 22) ("Cooking things” –BE “Cooking utensils”). 2. “There is nothing that makes a man prouder” (page 31) (“Prouder”- BE “More proud”). 3. “They showed the address they wanted to a food seller”. (page 40) (‘Food seller” has been created from terms like “bookseller” and “flower seller”). 4. “Good night sah.” (page 41) “No, no sah! No police, sah!” (Page 93) (“Sah” – BE “Sir”) 5. They also knew that palm wine would flow aplenty till the small hours of the morning. (page 41) (“Small hours” is from the term “early hours”). 6. “I want to live with a man, not a woman-made man.” (Page 50) (“Woman-made” is from the British expression “Man-made”). 7. Her certainty of expecting a man–child injected new life into her flagging spirit. (Page78) (“Man-child” – BE “Male child”) 8. “It’s tastier than the Lagos kind,” was Oshia’s judgment.” (page 151) (“Tastier” – BE “More tasty”).

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

9. Look at the expensive shoes she is wearing, look at the expensive headtie, and even a gold chain- all this to come and see her relative Adaku, and in this rain! God, the cost of that headtie! (Page 163) (“Headtie” – BE “Head gear”). 10…this small outer building where they lived was typical of the accommodation provided for African servants which their masters always referred to as the “boys quarters.” (“Boys quarters” –BE “Quarters” or “Living quarters”) Conclusion Nigerian English can be best understood against the background of British colonialism in Nigeria. This fact applies to the Igbo variety of English language. The language contact between English and Igbo is what Buchi Emecheta portrays in the lexical choices of The Joys of Motherhood. Emecheta’s uses Igbo English as a deliberate but significant stylistic device, which arises from the influence or interference of the Igbo language and culture. Igbo English is one of the three major ethnic varieties of Nigerian English and is characterized by the fact that, while the vocabulary is mostly English, the sentence pattern is essentially Igbo. The use of Igbo English by Emecheta is an attempt to retain, as much as possible, the ‘Nigerianness’ of The Joys of Motherhood. Emecheta’s lexical usages reflect an aim to link the Igbo culture and the English language, so that non-Igbo readers as well as Igbo readers will conveniently understand the work. Emecheta retains aspects of Igbo political and religious practices and beliefs food and drinks, flora and fauna as well as social aspects of the Igbo people.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

=================================================== References Adegbija, E. (1989). “Lexico-Semantic Variations in Nigerian English”. World Englishes. Vol.8, 2. pp. 165-177. Adekunle, M. A. (1985). The English Language in Nigeria as a Modern Nigerian Artifact. Jos, Nigeria: University of Jos Press. Akere, F. (1982). “Sociocultural Constraints and the Emergence of Standard Nigerian English”. In J.B Pride (Ed.) New Englishes. Bamgbose, A. (1982). “Standard Nigerian English: Issues of Identification”. In Kachru, B.B. (Ed.) The Other Tonque: English Across Cultures. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Bamiro, E. (1991). “Nigerian Englishes in Nigerian English Literature.” World Englishes. Vol. 10, 1, pp.7-17. Bokamba, E. (1982). “The Africanization of English”. In Kachru, B.B.(Ed.). The Other Tonque, English Across Cultures. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Igboanusi, H. (2002). A Dictionary of Nigerian English Usage. Ibadan: Enicrownfit Publishers. Jowitt, D. (1991). Nigerian English Usage: An Introduction. Ikeja: Longman Nigeria Ltd. Kachru, B. (1982). The Other Tongue: English Across Cultures. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Odumuh, A. (1987). Nigerian English. Zaria Nigeria: Ahmadu Bello University Press Ltd. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

=================================================================== Adebola Adebileje Redeemer’s University College of Humanities Department of English KM 46, Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, Redemption Camp Mowe P.M.B. 3005, Redemption Post Office Ogun State Nigeria [emailprotected] Oluwanisola Araba Department of English College of Humanities Redeemer's University Ogun State Nigeria [emailprotected]

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Adebola Adebileje and Oluwanisola Araba Nigerian English Usage: Its Lexico-semantic Features in The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta

Materialism and Ecological Views of Wordsworth Asha Jain, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate ============================================== =======================================. Abstract Man’s andocentric aspiration and selfish exploitation of nature has brought our planet into much danger. It has created a fatal situation by devastating and despoiling its resources and biosphere. Gross materialism has forced it upon each and every human being it to strive to save our environment. It has become the urgency of our age to protect our biosphere, its diversity and its autonomy. Natural disasters such as tsunami, earthquakes, volcano, hurricane, pandemic, cosmic and uv radiation, and the collision of comets have enforced the human society to think about the significance of the preservation of nature for human survival. The consequences of lack of respect for nature are greatly disastrous; it has brought calamities such as global warming, deforestation, extinction of species, reduction in ground water, desertification, destruction of the ozone layers and many others. It has forced us to realize that healthy and respectful attitude towards nature is necessary. These disasters resulting from lack of stewardship of natural resources have warned us that any more disrespect shown against nature will leave us wailing, and lamenting. Now the world could expect three to five major disasters a year, each of which might kill more than fifty thousand people. These results have forced us to think about nature Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Asha Jain, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate Materialism and Ecological Views of Wordsworth

seriously, and to make it an integral part of academic domains. Eco-criticism is an emerging field that has been gaining importance rapidly. It is the study of man’s relationship with his environment. This research paper presents the introduction of Ecology along with the ecological crisis and the solutions that are suggested in Wordsworth’s poem “The World is Too Much With Us.” Key words: Wordsworth, Materialism, Ecology, Nature, The world is too much with us. Introduction Wordsworth was one of several “romantic” poets of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He does not approve of the sordid pursuits of life. He wants human beings to keep away from the life of vain materialism. This sort of life is neither useful to the individual nor good for the society. In his sonnet ‘The World is Too Much with us’ the poet expresses his resentment against the life of materialism.Wordsworth is lamenting about society’s need and greed for money and things. He was not the first poet or author to lament man’s disrespect for nature. William Wordsworth the great lover of nature opposes gross materialism in this poem. The industrial age was bringing in steam locomotives, machines and factories and Wordsworth’s world was facing the crisis of Industrial revolution. He felt that man was being brought up on a destructive lifestyle that eventually leads him to the harmful situations in life. The poet’s world was facing the evil effects of the Industrial Revolution where he saw the danger of industries. He saw the harshness of the Industrial Age, and he predicts that man will destroy nature. Two centuries later, today, Wordsworth’s predictions have been proved true. Man’s materialistic ambitions born of the Industrial Revolution are translated into today’s greed and the growing ignorance of the finite realities of nature. Increasing materialistic tendency is the cause of Environmental degradation that has compelled every citizen of this world to begin thinking about this peril.

1. Materialism The philosophy of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena (including consciousness) are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance. As a theory, materialism is a form of physicalism and belongs to the class of monistontology. As such, it is different from ontological theories based on dualism or pluralism. For singular explanations of the phenomenal reality, materialism would be in contrast to idealism and to spiritualism. The literal meaning of “materialism” is the belief that “money, possession and physical comforts are more important than spiritual values” while the philosophical meaning is “the belief that only material things exist”. Just as Thomas Carlyle says, “The truth is, men have lost their belief in the Invisible, and believe and hope, and work only in the visible. … Only the material, the immediate practical, not the divine and Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Asha Jain, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate Materialism and Ecological Views of Wordsworth

spiritual, is important to us. The infinite, absolute character of virtue has passed into a finite, conditional one; it is no longer a worship of the beautiful and good; but a calculation of the profitable.” (Thomas Carlyle, Signs of the Times, 1829) In today’s world of modernization and technology, man values only money and forgets about the invisible that is divine. Modern man remains busy in calculating profit only, instead of worshiping the beautiful and good things in life, nature being one of those things. 1.1 Defining Matter The nature and definition of matter - like other key concepts in science and philosophy have occasioned much debate. Is there a single kind of matter of which everything is made of, or multiple kinds? Is matter a continuous substance capable of expressing multiple forms of hylomorphism or a number of discrete, unchanging constituents atomism. According to substance theory it has intrinsic properties, or is it lacking then primary material? One challenge to the traditional concept of matter as tangible "stuff" came from the field of physics in the 19th century. The theory of Relativity shows that matter and energy (including the spatially distributed energy of fields) are interchangeable. This enables the ontological view that energy is primary material and matter is one of its forms. On the other hand, the Standard Model of Particle physics uses a new theory known as quantum field theory to describe all interactions. On this view it could be said that fields are prima materia and the energy is a property of the field. 1.2 History of Materialism According to Karl Jaspers, development of materialism possibly independently happened in several geographically separated regions of Eurasia during the Axial age (approximately 800 to 200 BC). Pierre Gassendi, later on, represented the materialist tradition, in opposition to Descartes. These thinkers are materialists. Jean Meslier, Julien Offroy Paul-Henri Thiry Baron d’Holbach and other French Enlightenment thinkers along with John “walking Stewart”, all of them insisted that all matter is endowed with a moral dimension. This left a deep impression on the mind of Wordsworth. Wordsworth felt the perils of increasing industrial revolution and strongly opposed the tendency of materialism. 2. Ecology Ecology is a holistic science, concerned in the largest sense with the relationship between living beings and their environment. In a word it is the study of all those complex interrelations whether it is organic or inorganic. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Asha Jain, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate Materialism and Ecological Views of Wordsworth

2.1 Definition of Ecology Ecology is the study of the relationships of organisms to their physical environment and to one another. The study of an individual organism or a single species is termed autecology; the study of groups of organisms is called synecology. Ecology is also often defined as the science of the interrelations of organisms and the science of the relations between organisms and their environment. Modern ecology also studies man’s interaction with the biosphere. 2.2 Historical Background The term “Ecology” was coined in 1866 by Ernst Haeckel, a German philosopher and scientist, and entered English vocabulary only seven years later. The intention of Haeckel was to invite a diverse assortment of scholars and activist to collect the issues concerned with ecology and environment. By studying the representation of the physical world in literary text, it became clear that the modern idea of nature and concern for the nonhuman world has its long deep roots in British and American romantic literature. Speaking for non- human world was a favorite concern that was set-off as a movement some hundred years later in the United States for a close investigation of ecological concern in nature writing. 2.3 Ecosystem Biosphere means—the total expanse of water, land, and atmosphere that is able to sustain life—the basic ecological unit is the ecosystem. An ecosystem may be as small as a tidal pool or a rotting log or as large as an ocean or a continent-spanning forest. Each ecosystem consists of a community of plants and animals and other living organisms. In an environment that supplies them with raw materials for life, i.e., chemical elements and water, the ecosystem is delimited by the climate, altitude, water and soil characteristics, and other physical conditions of the environment. Man works in partnership with his environment. It becomes a reciprocal and symbiotic relationship in many poems of Wordsworth. Bate Jonathan writes, “The ‘Romantic Ecology’ reverences the green earth because it recognizes that neither physically nor psychologically can we live without green things; it proclaims that there is ‘one life’ without us and abroad, that the earth is a single vast ecosystem which we destabilize at our peril. In sharp contrast to the so called ‘Romantic Ideology’, the Romantic Ecology has nothing to do with flight from the material world, from history and society. It is in fact an attempt to enable mankind the better to live in the material world by entering into harmony with the environment.” (p. 40). 3. Ecological Analysis of Wordsworth’s “The World is Too Much With Us” Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Asha Jain, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate Materialism and Ecological Views of Wordsworth

Man’s greed and materialistic attitude towards nature has not changed since 19th century, as seen in William Wordsworth’s poem “The World Is Too Much with Us” (1807). Human will and culture of society of ‘getting and spending’ in pursuit of material wealth and comfort in Wordsworth’s world of 19th century rural England, was much the same as the culture in today’s 21st century world. The only difference is that nature from which man extracts resources is now fully exploited and badly depleted. Wordsworth in his poem “The World is too much with us” is showing his resentment against the life of materialism. He warns his countrymen about the evils of wasteful lives that take and never give. He starts his poem by saying, The World Is Too Much with us; late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers, Little we see in Nature that is ours; (1-3) So, the natural world has changed but people’s mindset, attitude and behavior have not. Man’s unnecessary, profligate, and irresponsible consumption has been continually depleting the finite resources of nature. Wordsworth accuses the modern age of having lost its precious connection to nature and everything that can bring meaning to this potentially constructive relationship: We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon (4). People are simply engrossed in the material value of things and possessions while they forget the peaceful, romance of Nature: The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon; (5). Man has exploited nature as a commodity. Nature, in all its innocence and purity, is helpless in the face of man’s destruction of it, and no meaning can be found any more in man’s materialistic lifestyle. Recognize the harmony of life that is lost, and we can see good and pure things do not move man’s heart anymore: For this, for everything, we are out of tune; It moves us not.–Great God! (8-9). The last lines of the poem point to Wordsworth’s observations that if he had the same faith in the ancient and pagan gods, and saw the world based on a purer vision, that faith might make him less depressed with how the world has turned out to be. To us there is nothing wonderful or mysterious about the natural world, but ancients who were pagans created a colorful mythology out of their awe of Nature. That ancient belief can make him see the world in a different light, far purer and cleaner than the vision of man in the Industrial Age because pagans worshipped nature and held it in awe and reverence. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Asha Jain, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate Materialism and Ecological Views of Wordsworth

Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn; Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea; Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn. (12-14) In the sonnet "The World Is Too Much with Us" the poet contrasts Nature with the world of materialism and comments how insensitive we are to the richness of Nature that we may be forfeiting our souls. The title and the first line, "The World is Too Much with us", express Wordsworth's belief that his contemporaries in the 19th century were too absorbed in material things. The material world, he suggests, is always foremost in our minds. In the sonnet, Wordsworth states that human nature is preoccupied with "getting and spending," to which pursuits we have "given our hearts." Further, "we are out of tune" with nature; we do not appreciate the beautiful sea, which "bares her bosom to the moon," or the howling winds that "are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers." In short, natural aesthetics "moves us not." In the six subsequent lines, Wordsworth affirms that he would prefer to be "A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn" than to be "out of tune" with nature. Wordsworth alludes to nature's splendor that the pagans saw and held in awe when he talks about "Proteus rising from the sea". These visions, Wordsworth explains to the reader, "would make me less forlorn." William Wordsworth's poem is a statement about conflict between nature and humanity. The symbolism in his poem gives the reader a sense of the deep conviction and strong feelings that moved Wordsworth. 4. Conclusion In today’s world of modernization and globalization while we are facing a lot of ecological problems, it is the hour’s need to think crucially on this matter. Modern technology and gross materialism have changed our attitudes to life to the crux of our hearts and man has become bereft of spiritual powers as well as nature’s love. We do not know how to cherish this planet of which we are a part. If we have to dwell on the earth then we must save the earth. Man is so much engrossed in selfish living, and materialism that only works such as William Wordsworth’s poem can open the eyes of human beings and help save the earth from the ecological crisis. It is not only inevitable for saving the world from ecological degradation, but also for our survival. We can do it only by getting away from the tendency of materialism, to start cherishing, conserving and enjoying nature so as to receive all the peace and refuge from emotional trouble only nature could give man. Wordsworth had been terribly depressed by the gruesome manner in which the French Revolution (which he had whole-heartedly supported) ended, and he turned to nature, and found some solace in her beauty and majesty. ============================================================ References Burrow,Charles Kennet.(1989).Wordsworth’s Poetical Works.Jaipur: Arihant publishers. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Asha Jain, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate Materialism and Ecological Views of Wordsworth

Garrard,Greg.(2007).Ecocriticism. London: Routledge. Glotefelty, Cheryll and Harold Fromm(eds).(1996). The Ecocriticism Reader :Landmarks in literary Ecology. Athens and London: The University of Georgia Press. Jonathan, Bate(1991).Romantic Ecology:Wordsworth and the Environmetal Tradition.London: Routledge. ------------------(2000).The Song of The Earth. London:Picador. Nicholsen,Shierry Weber.(2003).The Love of Nature and the End of the World:the unspoken dimensions of environmental concern..London,England:MIT Press. Orlemans, O. (2002).Romanticism and the Materiality of Nature. Toronto :University of Toronto Press. Pepper,David (1996). Modern Enviromentalism: An Introduction. London and New York: Routledge. Shukla, Anu & Dwivedi,Rini.( 2009)Ecoaesthetic and Ecocritical Probings. New Delhi: Sarup Publishers. Wordsworth,W.1949. The Poetical Works. Oxford:Clarendon Press. Wordsworth,William.(1967).Selected Poetry and Prose.(ed)W.M.Merchant. London: Rupert Hart Devis. Wright,David.(ed.)1968.The Penguin Book of English Romantic verse. Penguin Books: Harmondsworth.

=================================================== Mrs. Asha Jain, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.Candidate. Assistant Professor of English Swami Vivekanand Govt. P.G.College Neemuch (M.P) 458441 Madhya Pradesh India [emailprotected]

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Asha Jain, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate Materialism and Ecological Views of Wordsworth

University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D. Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. ==================================================

Abstract The present paper addresses the debate comparing the traits of native English speaker teachers (NESTs) and non-native English speaker teachers (NNESTs). It reports on the design and outcomes of a study carried out in Qassim University with 169 Saudi Preparatory Year Program (PYP) students to obtain a deeper insight into their perceptions of the influence of native and nonnative teachers on the English language classroom. A triangulation technique was used to collect the quantitative and qualitative data in two stages by means of students’ questionnaires and interviews in addition to classroom visits to both groups of teachers. The results indicated strong significant differences between native and nonnative teachers in teaching specific skill areas, with a significant increasing preference for NESTs over NNESTs as Saudi students move from pre-university to university level. The study concluded that the debate can be discussed only in terms of professionalism rather than nativeness and that a combination of both native and non-native EFL Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context

teacher would create a healthy and productive learning environment for English language learners in Saudi Arabia. Keywords: Perception- Teaching effectiveness- Native & Nonnative teachers of English

Introduction English today has gained international importance and recognition. It has tremendously increased due to the death of distance, the disappearance of many national boundaries, and the prioritization of regional and transnational economies (Liu & Zhang, 2007). On this account, Crystal (2003) observes that there has never been a language so widely spread or spoken by so many people as English. The ongoing increase of the world status of English has made English language teaching a major concern for several educationists and students in many parts of the world. Nativespeakerism has been an issue of debate from the moment English began to be taught internationally. Arguments in favor or against NESTs or NNESTs have been tossed back and forth in previous studies (Medgyes, 1992; Widdowson, 1994; Milambling, 2000; Matsuda and Matsuda, 2001; Al-Issa, 2002; Zughoul, 2003; Madrid, 2004; Bulter, 2007; Wu & Ke 2009; Daif-Allah, 2010). Laborda (2006) found roughly 1,500 papers discussing EFL teacher's effectiveness with regard to national origin. Despite this huge amount of information and numerous essays, it seems that there is not any way to agree about who the better teacher is according to the single criterion of birth. Luksha & Solovova (2006) claimed that there are competent and incompetent teachers, both native and nonnative, and that the debate cannot be discussed only in terms of native/non-native, but trained versus untrained. They believe that a good teacher is one who knows the subject, is willing to share the knowledge, loves the job, and has plenty of patience. For this reason, they suggested that a well-trained, well-educated teacher will always be the best, whatever his/her native language may be.

Research Problem Mirroring a trend worldwide and following the lead of many international universities, the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education has announced that Preparatory Year Programs will become compulsory for most high school graduates who are interested in attending scientific colleges (e.g. Medicine, Pharmacology, Dentistry, Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context

Engineering, Computer Sciences).One of the main purposes of the Preparatory Year English Programs in Saudi universities is to foster a smooth transition from the Arabic language education environment in the secondary schools to an English medium one in the university setting through developing the English language skills of PYP students prior to starting a college program. Qassim University launched its centralized PYP for young learners six years ago. It’s a nursery and feeder for the different colleges of the university. Qassim University has decided to implement the PYP to support the chances of employment for the scientific college graduates in both private and public sectors by improving their English and computer skills. Towards this end, most universities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have now NESTs teach various English courses to students at different levels. In Qassim University, more than 40 native and 30 nonnative EFL teachers are working together to help PYP students move smoothly from Arabic language learning environment in their high school to an English medium one at the university. The recruitment of NESTs of English in several countries around the world where English is a foreign language, combined with an increasing concern over teaching effectiveness, has led to a deeper investigation into teachers' performance through student feedback ( Lasagabaster & Sierra,2002; Jin, 2005; Clark & Paran, 2007; Liu & Zhang, 2007; Chen, 2008; Todd & Pojanapunya, 2009; McDonald & McRae, 2010 ). In the Saudi context, not much research has been carried out to assess the classroom teaching outcomes of both NESTs and NNESTs. Therefore, this study intends to investigate PYP students’ perceptions of their native and nonnative EFL teachers to identify how each type of teachers can facilitate English language learning.

Research Questions 1- What are the PYP students' learning preferences for NESTs or NNESTs? 2- To what extent does the education level of students influence their perceptions of NESTs and NNESTs? 3- Whom do PYP students generally prefer, NESTs or NNESTs?

Hypotheses Based on the previous research questions, the following hypotheses can be presented: Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context 37

1- There is no significant difference in the respondents' preferences for NESTs or NNESTs as regard to the language skills. 2- There is no significant development in the respondents' preferences for either NESTs or NNESTs as they go higher up in education 3- In general, Saudi PYP students will not show clear preference for either NESTs or NNESTs.

Research objectives The present study aims to: 1- Explore PYP students’ general preference for NESTs as one group and

234-

NNESTs as another that teach the same PYP students in terms of the English language skills, Highlight the traits each group of teachers has as well as those which they share, Raise NESTs and NNESTs’ awareness of their strengths and deficiencies, and Find with whom PYP students believe they learn more: with native or with nonnative EFL teachers.

Previous Related Studies The term NNESTs has created a division among professionals in the ELT profession. Supporters of the term believe that it is necessary to distinguish between native and nonnative-English-speaking teachers because their differences are, in fact, their strengths and should be recognized (Madrid, 2004; Evrim, 2007; Park, 2009; Wu & Ke, 2009). Maum (2002) validates that those who oppose the dichotomy feel that differentiating among teachers based on their status as native or nonnative speakers perpetuates the dominance of the native speaker in the ELT profession and contributes to discrimination in hiring practices. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as in most of other countries, where English language teaching has been expanding in popularity and significance on a daily basis, the majority of people including administrators and educators seem to view English language teaching as the sole domain of the NESTs and assume that the ideal EFL Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context

teacher is necessarily a native speaker (Daif-Allah, 2010; Al-Issa, 2002; Philipson; 1996). This myth leads to the fact that NNESTs in these countries are not praised and admired less day by day, and they even face discrimination in hiring practices. Also, NESTs with minimum qualifications are likely to be hired easily and get more financial advantages than highly qualified NNESTs who graduated from international universities. Suarez (2000) points out that non-native teachers of English, finding themselves being compared to their native speaker colleagues in an unfair way, build the “I-am-not-a-native-speaker syndrome”, which has catastrophic effects on these individuals’ self-esteem, and thus, ultimately on their performance. Samimy & Brutt-Griffler (1999) surveyed and interviewed 177 NNS graduate students from Korea, Japan, Turkey, Surinam, China, Togo, Burkina Faso, and Russia to determine the differences in the teaching behaviors of both native and nonnative English language teachers. 90% of the subjects perceived a difference between these two groups of teachers. They identified NESTs as being informal, fluent, accurate, using different techniques, methods, and approaches, being flexible, using conversational English, knowing subtleties of the language, using authentic English, providing positive feedback to students, and having communication (not exam preparation) as the goals of their teaching. NNESTs were perceived as relying on textbooks, applying differences between the first and second languages, being aware of negative transfer and psychological aspects of learning, being sensitive to the needs of students, being more efficient, knowing the students' background, and having exam preparation as the goal of their teaching. However, they did not consider the NS teachers superior to their NNS counterparts. The differences in the teaching practices of NS and NNS teachers, as stated by the subjects of this study, could be attributed to contrasting sociocultural factors embedded in English and nonEnglish speaking societies. Matsuda (2001) argues that NNESTs is not just a group of people; it's a movement. He, surprisingly, added that there are very few native teachers in state institutions, mainly because the great majority lacks the proper training to become teachers. Why is it then that they are considered the very best all over the world? Dr. Bueno (2006) has rightly said, “I do not know of any piece of research that has Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context

shown that they are better teachers; however, the long-held belief that they are better is still there with no proof whatsoever to support such theory. Liu and Zhang (2007) attempted to identify the differences between NNESTs and NESTs in China in terms of attitude, means of instruction and teaching results as perceived by the students. 65 (53 girls and 12 boys) third year college students majoring in English language and literature from English department of a key national university in South China took part in the survey. They were asked to comment on the six teachers of native English speakers and eleven Chinese teachers of English who have taught them various courses in the past five semesters. In terms of attitude towards students and teaching, the findings reveal that there is no significant difference found between the two groups. The students perceive both groups as hardworking and competent. As far as the means of instruction is concerned, foreign teachers’ approaches to text materials are more varied. But the Chinese teachers of English use considerably more media, PPT and the Internet in class instruction. The foreign teachers use more conventional media to assist teaching, e.g. recorder, CD/DVD players, movies and radio programs. Evaluation is something that students concern most. Both groups are believed fair in evaluating students’ performance and achievement. However, the students believe that their foreign teachers are more flexible than the Chinese teachers in evaluating the students’ achievement. With regard to the teaching results, the students believe they benefit more from courses taught by the Chinese teachers. Some courses, especially Comprehensive English and Business English are test-oriented. Progress is easily seen and felt when they take the national TEM-4/8 (Test for English Majors) and BEC (Business English Certificate). The progress they have made in such courses as Oral English, Writing, Literature, Media and English Reading given by native speakers of English are rather slow to experience. Torres (2004) examined preferences of adults, specifically immigrant and refugee learners, for NESTs or NNESTs. A 34-item, 5-point Likert attitudinal survey was given to 102 students (52 immigrants, 50 refugees) enrolled in ESL programs in a large metropolitan area in Texas. After responding to the survey, 32 students volunteered for group interviews to further explain their preferences. Results Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context

indicated that adult ESL students have a general preference for NESTs over NNESTs, but have stronger preferences for NESTs in teaching specific skill areas such as pronunciation and writing. There was not a significant difference between immigrants’ and refugees’ general preferences for NESTs over non-NESTs based on immigration status. Similarly, Madrid's paper (2004) reports on the design and outcomes of a study carried out to obtain a deeper insight into student and teacher perceptions of the influence of native and nonnative teachers on the English language classroom. Using a questionnaire with 459 students and 35 teachers, the results of the study portrayed that students did not evince a preference for native teachers, whom they value as much as nonnative ones. However, the teachers in the sample are slightly inclined towards native as opposed to nonnative teachers and acknowledge the advantages the former have in the language teaching/learning process. Nonetheless, as the students advance on to the higher grades, their preference for the native teacher also increases. Despite the differences which can be gleaned from the teachers’ and students’ qualitative data, the quantitative study has not revealed any statistical significance between them. Chen (2008) investigated Chinese college students’ perceptions of non-native English speaker teachers. The participants in this survey were 75 university students majoring in English. 25 were year-one English Translation-Interpretation students; another 25 were year-two English Literature students; and the last 25 were year-three English language education students. The majority of them were female（54 participants ；75 ％of the sample）. The data were collected by means of both closed and open questionnaires. The findings have shown that students recognize their NESTs and NNESTs as having strengths in different fields. A high proficiency in English ，ability to use English functionally ，and the awareness of the culture of English speaking countries were the strengths observed in NS teachers. In the case of NNESTs， the ability to empathize with students as fellow foreign language learners，a shared cultural background，and the emphasis they placed on grammar and strategies were seen as their strengths. The findings also indicate that students have a clear preference for NESTs believing that they are more fluent and accurate with a special emphasis on their good pronunciation and sound knowledge of the Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context

target language． This paper concludes that Chinese students see their NESTs and NNESTs having their respective strengths. In his attempt to prove that teaching ability rather than provenance determines learners' preference for the English language teacher, Park (2009) investigated preferences of the Korean university students toward native/nonnative English speaking teachers in order to draw more reasonable generalizations. The participants were 177 students from a national university in a metropolitan city. The results indicated no overall preferences for native English speaking teachers over nonnative English speaking teachers. However, the students showed a preference for native English speaking teachers in teaching specific areas, such as pronunciation, culture, and communication. The students in this study considered that a combination of native English speaking teachers and nonnative English speaking teachers is appropriate. There was no significant gender or student year difference in Korean university students' preferences toward native/nonnative English speaking teachers. The results suggested more comprehensive considerations when taking teacher choice and preferences into account for Korean university students. Wu and Ke (2009) intended to explore how Taiwanese university students perceive their NESTs. Mutual expectations between the NESTs and students are also investigated. Collected data included questionnaires from 107 students and interviews with three NESTs and 19 students who have filled out the questionnaire. The result showed that students expected more encouragement and interaction with the NESTs, and more relaxed activities with fewer assignments and tests. A third of the students expected NESTs with a standard accent, while a quarter did not care about accent at all. The NESTs revealed their dissatisfaction toward the students’ passiveness and lack of responsiveness. While students expected their NESTs to be interactive, they themselves seemed to give the NESTs an impression of unwillingness to participate. Consequently, the related studies discussed above reveal no consensus as regard the ideal English language teacher, native or nonnative. They show that both NESTs and NNESTs have their own merits and demerits and it is unfair to judge one group based on their disadvantages. Therefore, Celik (2006) emphasized the need for Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context

NESTs and NNESTs to embrace each other and to work in a partnership. Celik added that the assumption that NESTs are better teachers has never been tested pedagogically and hence should be discounted as prejudice. Similarly, Liu (2008) found that co-teaching between NESTs and NNESTs can contribute to the improvement of the teaching quality of both of them.

Method The present study is carried out in Qassim University with Saudi students of the Preparatory Year Program (PYP) who had been taught English by both native and nonnative English speaking teachers. The respondent sample consisted of 169 male undergraduates; their ages were 18-22, (mean age 20 years); and the number of years of studying English ranged from 6 to 10 years, (mean 8 years). These students were chosen because they had two semester experience with both groups of teachers and could express their preferences towards their preferred teachers. The English Language unit has 70 male native and nonnative instructors in the Preparatory English Program. 30 of these are NNESTs from eight countries (Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, Pakistan, Syria, India, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon). Most of them are lecturers with Master degrees in English literature or linguistics, and only four are PhD holders in applied linguistics and English literature. These teachers are aged between 35 and 56 with diverse experience (12 to 30 years) of teaching English as a second/ foreign language in various institutions at different levels. Almost all teachers had been taught by both NESTs and NNESTs and they have an average of nine year experience working with native speaker teachers of English. The NESTs are from Canada, USA, England, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. The majority are language instructors with Bachelor degrees in English, 6 with Master degree in applied linguistics, and 2 are PhD holders in linguistics and curricula & instruction. NESTs aged between 26 and 62 having diverse experience (3 months to 35 years) of teaching English as a second/ foreign language in various places worldwide. These teachers have a little experience working with nonnative speaker teachers of English. The duration of the PYP is one academic year, divided into two semesters, as well as a summer session, if necessary. The English program is the major component of the PYP courses. The students study English for 16 hours a week, distributed among the four language skills (reading 6 hours, writing & grammar 6 hours, listening& speaking 4 hours). A triangulation method was used to collect the quantitative and qualitative data in two stages by means of questionnaires, interviews, and class visitation. In the first Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context

stage, a questionnaire was administered to the sample with the purpose of finding about their preferences for NESTs and NNESTs at the pre-university and university levels in relation to the language skills. The questionnaire consisted of 16 statements and was administered to level two PYP students at the end of the academic year 2009/2010. The language skill component was judged on the basis of 14 statements covering the areas of listening, speaking, pronunciation, reading, vocabulary, writing, and grammar. The second component explored how PYP students recognize their preference to NESTs or NNESTs at the pre university and university levels (see questionnaire in Appendix one). Each of the questionnaire items included two choices (NESTs - NNESTs) and respondents were asked to choose one. The second stage consists of two parts. Part one consists of interviews with 36 level two PYP students who had volunteered for group interviews to further explain their responses to the questionnaire items in light of their experience with NESTs and NNESTs. Those students were randomly chosen to represent level two PYP students. The interviews were administered in Arabic so that students can express themselves precisely and clearly. Candidate were asked to give their answers in response to a set of questions about their experiences with native and non-native EFL teachers, the appropriate level learners can benefit from either group of teachers or both, and which language skill(s) would develop better with native or non-native teachers. Students were also encouraged to give comments or other additional information the interview questions did not cover (see interview questions in Appendix two). The second part is analysis of 20 class visitation reports on the actual teaching abilities of both NESTs and NNESTs. These reports included feed back from the four PYP English language skill coordinators regarding the teaching performance of both groups of teachers inside the classrooms.

Findings and Discussion The quantitative data was gathered by means of students' questionnaires. Findings from the questionnaires are discussed below. Part One The purpose of this part of the questionnaire is to find out students preferences for NESTs and NNESTs to learn the English language skills of listening, speaking, pronunciation, reading, vocabulary, writing, and grammar. Table (1) Frequency and percentages of PYP students' responses with regard to the strengths and weaknesses of their native and non-native EFL teachers.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context

Skills

Percentages of Students' Preferences Pre- University

University

Listening

NEST 71%

NNEST 29%

NEST 88%

NNEST 12%

Speaking

67%

33%

81%

19%

Pronunciation

68%

32%

86%

14%

Reading

56%

44%

70%

30%

Vocabulary

49%

51%

65%

35%

Writing

46%

54%

30%

70%

Grammar

49%

51%

30%

70%

Table 1 clearly answers the first research question" What are the PYP students' preferences for native or non- native EFL teachers as regard the language skills? A close examination of the percentage distribution of responses reveals PYP students' recognition of the strength and challenges of their native and non-native EFL teachers. In terms of the language skills, the majority of the students showed a preference for NESTs in the areas of listening (88%), pronunciation (86%), and speaking (81%). The students believe that their listening, speaking, and pronunciation skills would be better with native English speaking EFL teachers at both the preuniversity and university levels with a remarkable increased preference for NESTs as the educational level rises. Using Paired Samples T Test, statistical results show a significantly stronger preference ( p>0.05) for NESTs in the language skills previously mentioned at the pre-university and university levels as indicated in Table (2) below. Table (2) multiple comparisons of PYP students' preferences of native and non-native EFL teachers in the areas of different language skills.

Skill

Level

N 169

Std. Mean Deviation 0.42

0.152

T 29.518

Tabula ted (t)

Sig. (2tailed)

168

1.645

0.000

Listening PreLanguage in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context

Univ. University Speaking

Pre- Univ. University

Pronunciation Pre- Univ. University Writing Univ.

Pre-

96.581

168

1.645

0.000

19.691

168

1.645

0.000

0.392

63.360

168

1.645

0.000

0.510

21.687

168

1.645

0.000

0.214

83.880

168

1.645

0.000

0.021

1.181

168

1.645

.277

-0.40

0.145

26.880

168

1.645

.000

-0.02

0.313

.024

168

1.645

.877

-0.40

0.191

25.929

168

1.645

.000

0.12

0.299

2.381

168

1.645

.123

0.40

0.415

27.524

168

1.645

.000

-0.02

0.308

.150

168

1.645

.699

0.30

0.176

14.552

168

1.645

.000

0.76

0.141

0.34

0.099

169 0.62 0.36 169

169

0.74 -0.08

University Grammar

Reading

Vocabulary

Pre- Univ. University Pre- Univ. University Pre- Univ. University

169

The results in Table 2 indicate that NNESTs cannot compete with their counterparts in teaching listening, speaking, and pronunciation. In this context, Medgyes' (1994) surveys of teachers revealed that NNESTs more frequently reported difficulties with those skills. However, the students' preferences changed in the opposite direction towards NNESTs in the areas of writing and grammar at the university level as seen by 70% of PYP students who found NNESTs accurate in teaching writing and explaining grammar, whereas some NESTs are not careful in writing on the board and do not stress grammatical issues unless they hinder communication. In addition, the statistical analysis of students' responses show a very significant preference (p>0.05) for NNESTs at the university level in the areas of writing and grammar which are, as identified by Al-Buainain (2006), the most difficult skills to teach and test. In this context, Arva and Medgyes (2000) observed that NNESTs had a greater awareness of the mechanisms involved in language acquisition and had a far superior metacognitive knowledge of English grammar. Also, Cook (2003) goes to say that writing is also a norm of profession where NNESTs sometimes outperform some NESTs. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context

The research results also show students' preference for NESTs in the skill areas of reading and vocabulary at the university level only. The above Table does not show any significant differences in students’ preferences for NESTs and NNESTs in the areas of reading and vocabulary at the pre-university level. Nevertheless, a strong significant difference (p>0.05) in university students' preferences in these skill areas is remarkably reported in favor of NESTs. This result can lead to the assumption that NNESTs could help enhance students' reading ability and vocabulary building through using L1 in reading classes. In this context, Torres (2004) found that if teachers are from the same background as the students, they can give explanations in the students’ language. Students' previous learning experience with NNESTs helped them to recognize and acknowledge NESTs’ rich language input. Students are convinced that NESTs would be better teachers of reading and vocabulary since they could improve their vocabulary and comprehension through the natural and effortless use of a wide range of synonyms, antonyms in addition to the cultural information they could provide to facilitate students’ understanding. Students also believe that NESTs are able to provide more cultural inputs and accordingly could be used as rich sources of cultural information. In conclusion, the discussion above gives three reasons for disproving the validity of the first research hypothesis "There is no significant difference in the respondents' preferences for NESTs or NNESTs as regard to the language skills". First, students showed strong significant preference for NESTs in the areas of listening, speaking, and pronunciation. Second, a remarkable preference for NNESTs in the areas of writing and grammar was also significantly demonstrated. Finally, although students did not show any significant differences in their preferences for both groups of teachers in the areas of reading and vocabulary at the pre-university level, they expressed considerable preference for NESTs over NNESTs in these areas at the university level. Part Two This part of the questionnaire consists of two items requesting students to express their general preference to be taught by NESTs or NNESTs as indicated in Table (3) Table (3) Students' general Preferences of NESTs and NNESTs

Items At the pre-university level, students prefer ……

NST 56%

NNST 44%

At the university level students prefer ……….

78%

22%

The above findings show a very slight difference in students' preferences to both types of teachers at the pre-university level, while illustrating a remarkable difference at the university level. The results also show that the majority of the students (78%) prefer to be taught by NESTs at the university level.

100% 90% 78%

80% 70%

56%

Pre-university

60% 50%

University 44%

40% 30%

22%

20% 10% 0%

Non-Native

Native

Figure (1): Differences of students' preferences to NESTs and NNESTs across academic levels

The above graph illustrates PYP students' views of the teaching effectiveness of native and nonnative EFL teachers across levels. It indicates a significant increase in the respondents' preferences for NESTs as they go higher up in education. This finding shows that the education level of English language learners is an important contextual factor affecting students' preferences to the kind of teachers they want to have. Although 56% of PYP students believe that they would benefit from NESTs at the pre-university level, yet this preference developed greatly at the university level as seen by 78% of the sample. On the other hand, respondents' preferences for NNESTs decreases as they move from the pre-university level (44%) to university level (22%). This result clearly answers the second research question" To what extent does the education level influence PYP students' perceptions of native and non-native EFL Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context

teachers? In addition, statistical analysis, as shown in Table (4) below, found no significant difference in students’ preferences to NESTs and NNESTs at the pre university level. Still, there is a meaningful preference for NESTs as students go higher up through the educational system. Table (4) Statistical analysis of Students' general Preferences for NESTs and NNESTs

Level

Pre-Univ. University

169

Varian ce Mean 0.12 0.56

Std. Coefficie Deviati nt on Variance 0.116 0.341 11.3% 0.170 0.413 15.4%

Tabulate T df d (t) 2.136 168 1.645 50.18 168 1.645 8

Sig. (2tailed) .144 .000

Rejecting the validity of the second research hypothesis," There is no significant difference in the respondents' preferences for either NESTs or NNESTs as they go higher up in education", the statistical analysis in the above table shows a very significant difference in students preferences to NESTs and NNESTs in favor of NESTs at the university level (p.>0.01). Reasons for the change in students' preferences toward both groups of teachers were gleaned qualitatively by means of group interviews with PYP students and analysis of class visitation reports. Data gleaned from group interviews revealed that difference in students' attitudes toward their EFL teachers are closely related to differences in their needs. Students explained that their main purpose at the pre-university level was to obtain the Completion High School Certificate with a high score so that they can join a good government university where tuition is free and financial allowances are given to all novice students on monthly basis. Towards this end, high school students always prefer NNESTs whose teaching strategies, which are based mainly on memorization and recall, help them pass final exams and achieve high score regardless of learning outcomes. However, students' instrumental motivation for learning English develops at the university level. Students feel that learning about the language alone is not enough to meet their needs at that level. They believed that they also need to learn to use the language for communication purposes with their instructors in different university classes where English is the medium of instruction. Learning the English language has become a major aim for university students who recognized English as an Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context 49

effective tool necessary to continue their college study. Therefore, PYP students expressed a significant preference for NESTs over NNESTs at university level for the former stress language performance over language achievement. Students' rationale was validated by class observers who described NNESTs as product-oriented in their teaching where mastery of language structure is always given more importance than language usage. Conversely, NESTs were seen as process-oriented in their teaching where they tend to use lots of interactive activities that develop students' confidence in using the language. For that reason, students' showed significant preference toward NESTs who were able to meet learners' needs at the university level by emphasizing language fluency over language accuracy. The data solicited from class observers revealed that the participants' preferences to NESTs in the areas of listening, speaking, pronunciation, reading and vocabulary are attributed to the natural linguistic competence of these teachers to produce the English language smoothly and effortlessly. Class observers admitted that NESTs are advantaged for some reasons. Firstly, they could stimulate students’ curiosity to learn about the English speaking people and their culture. Secondly, they always welcome students’ questions and appreciate their input for the purposes of encouraging them to practice the language, establishing effective rapport with students and developing cross-culture awareness. Thirdly, they caused the students to be highly motivated for students were forced to use the foreign language as a means of communication. Finally, they could help students develop linguistic competence as well as linguistic self-assurance by giving them the chance to speak without being interrupted or blamed for any grammatical mistakes. Similarly, PYP students evinced their preference to NESTs for similar reasons. Students explained that NESTs are flexible and friendly in managing their classes. They work out students' discipline and academic problems in a creative, a relaxed and passionate manner. They answer students' queries with confidence and patience, and they are never nervous when students ask more or inappropriate questions. Students remarked that NESTs are informative, especially when they talk about cross-culture features and sources of culture shocks. Students feel that NESTs' fluent and spontaneous use of English encourage and motivate them to learn the language in a better way. However, class observers reported that some NESTs sometimes make mistakes in spelling, capitalization, forms of writing mechanics and grammar when they write on the board. Class observers noted that some NESTs make spelling errors because they sometimes write words as they are pronounced. In addition, some NESTs often Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context 50

mix capital and small letters in the same word, and they are not meticulous about other forms of mechanics. Using a lot of slang in the classroom is also a common practice by NESTs who tend to use the type of language they use in their everyday communication. Class observers noticed that using slang in the language class stimulates students' interest to learn more about it since it is the language used in foreign movies and TV serials which they enjoy. Some NESTs do not also follow the grammar rules when they speak or write since they always stress the meaning over the structure of the language. Class observers found that these drawbacks caused confusion among students who used to correct spelling errors made by their NESTs on the board. Students added that NESTs intend to avoid and disregard students’ grammar inquiries, and when a NEST feels that he has to, he doesn't give proper answers despite the fact that it is his native language. This view is confirmed by Cook (1999) who concludes that although some NESTs have more knowledge about the foreign language, they can not explain 'why' which can be done by NNESTs. Another substantial comment by class observers highlighted that a considerable number of NESTs always go to class without being prepared depending on their native competency. They reported that all what some NESTs feel they need to do to teach a lesson is to grab a book and go to class. This could, to a great extent, work in the areas of teaching listening, speaking or pronunciation that are acquired by virtue of place of birth and mother tongue confidence, but never helps in a writing or a grammar class. Class observers also provided remarkable data regarding NNESTs strengths inside the classroom. They reported that, whereas some NNESTs seem to be struggling in some oral skill areas, they are better at teaching grammar and writing due to their acquired knowledge of the rules underlying those skills. They use correct structures and follow the rules of grammar in oral and written communication. They hardly make mistakes on their spelling or the mechanics of writing. NNESTs were also seen by most of the students as enthusiastic about teaching, knowledgeable, conscious of learners' needs, informative, and able to deliver well planned lectures. Accordingly, the discussion of the qualitative data provides the answer to the third research question "Whom do PYP students generally prefer, NESTs or NNESTs?", and it also proves the validity of the third research hypothesis "In general, Saudi PYP students will not show clear preference for either NESTs or NNESTs " Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context 51

because PYP Saudi students do acknowledge the teaching effectiveness of both groups of teachers. Students' and class observers' feedback makes it difficult to decide the one type of teachers, in isolation of the other, PYP students do prefer since they believe that they would benefit from the strengths of both of them. In addition, the majority of students and class observers suggest that each group of teachers is not superior to the other since both NESTs and NNESTs have a diverse level of mastery of the language as well as having certain inherent advantages and disadvantages. Students and class observers suggest that the teaching effectiveness of both NESTs and NNESTs should be examined in terms of professionalism rather than nativisim. Therefore, they believe that a combination of native and non-native EFL teachers would help achieve the ultimate goals of any English as a foreign language program since the two groups had an equal chance of success as English teachers.

Conclusion and Implications Our aim in this study has been to obtain a greater depth of insight into PYP Saudi students’ perceptions of the influence of native and nonnative teachers on the English language classroom. The results reveal students’ acknowledgment of the effectiveness of both native and nonnative EFL teachers in teaching specific skill areas. They believe that both groups of teachers complement each other with their strengths and challenges. While NESTs are better at teaching listening, speaking and reading, NNESTs are better at teaching writing and grammar. However, the students are remarkably inclined towards NESTs as they go higher up in academic level. This shows that competent NESTs with proper academic and educational qualifications will add a lot to EFL teaching in Saudi Arabia. Another observable finding to come into sight from the study is that PYP students recognize both NESTs and NNESTs, despite their many challenges, as equal partners in the ELT profession. This recognition has given NNESTs more confidence and visibility in the profession regardless of native language and place of birth. The study also reveals that NNESTs are contributing in meaningful ways to the field of English language education by virtue of their own experiences as English language learners and their training and experience as teachers. In addition, their nonnativeness has turned out to be a self-righteous merit rather than an embarrassing limitation. However, NNESTs should collaborate with qualified native English-speaking teachers since teaming up and sharing strengths, insights from various linguistic, cultural, and educational backgrounds would provide moral support for each other and benefit both to grow professionally. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context 52

In spite of the limited scope of the present study, some pedagogical implications could be traced. First, it may serve as the first empirical study to investigate students’ perceptions of their learning preferences for both NESTs and NNESTs in Saudi Arabia. Second, it can also be taken as a reference for EFL learners to get a better understanding of their awareness of the potentials of different English language teachers with regard to NESTs and NNESTs. Third, both NESTs and NNESTs who seek professional development can gain some insights from the findings and take them into consideration in teaching the English language. Fourth, program administrators might take students’ preferences into account when recruiting EFL teachers. In addition, educationists and policy makers may consider ELT a profession and not a natural part of a native-English speaker, and that being a native speaker does not make one a successful professional in an English language classroom. Finally, NNESTs may take advantage of their own strengths and improve their teaching abilities through engaging themselves in professional training in linguistics and sociolinguistics. The study recommends a further research on factors that may influence student preferences between NESTs and NNESTs such as learning experience, level of English proficiency, motivation, interest, personality, age, and gender. Also, students’ attitude towards NESTs is an important issue that could be covered by future studies. ============================================================= References Al-Buainain, H. A. (2006). “Students’ writing in EFL: Towards a Teaching Methodology” Paper presented at The 2nd International AUC OXF conference on Language and Linguistics. 24-25/3/2006. Cairo, Egypt. Published on Line: http://www1.aucegypt.edu/conferences/aucoxf/presentations.html Al-Issa, A. (2005). An ideological discussion of the impact of the NNESTs’ English language knowledge on Omani ESL policy implementation. A special reference to the Omani context. Asian EFL Journal: 7 (3). Retrieved July 27, 2010 from: http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/September 05dn.php. Bueno, C. (2006). Native English teacher required. TESL-EJ. June, 2006. Bulter, Y.C. (2007). How are non-native English-Speaking teachers perceived by young learner? TESOL Quarterly, 41, 731-755.

Celik, S. (2006). Artificial battle between native and non-native speaker teachers of English. Kastamonu Education Journal, Vol: 14 no. 2. Retrieved 1st April, 2011 from: http://www.ksef.gazi.edu.tr/dergi/pdf/Cilt-14-No2.../371-376_servet.pdf Chang, T.S. (2007). Assumptions about foreignness in English learning. Tamkang University, Taiwan. Chen, X. (2008): A SURVEY ：Chinese College Students’Perceptions of Non－Native English Teachers. CELEA Journal（Bimonthly）, Vol ．31 No．3, 75-82. Clark E. & Paran A. (2007). The employability of non-native-speaker teachers of EFL: a UK survey. System, 35(4), 407-430. Cook, V. (1999). Going beyond the native speaker in language teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 33(2), 185 -209. Cook, G. (2003). Applied Linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2nd Edition. Daif-Allah, A. (2010): Nonnative English Speaking Teachers in the English Teaching Profession in Saudi Arabia: Contributions, Challenges and Suggestions. Comparative Education Conference Proceedings, 130-173, Cairo, Egypt. Evrim, U. (2007). University Students' Perceptions of Native and Nonnative Teachers. Teachers and Teaching, Vol.13, No.1, pp.63-79. Ebata, M. (2008). Nonnativeness: Can nonnative instructors teach English as effectively as native? Digital Hollywood University, Tokyo, Japan. Retrieved 1st April, 2011 from http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/tesl-ej Inbar-Lourie, O. (2008). Native and non-native English teachers: investigation of the construct and perceptions. Retrieved 1st June, 2009from http://www.tau.ac.il/education/toar3/etakzir2001-4.doc . Jin J. (2005). Which is better in China, a local or a native English-speaking teacher? English Today 83, 21(3), 39-45. Kubota, M. (2004). Native speaker: A unitary fantasy of a diverse reality. The Language Teacher, 28(1), 3-30. Laborda, G. (2006). Native or non-native: Can we still wonder who is better? TESLEJ. Vol. 10, No. 1, 23-28. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context

Lasagabaster, D & Sierra, J. (2002): University Students’ Perceptions of Native and Non-native Speaker Teachers of English. Language Awareness Vol. 11, No. 2, 132-138. Lee, J. (2005). The native speaker: An achievable model? Asian EFL Journal, Vol.7 (2). Ling, C. & Braine, G. (2007). The attitudes of university students towards non-native speakers English teachers in Hong Kong. RELC Journal, 2007:38; 257. Liu, L. (2008). Co-teaching between native and non-native English teachers: An exploration of co-teaching models and strategies in the Chinese primary school context. Reflection on English Language teaching, Vol.7, no. 2 pp. 103-118. Yunnan Nationalities University. Retrieved 1st April, 2011 from: www.nus.edu.sg/celc/publications/RELT72/103to118liu.pdf Liu, M. and Zhang, L. (2007): Student Perceptions of Native & Non-native English Teachers’ Attitudes, Teaching Skills Assessment and Performance. Asian EFL Journal, Vol. 9, No. 4: Conference Proceedings, 157-166 Luksha, I. & Solovova, E. (2006). Pros and cons for using non-native English speaking teachers. Tomsk State Pedagogical University, Moscow State University. Retrieved 1st June, 2009. From: http://vestnik.tspu.ru/files/PDF/.../luksha_i._v._97_99_9_60_2006.pdf Madrid, D. (2004): Teacher and Student Preferences of Native and Nonnative Foreign Language Teachers. Porta linguarum 2, 125-138. Matsuda, A., & Matsuda, P. (2001). Autonomy and collaboration in teacher education: Journal sharing among native and nonnative English-speaking teachers. The CATESOL Journal, 13(1), 109-121. Maum, R. (2002). Nonnative- English-Speaking teachers in the English teaching profession. ERIC Digest. Retrieved on April 2, 2011. McDonald, C. & McRae, S. (2010). A pre-trial collection and investigation of what perceptions and attitudes of Konglish exist amongst foreign and Korean English language teachers in terms of English education in Korea. Asian EFL Journal, Vol. 12 (1), pp.134-164 Medgyes, P. (1992). Native or non-native: Who’s worth more? ELT Journal, 46(4), 340-349. Medgyes, P. (1996). Native or non-native: Who's worth more? In T. Hedge & N. Whitney (Eds.), "Power, pedagogy & practice" (pp. 31-42). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context

Milambling, J. (2000). Comments on Vivian Cook’s “Going beyond the native speaker in language teaching”: How nonnative speakers as teachers fit into the equation. TESOL Quarterly, 34 (2), 324-332. Park, E. (2009). The Korean university students' preferences toward native English teachers. Modern English Education, 10(3), 114-130. Phillipson, R. (1996). ELT: The native speaker's burden. In T. Hedge & N. Whitney (Eds.), Power, pedagogy & practice (pp. 23-30). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Reves,

T., & Medgyes, P. (1994). The non-native English speaking ESL/EFL teacher's self-image: An international survey. System, 22(3), 353-367.

Samimy, K. & Brutt-Griffler, J. (1999). To be a native or nonnative speaker: perceptions of non-native students in a Graduate TESOL Program. In G. Braine (Ed.), Non-native educators in English language teaching. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. 127-144. Suarez, J. (November, 2000). 'Native' and 'non-Native': not only a question of terminology. Humanizing Language Teaching, 2(6). Retrieved May, 6, 2009, from: http://www.hltmag.co.uk/nov00/mart.htm Todd, R. & Pojanapunya, P. (2009): Implicit attitudes towards native and non-native speaker teachers.System , Volume 37, Issue 1, Pages 23-33. Torres, J. (2004): Speaking Up! Adult ESL Students’ Perceptions of Native and NonNative English Speaking Teachers. MA Thesis, University Of North Texas. Wu, K. & Ke, C. (2009): Haunting Native Speakerism? Students’ Perceptions toward Native Speaking English Teachers. English Language Teaching, Vol 2, No 3, 44-52. Widdowson, H. G. (1994). The ownership of English. TESOL Quarterly, 28(2), 377389. Zughoul, M. (2003). Globalization and EFL/ESL pedagogy in the Arab World. Journal of Language and Learning 1 (2). Retrieved June 16, 2010 from http://www.shalespeare.UK.net/journal/1 =========================================================== Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context

Appendix (1) Students' Questionnaire Students’ Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context Here are some statements about the native versus non-native teachers of English. Please say whether you agree or disagree with these statements. There is no right or wrong answer. Please be as honest as possible. Thank you so much Part One: Personal Information • Age: ------------------------------------------• Academic year: --------------------------• Gender: Male ( )

Female (

)

• How would you see your proficiency level of the English language? (Circle one) Poor Good Very good • Have you ever been to an English-speaking country? Yes ( ) No ( ) • Have you ever been taught by a native speaker English teacher? Yes ( ) No ( ) • How long have you been studying English? (Circle one) (1-3years) (4-6 years) (7-10 years) (11-13 years) Please respond to the following statements by circling one of the following: (a) A native (Ex. British, American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealander) (b) A non- native (Ex. Arabs, Pakistanis, Indians) Part Two: Students’ Perceptions of Native and Non-native Speaker Teachers of English Statements Part One: Language Skills A- Listening 1- At the pre- university level, my listening would be better with (a native / a non- native) English teacher. 2- At the university level, my listening would be better with (a native / a non- native) English teacher. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context 57

B- Speaking 3- At the pre- university level, my speaking would be better with (a native / a non- native) English teacher. 4- At the university level, my speaking would be better with (a native / a non- native) English teacher. C- Pronunciation 5- At the pre- university level, my pronunciation would be better with (a native / a non- native) English teacher. 6-At the university level, my pronunciation would be better with (a native / a non- native) English teacher. D- Reading 7- At the pre- university level, my reading would be better with (a native / a non- native) English teacher. 8- At the university level, my reading would be better with (a native / a non- native) English teacher. E- Vocabulary 9- At the pre- university level, I would learn more vocabulary with a native (a native / a nonnative) English teacher. 10- At the university level, I would learn more vocabulary with (a native / a non- native) English teacher. F- Writing 11- At the pre- university level, my writing would be better with (a native / a non- native) English teacher. 12- At the university level, my writing would be better with (a native / a non- native) English teacher. G- Grammar 13 –At the pre- university level, (a native / a non- native) English teacher is better at explaining grammar. 14-At the university level, (a native / a non- native) English teacher is better at explaining grammar. Part Two: General 15- At the pre- university level, I would prefer a (native / non- native) English teacher. 16- At the university level, I would prefer a (native / non- native) English teacher.

Appendix (2) Interview Questions ‫ وفي أي مرحلة دراسية؟‬،‫ وأين‬،‫متى درسك أول مدرس لغة انجليزية‬

-1

1- When did you start learning English? Where and at which stage? Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context

--------------------------------------------------------------------‫ما جنسيته؟‬

-2

2- What was the teachers' nationality?

-------------------------------- -------------------------- ----------‫ ما السبب؟‬:‫ ال‬/‫هل ترى بشكل عام أن الذين درسوك أفادوك بشكل جيد؟ نعم‬

-3

3- Do you believe that those who taught you English benefit you well? Why?

-------------- ------------------------------------------------------‫هل هم متحدثون أصليون أم ال؟ أو بعضهم؟ (التفصيل)؟‬- -4 4- Were they native or non-native EFL teachers?

--------------------------------------------------------------------‫ما هو برأيك المستوى اللغوي المناسب للطالب الذي يمكن أن يستفيد الطالب فيه من المدرس متحدث‬ -5 ‫ غير األصلي؟‬/‫اللغة األصلي‬ 5- What is the appropriate English language level for students to benefit from native/non-native EFL teachers?

--------------------------------------------------------------------‫ما هي برأيك المرحلة التعليمية المناسبة التي يمكن أن يستفيد الطالب فيها من المدرس متحدث اللغة‬ -6 ‫ غير األصلي؟‬/‫األصلي‬ 6- What is the appropriate educational stage for students to benefit from native/non-native EFL teachers?

--------------------------------------------------------------------‫هل ترى انه من المفيد للطالب أن يتم تدريسه في جميع مقررات اللغة االنجليزية من قبل المدرسين‬ -7 ‫متحدثي اللغة األصليين أو غير األصليين؟ ما السبب؟‬ 7 - Is it useful for students to be taught in all courses by native/non-native EFL

teachers? Why? Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D. Qassim University, Saudi Arabia [emailprotected] Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. Qassim University Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mohammad A. Alseweed, Ph.D.and Ayman Sabry Daif-Allah, Ph.D. University Students’ Perceptions of the Teaching Effectiveness of Native and Nonnative Teachers of English in the Saudi Context

Saudi Arabia & Suez Canal University, Egypt [emailprotected]

Amitav Ghosh’s River of Smoke A Tribute to an Ex-Era of Globalization Daisy, Ph.D. ======================================

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Daisy, Ph.D. Amitav Ghosh’s River of Smoke - A Tribute to an Ex-Era of Globalization

‘If there is a distinctive genre known as Indian Writing in English, then Amitav Ghosh is perhaps its most scholarly practitioner. Ghosh is a traveler in the physical as well as the metaphysical, a writer of formidable learning and intelligence’. (The Shadow Links) Amitav Ghosh and His Works Amitav Ghosh, the contemporary literary master and a writer concerned with India’s place in larger international cultural networks, has been winning prestigious awards practically since he began to write. Right from his debut novel The Circle of Reason (1986) to Sea of Poppies (2008) there is not a single novel which didn’t get an award. The Indian Government has also bestowed on him one of India’s highest honours, Padma Shri award in 2007. His classic style of weaving exhilarating narratives with a bit of pedagogy is what lends his writings their unmistakable appeal. He weaves indo-nostalgic elements in his unique and personal topics enriched with heavier themes. River of Smoke Ghosh’s latest (seventh) novel, River of Smoke, is the second in his proposed ‘Ibis Trilogy’. The two Novels Sea of Poppies and River of Smoke are set in and around the Indian Ocean just prior to the Opium Wars of the nineteenth century. Sea of Poppies took us along the poppy fields of the Ganges where opium is grown and processed, while River of Smoke explores the streets of China where the opium is sold. But the amazing thing is that both of these are individual books that can be read on their own. As Amitav Ghosh himself says: ‘I never thought of it as a linear trilogy going from one to the other. When I started, I had no idea what would happen in the second book, just as now I have no idea what will happen in the third. It would actually be impossible to think about all that in your head.’ (Untitled Books, 44)

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Daisy, Ph.D. Amitav Ghosh’s River of Smoke - A Tribute to an Ex-Era of Globalization

While writing River of Smoke, Ghosh got inspired by the Alexandria Quartet written by British writer Lawrence Durrell, because each of the four books of that tetralogy had a ‘tangential relationship with the other’. (Staff Reporter, July 02, 2011) Sea of Poppies Both books contain a kaleidoscope of characters, cultures and places. A masterpiece of Amitav Ghosh, Sea of Poppies was ambitiously large in its ambition and narrative span. The novel was set between India and Mauritius, with a cast of Indians, Americans, Chinese and French who find themselves aboard a ship called the Ibis sailing across the Indian Ocean. Many were indentured labourers - unskilled workers who had sold themselves to work for years on the Mauritian sugar cane plantations in return for food, clothing and lodging. A storm alters their course, and River of Smoke takes up where that novel left off, following the travellers to the crowded harbours of China and the trading town of Canton. Some of the characters who were on the Ibis can be found in the River of Smoke, which commences with a setting in Mauritius before moving to Canton where it stays almost until the end. Manchu Empire as the Backdrop of River of Smoke River of Smoke conjures up Canton, around 1838-39, particularly the foreign merchants’ enclave and the Pearl River, both inextricably linked to the opium trade. The story revolves around the mucky opium trade operations and how that affected the lives in the multi-cultural, opportunistic town where life bustles at a maddening rate. In a way, the story is set against the backdrop of the Manchu Empire waking up to the economic and social damage caused by the opium trade and trying to ban import of the drug while the western powers who owed so much of their wealth to it, resist the move in the name of free trade. As British traders shamelessly import the drug inside China and the unsuspecting people become addicted to it, the government struggles to put an end to this illegal trade. Amitav Ghosh, in a sense, invites you to be a spectator to the events that lead to the first Anglo-Chinese Opium War (1839-42), which had far-reaching economical, cultural and political repercussions in the East. Learning from Opium Trade and Opium War Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Daisy, Ph.D. Amitav Ghosh’s River of Smoke - A Tribute to an Ex-Era of Globalization

History of opium trade in China tells us that under the system established by the Qing dynasty to regulate trade in the 18th century, Western traders were restricted to conducting trade through the southern port of Canton (present day Guangzhou). Despite these restrictions, both sides learned how to make profits by cooperating with each other. As the volume of trade grew, however, the British demanded greater access to China’s markets. Tea exports from China grew and these were done in exchange for silver. Concerned that the trade was draining silver out of England, the British searched for a different commodity to trade for tea and porcelain. They found it in opium, which they planted in large quantities in India (Depicted in detail in Sea of Poppies). British merchants blamed the restrictions of the Canton trade for the failure to export enough goods to China to balance their imports of tea and porcelain. Repeated efforts were made by the British which resulted in failure. But the opium trade was so vast and profitable that all kinds of people, Chinese and foreigners, wanted to participate in it. So, opium flooded the country despite imperial prohibitions. River of Smoke ends exactly on 06 July 1839. The novel’s ending of just a day before the first riot began in Kowloon (07th July) clearly signifies that Ghosh wanted his readers to acquaint themselves with the what and why of the War, not the war itself. It’s really surprising that the blood soaked history of this area is never evoked by historians. Ghosh himself says, "Opium trade accounted for one-fifth of India's revenue (around 1839). But for some strange reason, this part of Indian history is missing from history books. I wanted to document it." (Chatterjee) History with Minute Details Having all the qualities of a good historical novel, River of Smoke shows us history with every minute detail. From the fast crabs to the bribing of officials, from the kitchen boats to the newly formed families of the traders, from the Chinese Repository to the Canton Register, from the opium addicts to the High Commissioner Lin Zexu, from the formation of Chinese names to the nicknames of collective foreigners by the Chinese, Ghosh has very minutely depicted everything that happened in and around Canton while the Chinese emperor was determined to rid his Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Daisy, Ph.D. Amitav Ghosh’s River of Smoke - A Tribute to an Ex-Era of Globalization

country of the opium plague; and while the British traders tried desperately to defend the financial engine of colonialism. Central Story The story revolves around Seth Bahramji Naurozji Modi, a rich Parsi merchant, who sets sail from Bombay to Canton in China, with the largest consignment of opium in his 30 years of the trade. Despite his wife's superstitions, rumours of impending trouble in China and losing nearly 300 crates of opium in a storm, Bahram continues his journey and sails to Canton with a boatload of raw opium with which he hopes to enrich his ever-growing fortune. Apart from earning money and respect as a big businessman, he does this to meet his estranged half-Chinese son, Ah Fatt. But the authorities in China are trying to halt the illegal import of the drug and so his cargo must wait, along with that of the other, mainly British, traders in the waters just off the coast. As the Chinese authorities tighten the noose around the drug trade by preventing opium-carrying vessels from plying along Canton's Pearl River, Bahram desperately tries to find a way into the Chinese market. He is forced to choose between the good and the evil, between his love for Canton and his sense of obligation to family and investors in Bombay, and between British opium traders who vouch for ‘free trade’ and a conscientious American merchant, Charles King. He goes from being one of the most powerful Parsee businessmen in Canton to a desperate smuggler and finally ends as a lonely, helpless man, much like the consumers of the drug he trades in. The City of Canton as the Protagonist of the Story However, in spite of the large number of characters, the main protagonist of the story remains the city of Canton - its people, its narrow lanes, its flower boats and opium dens, its markets and maidans and the fanqui town for foreigners. With references from diaries and paintings such as those of George Chinnery’s, Ghosh manages to bring out the colour and vibrancy of the ancient trading port. Fanqui-Town (The foreign merchants’ enclave) in Canton was the place where foreigners reinvented themselves amid the rich interaction of commerce and miscegenation. It contained Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Daisy, Ph.D. Amitav Ghosh’s River of Smoke - A Tribute to an Ex-Era of Globalization

thirteen factories called different ‘hongs’ mainly the British, the Dutch, the Danish, the French and the American. Also, it was where the characters of the novel ‘planned to despoil an entire people in the pursuit of profit’, as Robin Chinnery, a gay Eurasian painter, describes the Foreign Merchants’ enclave in a letter to his friend Paulette: “In a way, Fanqui-town is like a ship at sea, with hundreds - no, thousands- of men living crammed together in a little sliver of a space. I do believe there is no place like it on earth, so small and yet so varied, where people from the far corners of the earth must live, elbow to elbow, for six months of the year…. Everywhere you look there are khidmatgars, daftardars, khansamas, chuprassies, peons, durwans, khazanadars, khalasis and laskars.” (River of Smoke, 185) Importance of Fanqui Town Ghosh seems clearly fascinated by the history of Canton and, within it, of Fanqui-town, a tiny foreign enclave on the edge of a formidable but mysterious civilization that is beginning to resent the corruption of its people by opium. The second protagonist of the novel Bahram Modi, who serves as much of the novel’s energy, owes his life to ‘Canton’. Probably the most memorable character in all of Ghosh’s fiction, Bahram is captured in every possible mood, from opium-induced hallucination to boardroom bluster, romantic rapture to Zoroastrian-inflected philosophical rumination. If there is one thing that reveals all the elements of Bahram’s life, it is his language, which is silted with the sediment of many tongues — Gujarati, Hindustani, English, Pidgin, Cantonese. Emerging Principles of Free Global Trade When the foreigners weren’t eating or drinking or dancing, they invoked the principles of free trade to fight the mandarins who try to keep opium out of China. River of Smoke vividly captures the critical moment in the history of global trade, as the tensions between the Chinese monarchy and the British East India Company rise to a perilous crescendo that will culminate in the devastating violence of the Opium Wars. The novel ends just before the time when Britain's Opium War against China began. It was more than a trade war or globalization through Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Daisy, Ph.D. Amitav Ghosh’s River of Smoke - A Tribute to an Ex-Era of Globalization

gunboats. It was a clash of civilizations with a racial undertone. The triumph of Amitav Ghosh is that, as his voyage takes us to the secret recesses of the past, we realize how extraordinary events in history are birthed through the passions of ordinary men. A Variety of Indian and Foreign Characters and a Variety of Speech Apart from Bahram Modi, the other characters of the story are as varied as the region, among them the disgraced young Raja, Neel, the Parsi opium trader, Bahram; his bastard Chinese son, Ah Fatt, the Cornish botanist, Penrose‘Fitcher’, and the French orphan, Paulette. In fact, Ghosh’s book is crammed with jargon, slang, characters and cross-cultural currents. Europeans might be in charge at Fanqui town, but Ghosh makes sure that subaltern voices are also heard, as loudly as that of their masters. Equally loud and clear is the voice of the Chinese mandarins, especially that of the High Commissioner Lin Tse-hsu. The huge cast of characters in River of Smoke and the narrative carried by a number of voices show Ghosh’s sophisticated command of dialogue: Deeti’s engaging Kreol; Neel’s English which is so good that it irritates Bahram (his eventual employer); the naive, frivolous voice of Robin Chinnery, a gay artist who writes gossipy letters to Paulette that provide an artist’s view of Canton; and an omniscient narrator. This novel is in fact ‘a monumental tribute to the pain and glory of an earlier era of globalization — an era when people came into contact and collision, intermixing costumes, customs, convictions, consonants, couplings and cash’. (Tharoor, July 10, 2011) The twisting of tongues energizes all of Ghosh's writing. It allows him to engage with quiet irony upon the political nunning counter to the commonalities forced on them by all of them being sub continentals in China. Pervasive Awareness of Language Issues – Form and Function The text in River of Smoke is marked by a general and pervasive awareness of language issues and by a sense of the complexities of multilingualism and the interaction of languages: Indian tongues – Hindustani in general, Neel’s Bengali, Bahram’s Gujarati, also Tamil, Telugu, Oriya, Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Daisy, Ph.D. Amitav Ghosh’s River of Smoke - A Tribute to an Ex-Era of Globalization

Marathi, Kachhi and Konkani; Cantonese Chinese; Portuguese, French, English; Mauritian kreole; and the hybrid that is pidgin. The word ‘pidgin’ is said to have originated from the word ‘business’. There is a dialogue between the Chinese boy Allow (Ah-Lau) and Bahram where the boy says, ‘this time cannot do-pidgin in Canton. Cannot sell. Mister Barry savvy, no-savvy ah?’ (River of Smoke, 244) Here, it is clear that ‘pidgin’ means ‘business’, not the language. And ‘savvy’, from the Portuguese verb ‘saber’, means ‘know’. The dialogue passages in pidgin stretch the readers’ linguistic abilities with an alien syntax all but unrecognizable to native English sensibilities, as in conversations in that idiom. For example, in the scene where young Bahram takes the torn turban cloth of his senior Seth to the Chinese washer woman who later becomes his beloved; the dialogue in pidgin has every reader laughing, wondering, as they gradually understand how languages melt into each other: ‘Mister Barry, chin-chin. What thing wanchi?’ Li Shiu-je have done too muchi bad thing.’ ‘Hai-ah! What thing have done ah?’ ‘Have cuttee cloth.’ ‘What-place cloth have cuttee ah? Mister Barry can show?’ ‘Can. Can.’ (River of Smoke, 70) Immediately after this, profanities begin to pour from angry Bahram’s mouth for his senior in Hindusthani, Bahn. .od! Mada…od!’ Melting Cultures Ghosh also tells in detail how the cultures in the town melted into each other. The Indian reader is much surprised to find that the most popular Indian snack ‘samosa’ used to be ‘a Xinjiang specialty called a samsa.’ (River of Smoke, 191) The famous editor, critic and former visiting Professor at JNU, New Delhi, Christopher Rollanson comments on the book:

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Daisy, Ph.D. Amitav Ghosh’s River of Smoke - A Tribute to an Ex-Era of Globalization

The second part of Ghosh’s trilogy is not only an absorbing and rewarding work of fiction: it is also an exploration of communication across linguistic and cultural barriers, across what the text itself calls “apparently unbridgeable gaps of language” (Rollanson, 8-14). Attention to Details Ghosh’s rapt attention to detail anchors the reader firmly within the world of his story which takes place nearly two centuries ago, and yet mirrors the contemporary moment in vital and uncanny ways. The rhetoric of free trade that is embraced with messianic fervor by the foreign traders in Canton could have been taken directly from current discussions of globalization. And the illusory ideals of liberty and freedom which were called upon to justify the Opium Wars remain with us today in the resurgent ideology of neoliberalism and the imperialistic military interventions of Western powers. We’ve Always been Global Citizens Globalization is mainly a socio-economic term and has become synonymous with the economic development of a country. It is a continuous process through which different societies, economies, traditions and culture integrate with each other on a global scale through means of communication and interchange of ideas. Through River of Smoke, we come to have a better understanding of how different people of various countries came into contact with each other through trade; and their cultures and languages got amalgamated. Amitav Ghosh clearly conveys through the book that people have always been global citizens by being successful traders for centuries. The open mindset of ‘men’ can be observed in the unusual world of Canton as they dance with each other even when they were not gay. So, the present age cannot be called the only age of globalization. This way, Ghosh reminds us that globalization is not a discovery of our own times, River of Smoke lands the reader in an ex era of globalization across oceans and rivers, where people of various cultures, customs and languages meet to do business and get transformed in many ways. As far as ‘Indian Writing in English’ is concerned,

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Daisy, Ph.D. Amitav Ghosh’s River of Smoke - A Tribute to an Ex-Era of Globalization

the book may be seen as a particularly significant instance of the novel ‘mutating from the postcolonial into global’. (Rollanson) ================================================================= Works Cited 

Chatterjee Madhusree, “Moving Beyond Mere Travellers’ Tales”, India News, 28 July 2011. http://twocircles.net/2011jul28/moving_beyond_mere_travellers_tales.html



Ghosh Amitav, River of Smoke, Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Books India, 2011 (All textual references are from this edition)



Rollanson, Christopher, “Apparently Unbridgeable Gaps of Language : Amitav Ghosh’s River of Smoke and an Emerging Global English?”, International Journal on Multicultural Literature, Vol.2, No. 1., Jan. 2012, P.8-14



Staff Reporter, Amitav Ghosh unveils his River of Smoke, The Hindu, New Delhi, July 2, 2011



The Shadow Links, Indian Express Jun 27, 2004 at 1605 hrs IST



Tharoor Shashi, “Amitav Ghosh’s River of Smoke: A History Reclaimed”, Lifestyle, July 10, 2011.



Untitled Books, Online Magazine, Interview: Amitav Ghosh, Issue 44, May 2012. http://www.untitledbooks.com/features/interviews/amitav-ghosh/



http://www.indianetzone.com/4/amitav_ghosh.htm



http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/21f/21f.027/opium_wars_01/ow1_essay.pdf

============================================================== Dr. Daisy Associate Prof. of English, BPSM Girls’ College BPS Women University Khanpur Kalan (Sonipat), Haryana-131305, India [emailprotected] Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Daisy, Ph.D. Amitav Ghosh’s River of Smoke - A Tribute to an Ex-Era of Globalization

The Washback Effect of Cloze and Multiple-Choice Tests on Vocabulary Acquisition Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate and Noraini Ibrahim- González, Ph.D. ======================================================= Abstract Despite attribution of varieties of terminologies by the linguistics scholars for washback effect, such as ‘backwash effect’ and ‘impact’, it is generally known as the effect of testing on teaching and learning, and is defined as “the relationship between teaching, learning and testing” (Tsagari, 2007). Researchers such as Oller (1972, 1979), Alderson (1978,1996), Shohamy (1993), Prodromou (1995), Baily (1996, 1999), Qi (2005), Saif (2006) and Tsagari (2007) in the scope of washback, and Nation (1990, 1993, 2001), Chapelle (1999), Read (2000), and Tseng and Schmitt (2008), in the vocabulary acquisition area, have highlighted that by achieving positive washback effect, learning and teaching are improved and facilitated. The present study fills in the gap in the scope of washback effect of test types on students’ vocabulary acquisition. The key research question for the present study was to seek any Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate and Noraini Ibrahim- González, Ph.D. The Washback Effect of Cloze and Multiple-Choice Tests on Vocabulary Acquisition

significant relationship between test types (cloze test type and multiple-choice test types) and the washback effect of each test type on the degree to which vocabulary was acquired. The survey was targeted to pursue the ongoing discussion over the washback effect on vocabulary acquisition. The appropriate method considered in the study was quantitative experimental using pretest- posttest design. The results gained through data analysis, finally suggested that cloze tests, in contrast to multiple-choice tests, led to a better acquisition of vocabulary in the process of language learning, i.e. productive vocabulary learning, which is the ultimate aim of every vocabulary learning project (Nation, 2001). The findings of the study imply that further attention should be paid to tailoring cloze test by teachers, syllabus designers and test developers. Key words: cloze test, multiple choice test, washback, vocabulary acquisition 1. INTRODUCTION Many studies in language testing have surveyed the effect of tests on learning and testing – the so-called washback effect (Wall & Anderson, 1993) which all share a point that the role of washback must be considered effectively by test developers, in particular. “The washback effect of testing is primarily the influence of testing on training and learning. … The washback or backwash effect of testing is a well-documented academic phenomenon common to nearly all institutional learning processes” (Shawcross, 2006, pp.152-153). However, it is evident from the major works on washback that this complex phenomenon is more than simply the effect of a test on teaching and learning. It can be observed as the direct or indirect effect of examinations on teaching methods. According to Fulcher and Davidson (2007, p. 224) “the washback hypothesis seems to assume that teachers and learners do things they wouldn’t necessarily otherwise do because of the test”. Shohamy (1993) summarizes four key definitions that can be useful in illustrating what washback effect mean: 1. “Washback effect” refers to the impact that tests have on teaching and learning. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate and Noraini Ibrahim- González, Ph.D. The Washback Effect of Cloze and Multiple-Choice Tests on Vocabulary Acquisition

2. “Measurement driven instruction” refers to the notion that tests should drive learning. 3. “Curriculum alignment” focuses on the connection between testing and the teaching syllabus. 4. “Systematic validity” implies that the integration of tests into the educational system and the need to demonstrate that the introduction of a new test can improve learning (Baily, 1999, p. 3). Therefore, we might have “positive” or “negative” washback effects according to the impact of the tests conducted in classrooms. Some researchers also claim that a test’s validity should be measured by the degree to which it has a beneficial effect on teaching. The way in which test preparation can contribute rather than hinder learning, should be taken into consideration as an approach to promote assessment as learning or improving the learning process (Dann, 2003). On the other hand, students know vocabulary development is essential for them to learn English, but often they do not have a clear understanding of how to go about really learning vocabulary. Helping students understand how complex a task they are dealing with, giving them the tools to learn vocabulary effectively and preparing them to work with the words instead of simply handling fill-in-the-blank exercises or correcting a matching quiz can help them develop more systematic and effective ways of learning vocabulary. The present study attempts to apply methods which are in line with communicative language teaching and testing and activates the psycholinguistic potentiality of students’ language ability through integrative and functionalpragmatic tests (three types of cloze tests skipping multiple-choice cloze test type) versus discrete-point tests (multiple-choice test types). This occurs when providing them an opportunity to produce vocabulary in the cloze tests they take, rather than memorising or just matching the correct word from a list of offered options as it happens in most of the multiple-choice examinations. 2.1 Developments in Language Testing The dynamic of the applied linguistics in general and language testing in particular denotes the very fact that researchers have to be definitely aware of the most recent developments and advancements of the field specifically in the realm of English Language Teaching. Furthermore, Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate and Noraini Ibrahim- González, Ph.D. The Washback Effect of Cloze and Multiple-Choice Tests on Vocabulary Acquisition 73

conceptions of learning have been found to differ in various settings, and even the same strategy might be implemented in different ways within different educational situations. An important starting point for specifying intended test use is to clarify who uses the test-based information. In many language programs, teachers are the primary users of such information, because they are typically faced with making decisions and taking actions within the classroom on a daily basis. However, it is important not to overlook others who may use tests to make decisions or take actions. This list may include students, students’ families, school administrators, curriculum planners, funding agencies, future employers, and university admissions officers. As we need to specify what information testing instruments and procedures should give us, we also need to make explicit exactly what purposes we have for using tests. Once language tests are administered, the findings can be used for various decisions and actions. Each of the potential users will naturally have particular reasons for tailoring the information provided by tests, and they may require very different kinds of information from a test. Farhady, Jafarpour, and Birjandi (2006, p. 164) classify testing trends with reference to psychology, linguistics, teaching, and testing with respect to the interconnected methods and approaches in addition to the subject matter (Figure 1.) Figure 1 Classification of Testing Trends with Reference to Their Inception Psychology

Linguistic

Teaching

Testing

………….

Traditional

Behaviorism

Structuralism

Audio-lingualism

Discrete-point

Cognitivism

Generativism

Cognitive-code

Integrative

Psycholinguistic

Pragmatic

Functional-Notional

Functional-pragmatic

Grammar-translation

Farhady, Jafarpour, Birjandi (2006). Testing Language Skills from Theory to Practice. SAMT Publications. (page164).

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate and Noraini Ibrahim- González, Ph.D. The Washback Effect of Cloze and Multiple-Choice Tests on Vocabulary Acquisition

Read’s (2000), Nation’s (1990, 1993, 2001), and Schmitt’s (1999, 2000) researches on vocabulary acquisition constitute the foundations for this study. 2.2 Research on washback effect It is well understood that among the pervasive terminologies for washback, it is considered as a significant criterion in every language test development and evaluation. Oller (1979) states that the significant characteristics of a well-developed and “good” test are reliability, practicality, validity and instructional value. The last feature is what scholars deem as “washback effect”. Baily (1999) proposes that positive washback effect is recognised as one of the main criteria for evaluating language tests. Hughes (1994) also admits that positive or beneficial washback effect leads finally to the improvement of learning the construct which is being measured. Other researchers like Buck (1988), Pierce (1992), Shohamy (1993, 2000), Prodromou’ (1995), Bachman and Palmer (1996), and Qi (2005), have conducted studies on washback or the impact of a test on classroom pedagogy curriculum development and educational policy. Works of scholars such as Svalberg (2007), in the scope of language awareness and Tseng and Schmitt (2008) on motivated vocabulary learning are some other contributions in our research on washback, impact, backwash, and motivated learning. Also Oller and Inan (1971), Brown (1983), Chapelle (1994), and Eckes and Grotjahn (2006) have all investigated the use of a cloze or a quasi-cloze instructional procedure and their effects on vocabulary development and reading comprehension. Oller (1979), an advocate of cloze tests, states that the test-takers can fill in the blanks if they could have an understanding of contextual clues in other sentences or paragraphs. Osterlind (2002) in his study of multiple-choice formats of test types numerates the negative aspects of such tests, stipulating inhibition of the examinees from expressing creativity or demonstrating original and imaginative thinking. Discrete-point tests have been questioned for their lack of capability to test proficiency. 2.3 Vocabulary Acquisition Most inquiries in the scope of vocabulary acquisition have focused widely on vocabulary or “what” of vocabulary acquisition rather than its “how”, in the linguistics tradition. Development Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate and Noraini Ibrahim- González, Ph.D. The Washback Effect of Cloze and Multiple-Choice Tests on Vocabulary Acquisition

of lexical knowledge is now regarded by both teachers and researchers as pivotal in learning a language, and thus vocabulary tests are being used for a wide range of purposes. Those scholars who treat vocabulary as a separate construct tend to use tests that fit comfortably within the psychometric-structural tradition in language testing assessing knowledge of content words with relatively decontextualised item types like multiple-choice , word-matching, and the checklists (Chapelle, 1994). Contrary to the language learning strategy definition, vocabulary acquisition adopts a primarily top-down approach. Enough attention should be paid in including sentences that can be used for vocabulary development and communication activities. 2.3.1 Productive Vocabulary Knowing a lot of words or forms of a word, does not mean proficiency in a foreign language, rather it is the ability to benefit that knowledge for different goals of communication influentially. Most researchers are in agreement that there is a substantial difference in how various lexical items are mastered in relation to the ability to use the words in comprehension and production. As pointed out by Harley (1995), various types of receptive and productive vocabularies put different demands on the learner, in terms of words knowledge and retrieval. Hence, it is widely accepted that there is a continuum between receptive and productive vocabulary. It is rather unclear where one would have to draw such a dividing line between reception and production. Nation (1990) asserts that productive knowledge includes and extends receptive knowledge. Receptive-response items such as multiple-choice items, measure the receptive level of the vocabulary knowledge, while productive-response items such as cloze tests are estimations of the active vocabulary. Active vocabulary means the vocabulary’s productive and communicative use in the real contexts (Harley, 1995). 2.4 Washback Shohamy (1993a, p.4) summarizes four key definitions that can be useful in getting the concept of washback effect, among which washback effect is defined as “the impact that tests has on teaching and learning”.

Bachman and Palmer (1996) claim that washback is a more complex phenomenon than simply the influence that a test has on teaching and learning. Also Pierce (1992, p. 687) calls “the impact of a test on classroom pedagogy, curriculum development, and educational policy”, the systematic validity or washback effect of a test. Oller (1979) considers washback as one of the main characteristics of a good test. Also, “‘Positive’ or ‘beneficial’ washback effect ultimately leads to the improvement of learning the construct which is being measured” (Hughes, 1993, pp. 44-47). In this study, the way test preparation can contribute to learning, not hindering it, is considered to improve the vocabulary learning process (Dann (2003, p.14). This test preparation is considered as the washback effect in the present study. 2.5 Cloze Test In a shift away from decontextualised discrete-point tests in the 1990s, cloze procedure received a great deal of attention. Although it might be perceived that cloze tests’ heyday in testing skills was long time ago, it is still a favorable testing approach for many researchers. Read (2000, p. 101) states that “it is true that the cloze has never been seen primarily as a lexical measure, but presumably, test-takers need to draw strongly on their vocabulary knowledge in making their responses”. Recent attempts to highlight the significance of the cloze tests through the major investigations have opened the way for the researchers to discover more about cloze test type as a productive test type. 2.5.1 Cloze Types Farhady, Jafarpour, and Birjandi (2006) define cloze test as “a passage of appropriate difficulty (determined by readability formulas), and of appropriate length (220-250) with every seventh word deleted” should fit its applicability the best (p. 281). According to Read (2000), rational (selective-deletion), standard cloze, multiple-choice cloze, and C-test are four different types of a cloze test. In the present investigation, as we surveyed the productive side of vocabulary acquisition procedures, the multiple-choice cloze test type was skipped, because it was deemed as an Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate and Noraini Ibrahim- González, Ph.D. The Washback Effect of Cloze and Multiple-Choice Tests on Vocabulary Acquisition

estimation of receptive vocabulary. Furthermore, multiple-choice cloze format has the effect of reducing the range of possibilities for a content word item which presumably makes it easier to respond to, as the presence of distracters in each item changes the nature of the task. Therefore, rational, standard, and C-tests applying “exact word method”, only one possible word for a blank, were tailored. The correct answer receives 1(one) and the incorrect answer gets 0 (zero) in every question. 2.6 Multiple-Choice Test (m-c) The m-c item format accompanies an item with a stem sentence or phrase that raises a problem or question, followed by two to five responsive alternatives, one of which suitably responses to the stem (Osterlind, 2002). It offers more “flexibility” for assessing a diversity of content and psychological processes that is rarely achieved through other formats and is widely used in standard tests. As Read (2000) proposes, a multiple-choice vocabulary test type which is carefully designed can be very distinguishing among students about their level of vocabulary knowledge. The weakest point of m-c tests, being a part of the present study, is that they prescribe examinees merely to have one choice from a range of three or four alternatives. According to Read (2000), the m-c format inhibits examinees from expressing creativity, and demonstrating original and imaginative thinking. Although such denunciations of multiplechoice test format are not fully accepted, the vulgarization done by multiple-choice type has been proved by many scholars.

Linguistic Approaches to Learning

Psychological Approaches to Learning

Washback Effect Operational Techniques to Testing

Pedagogical Methodologies to Teaching

Individual Education Society

Figure2. Schematic representation of washback and its relationship with the related disciplines (retrieved from Shakeri, 2007, p. 58.) 3. METHOD AND CONTEXT OF THE STUDY

The study conducted in our data was based on two parts. One was the bio-data collected from the students, personal and educational characteristics, and the other was the main data we needed to apply the research question and hypothesis on it, i.e. the students’ performances represented by the scores they receive. The bio-data led us to two nearly similar groups in terms of their members’ educational and personal characteristics. The other part of data, containing the scores attained via the statistics, was used to approve/ disapprove the research hypothesis. 3.1 Materials and processes Materials were selected from TOEFL Practice Tests. To avoid any subjective interference by the examiners, assessment items in cloze tests were considered as objective as possible by implementing the exact word method of scoring. Therefore, there would be no room for the raters’ different possible judgments. Tests implemented in this study were of two types, cloze and multiple-choice. Cloze tests included three types of previously mentioned cloze formats, i.e., and the ‘productive-response’ types (See Section 2.5.1). To assure maximum validity, the multiple-choice cloze test type was skipped in this study because of its probably different function. There were 15 questions in every test of cloze and multiple-choice. To allocate a balanced size for each type of productive-response cloze test types, 5 questions were allocated for each type in the cloze exam. In fact, test implementation occurred 4 times, as we pretested and post tested cloze and multiple-choice formats on the groups of A (control) and B (experimental), with different questions at the same level of difficulty. It was also tried to use different word forms as the aim of the study is investigating vocabulary. 3.2 Dependent Variable The dependent variable is what is affected by the independent variable, our outcomes or effects. In this investigation, the dependent variable was the degree of vocabulary acquisition 3.3 Independent Variables Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate and Noraini Ibrahim- González, Ph.D. The Washback Effect of Cloze and Multiple-Choice Tests on Vocabulary Acquisition

The independent variable is what we manipulate, a treatment or program or cause. The independent variable in our study was test types of cloze and multiple-choice format. 3.4 Research Hypothesis Test types, whether cloze or multiple-choice, have positive or negative washback effect on the degree of vocabulary acquisition. In this study other variables like intervening variables, control variable, moderator variables, etc, were equaled to zero. 3.5 Sampling Our participants were 30 freshmen students selected randomly out of a class of 65 students majoring in English Language Teaching course in B.A in Islamic Azad University of Sarab in Iran. They were divided into two groups of 15 members. Most of the participants, excluding 4, had Turkish as their mother tongue, and the others were Persian-speaking. I tried to put them equally, two in one group and the other three in the other group to have a balanced status. The criterion for placing the students in each group was their proficiency level based on their averages from the first term, to the extent that we could have close means for every group consisting of 15 members. Also I tried to provide an equal condition for the members of both groups. Some considerations like left or right-handedness, personal interests in the subject matter, the social status, etc., were given prominence, in spite of the fact that in could not have been done in a definite way. 3.6 Procedure I presented the materials (vocabulary) in every session explicitly, through teaching the vocabularies, and implicitly, via letting them practice and learn how to manage to deal with vocabulary, to make sure that the participants would have an equal chance to learn the vocabulary range to be assessed. In other words by explicit, it is meant the obvious presentation of vocabulary lists over the sessions and by implicit the vocabulary learning process through test types of multiple-choice and cloze for the experimental and control groups. Sessions were held 6 Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate and Noraini Ibrahim- González, Ph.D. The Washback Effect of Cloze and Multiple-Choice Tests on Vocabulary Acquisition

times, within 3 weeks, i.e., two sessions per week. Practice with test types in the class was another contributing factor in line with the procedure to see the effect of the test types surveyed. 3.7 Design The design for this investigation was experimental using pretest, posttest technique with dependent and independent variables control and experimental groups. The group A was regarded as control group, and the other as experimental. 3.7.1 Exact Word Method (EWM) Scoring a cloze test necessitates the tester to decide on what constitutes the correct answer. Doing so, there are various types of scoring a cloze procedure among which, the exact word method, acceptable word method, and weighed response method are the most current types (Farhady, Jafarpour, Birjandi, 2006, pp. 287-289). Only the originally omitted words were considered correct answers for the cloze tests for this study. In other words, the test-takers responses were regarded as right only if the words were completely written in the provided blanks in their complete form (EWM). Using this method in scoring cloze tests, every correct responses receives one (1) and the responses other than the previously intended words receive zero (0) for their implementation in the prospective formulas. In spite of the fact that this type of scoring cloze tests has been criticized for some reasons like its putting too much pressure on the testee to the put the original words in the blanks, and that it confines the test-taker to act in a limited scope and hinders his or her creativity in producing some other possible suitable words, the “objectivity” gained would be improved to the maximum. In other words, there would be no room for different judgments and the same correct response is considered by different raters. 4. ANALYSIS AND RESULTS 4.1 Inferential Statistics

Inferential statistics investigate questions, models and hypotheses. In many cases, the conclusions from inferential statistics extend beyond the immediate data alone. Inferential statistics is taken into account in this study to make inferences from our data to more general conditions, i.e. what the research population thinks or how they perform. Having given the pretests and posttests of cloze and m-c the following raw data were gained. Multiple-choice tests were carried out on group A, as the control group, and the cloze tests on group B, the experimental group. Since such data is not meaningful by itself, we processed the statistical procedures to make it interpretable. Frequency, i.e. the number of the times a score occurs, relative frequency , i.e. the relation of a score to other scores is calculated, cumulative frequency, i.e. the position of every score within a band of scores, and finally percentile rank were calculated. As stated by Farhady, Birjandi, Jafarpour, 2006, p. 46, the “relative frequency” is calculated by dividing the frequency by the number of scores. On the other hand the cumulative frequency is calculated by summing up the frequency of the successive scores from the bottom. If the cumulative frequency is divided by the number of the students, the required percentile rank is achieved. 4.3. Variance and Standard Deviation Standard deviation tells us about the degree of dispersion of scores in a distribution by comparing the standard deviation of different groups, i.e. hom*ogeneity. It is the most reliable statistical measurement for the present investigation. To calculate the variance of the scores and standard deviation, there are a number of ways which each uses different formulae. For the present study, Farhady, Birjandi, Jafarpour’ formula (2006) was used:

2 Variance =∑D ÷ (N-1) Standard deviation=√variance the mean of the numbers (ā), subtractions of the mean from each number (a-ā) and its squared, i.e. D2= (a-ā)2 and the sum of the average for D2 as variance of the scores were calculated. The

square root of the variance is the standard deviation of the numbers. Tables1 shows the variance and standard deviation for each set of scores on pretests and posttests for the two groups. Variance for Variance for group Variance for group B’s Variance for group B’s group A’s pretest A’s posttest scores, pretest scores, posttest scores, scores, (V2)=2.4 (V3)=2.58 (V4)=2.04 (V1)=4.72 Standard Standard deviation of Standard deviation of Standard deviation of deviation of posttest scores in pretest scores in group posttest scores in group B pretest scores in group A (S2)=1.42 B (S4)=1.42 group A (S3)=1.60 (S1)=2.17 Table1. Representations of the variances and standard deviations for pretest and post-test in groups A and B. To interpret the table, variation of scores in control group, i.e. group A and experimental group, i.e. group B were calculated. The variance of the scores in group A is; V (A) = 4.72-2.4=2.32 The variance of the scores in group B is; V (B) = 2.58-2.04=0.54 Therefore, the consequences showed that there is a greater degree of variation between the scores of pretest and posttest in group A in contrast to the group B’s. In other words, those who took cloze tests, participants in group B, attributed consistent perspectives, i.e. the degree of vocabulary acquisition after the administration of cloze test tended to increase. It denoted the higher degree of vocabulary acquisition in group B. 4.4 Correlation Coefficient The correlation coefficient among the items of a test is one of the most common and most useful statistics to evaluate the reliability of that particular test. A correlation is a single number that describes the degree of relationship between two variables. To calculate correlation between the sets of scores, Karl Pearson’s formula was used for the present study:

r=[N(ΣXY)-(ΣX)(ΣY)]÷√[N(ΣX2)-(ΣX)2][ N (ΣY2)-( ΣY2) ] X: one set of scores (pretest) Y: the other set of scores (posttest) N: the number of pairs of scores The correlation for each group can be gained for each group. So, rA =0.679 rB =0.953 These figures and their meanings are illustrated in the following sections 4.5 and 5.1. 4.5 Results As a matter of fact that our calculations were all based on objective scoring which leave no room for subjective judgments and that every correct or incorrect response receive one or zero respectively, by calculating the correlation of the sets of the scores for the two groups it is observed that there is a higher degree of reliability for the scores in group B evaluated by cloze tests, than in group A. The correlation coefficient of 0.95 which is very close to 1 represents that there is a strongly positive and higher reliability between the two (pretest and posttest) sets of scores in group B than A. As this conclusion was the result of implementing the methodology including implicit and explicit teaching of vocabulary equally for the two groups simultaneously and involving them in the processes, via teaching and also practice with those types of tests, the consequence would be that there is a positive washback effect of the cloze tests on the degree to which participants are engaged in vocabulary acquisition. In other words, with the experimentation’s consequences attained through this investigation, it was concluded that the positive washback effect of such cloze tests expressed that students would acquire vocabulary effectively, productive vocabulary in particular. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate and Noraini Ibrahim- González, Ph.D. The Washback Effect of Cloze and Multiple-Choice Tests on Vocabulary Acquisition

In a nutshell, although the main purpose for doing this research was to seek the possibly positive washback effect of cloze tests on vocabulary acquisition in comparison to multiple-choice tests, other possibly contributing consequences accompanied the major goal of the investigation elaborated (See section 5). 5. CONCLUSION AND PEDOGOCICAL IMPLICATIONS 5.1 Conclusions The study sought pupils’ level of learning and development, in ways which they can further and advance in vocabulary learning. The first conclusion drawn from this investigation is that retesting has a positive washback effect because of the decreasing ratio of the variances after each posttest is employed. In this regard, the possible effect of repeating tests was taken into consideration, as I used different tests for each group both in pretests and posttest exams to avoid this problem. Secondly, cloze tests had a more positive washback effect on vocabulary acquisition than the multiple-choice counterpart. The consistency of the scores in the experimental group (group B) denoted the fact that the participants’ performances on cloze tests have been influenced by the methodology. In other words, cloze tests types lead to an advancement and improvement in the process of the vocabulary acquisition than the multiple-choice formats. By “positive” or “negative” The participants’ performances were targeted. The high correlation coefficient gained through the scores consistency for cloze test type ratified this claim. Furthermore, as vocabulary is connected with grammar, familiarity with grammatical patterns helps the reader guess the meaning of words. Although some might argue that the level of vocabularies specified for the investigation is not definite and one cannot conceive a strict boundary for the presented vocabulary knowledge to be regarded as advanced or intermediate, the significant point is that the minimum is taken into consideration in this study. In other words, the mentioned freshmen are supposed to be doing “fine” in high intermediate at least! As the fourth conclusion, it was observed in this study that productive vocabulary learning was easily achieved through taking advantage of the three types of the cloze test formats mentioned. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate and Noraini Ibrahim- González, Ph.D. The Washback Effect of Cloze and Multiple-Choice Tests on Vocabulary Acquisition

Further investigations might help in this scope in a near future. It is also necessary to take this issue into consideration that understanding the meaning of an unknown word is not the same as remembering/ memorising that meaning (Joe, 1996). Although the learner may discover the meaning through the written context through the explanation of other members of the group, this is no guarantee that the word and its meaning will be remembered. Allowing students to activate what they have in their mind without seeing the possible responses as in multiple-choice items, help them in terms of creativity or productivity, as most of the scholars of the field like Nation (2000) mentioned. This can apply in the Iranian educational context of learning, in which students are more accustomed to deductive approaches of learning, particularly in foreign language learning. Although most of the student-participants of the project didn’t seem to be satisfied with taking cloze tests, possibly because of the creativity and productivity those tests demanded, a change of attitude towards the tests was observed at the end of the project. Thus, it is not suggested that this particular method - using cloze tests solely - is in any sense a final solution to the difficulties of teaching vocabulary for EFL students. In other words, taking advantage of multiple-choice cloze tests or other multiple-choice tests is not discouraged in this investigation as they might be the most convenient and appropriate tests for measuring different factors of language proficiency in most of the cases, and because it can be safe to conclude that the kind of text processing required by multiple-choice cloze items is more holistic in nature than current linguistic analyses might suggest. 5.2 Implications In spite of the fact that this investigation has been carried out on freshmen students of English language teaching majoring in B.A. level, who might be more acquainted with such tests of cloze format, the results are at least applicable to intermediate and advanced students. The consequences observed in this research denote that by implementing and applying more and more cloze tests, specially in the scope of vocabulary teaching and learning, administrators, test developers and even teachers would let the students acquire vocabulary, and productive Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate and Noraini Ibrahim- González, Ph.D. The Washback Effect of Cloze and Multiple-Choice Tests on Vocabulary Acquisition

vocabulary in particular, beneficially. Additionally, training students to infer meaning from context gives them a powerful aid to comprehension and will speed up their reading. With the inclusion of more and more cloze tests in the process of learning, teaching, and testing by the test designers, teachers, and administrators and a movement towards a context-oriented testing an advancement is observed in the procedure of vocabulary acquisition. Although, there is always a negative attitude towards cloze tests from the test-takers sides mostly because of the productivity that those tests demand and some might consider it a negative washback effect, the approval of this issue by those administrations, test designers and even teachers can stir language learning procedure and vocabulary acquisition in particular, towards an ever-proceeding progress and lead to the content of the test-takers at last. Hence, inclusion of cloze tests does not mean neglecting the multiple-choice tests. It is possible to have both techniques simultaneously and in a way that the scoring procedure remains objective. Furthermore, there is no why for not including such tests in criterion-referenced and normreferenced tests with large samples or participants, if we could make the scoring of those tests as objective as possible. That is why most of the international language testing administrations, like TOEFL, and IELTS are inserting more and more cloze tests and other components which demand productivity. In other words, by taking advantage of such tests, vocabulary tests in this study, and the contributing washback effect they bring about, we move towards a more communicative-oriented language learning procedure. Thus, if testing explores to signify the level of the test-takers’ progress and developments in learning in ways which will more contribute to their advancement, pupils require to be cognizant of the process and understand what is going on in the learning and teaching procedures. The need for further research in the realm of the pupils’ motivation is perceptible. Additionally, tests and examinations are closely associated with learners’ minds and anxiety, as in educational terms, anxiety is a major obstacle to learning. This can be considered as a gap for the other researchers to fill. Oller (1972, p.323) states: “If the teacher chooses to use devices such as cloze tests and dictations both as teaching and testing techniques, some important questions need to be dealt Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate and Noraini Ibrahim- González, Ph.D. The Washback Effect of Cloze and Multiple-Choice Tests on Vocabulary Acquisition 87

with. What is the effect of repeated practice in taking dictation? What is the effect of repeated practice in taking cloze tests?” Answer to questions like these are not easily and definitely achieved by a research like this, but it was attempted to at least to pave the way for the students, teachers, test-designers, administrators, and researchers. ============================================================== References Alderson , J .C . and Wall, D. (1993). Does washback exist? Apllied Linguistics 14-2. Oxford: OUP. Backman, L.F. (2000). Modern language testing at the turn of the century: assuring that what we count counts. Language Testing. 17(1) 1-42. Bachman, L. & Palmer, A. (1996). Language testing in practice. Oxford: OUP. Baily, K. M. (1996). Working for washback. A review of the washback concept in language testing. Language Testing. 13(3).257-279. Baily, K. M. (1999). Washback in language testing. TOEFL Monograph Series. Report no: RM 99-44, TOEFL-MS.-15. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service. Baker, D. (1989). Language Testing: a critical survey and practical guide. London: Blackwell. Brown, J.D. (1983). A closer look at cloze: validity and reliability. In Oller,J.W. Jr. editor, Issues in language testing research. Rowley, MA: Newbury House, 237–50. Brown, A. (1995). The effect of rater variables in the development of an occupation-specific language performance test. Language Testing 12, 1–15. Chapelle, C. (1994). Are C-tests valid measures for L2 vocabulary research? Second Language Research 10, 157–87. Chapelle, C., (1999). Validity in Language Assessment. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 19, (1).1-19. Cooper, R. (1970). What do we learn when we learn a language? TESOL Quarterly. 4, 4-15. Dann, R. (2002). Promoting assessment as learning: Improving the learning process. Routledge Publications. London, UK. Eckes, T. Grotjahn, R. (2006).A closer look at the construct validity of C-tests. Language Testing .23(3)-290-325. U.K.:Edward Arnold Publications. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate and Noraini Ibrahim- González, Ph.D. The Washback Effect of Cloze and Multiple-Choice Tests on Vocabulary Acquisition

Farhady, H. (1982): Measures of language proficiency from the learner’s perspective. TESOL Quarterly 16, 43–59. Farhady, H. Jafarpour, A. Birjandi, P. (2006). Testing language skills. Tehran: SAMT publications. Fulcher, D. & Davidson, G.(2007). Language testing and assessment: An advanced resource book.USA: Routledge Publications. Harley, B., editor, (1995): Lexical issues in language learning. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Harmer, J. (2001). The practice of English language teaching. England: Longman. Harris.D.P.( 1969). Testing English as a second language. New York: McGraw-Hill. Hatch, E. & Farhady, H. (1982). Research design and statistics for applied linguistics. Rowely Mass : Newbury House Hughes, A. (1994), Backwash and TOEFL 2000. Unpublished manuscript commissioned by educational testing service( ETS). University of Reading. Hughes, A. (2003). Testing for language teacher. Cambridge: CUP. Joe, A. (1996).Vocabulary learning and speaking activities. TESL EJ, Vol. 34. No. 1. Nation, P. (1990).Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. Newbury House Publishers, NY. Nation, P. (1993): Using dictionaries to estimate vocabulary size: essential, but rarely followed, procedures. Language Testing 10, 27–40. Nation, I.S.P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nunan, D. (2003). Second language teaching and learning. USA: Heinle & Heinle Publishers. Oller, J. W. Jr. (1972). Assessing competence in ESL: reading. TESOL QUARTERLY.6, 25-35. Oller, J. W. Jr. (1979). Language tests at schools. London: Longman. Oller,W. Jr. and Inan, N. (1971). A cloze test of English proposition . TESOL QUARTERLY 18,123-156. Osterlind, J. Steven. (2002). Constructing test items: multiple-choice, constructed response, and other formats.USA: Kluwer Academic Publishers. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate and Noraini Ibrahim- González, Ph.D. The Washback Effect of Cloze and Multiple-Choice Tests on Vocabulary Acquisition

Pearson, I. (1988). Tests as Levers for Change. In D. Chamberlain & R. J. Baumgardner (Eds.), ESP in the Classroom: Practice and Evaluation. ELT Documents Volume 128 (pp. 98107). London: Modern English Publications. Pierce, B. N. (1992). Demystifying the TOEFL reading test. TESOL Quarterly 26(4), 665-691. Porter, D. (1991). Affective factors in language testing. In Alderson, J.C. and North, B., editors, Language testing in the 1990s: the communicative legacy, London: Macmillan. Prodromou, L. (1995). The washback effect: from testing to teaching. ELT Journal. 49, 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Qi, L. (2005). Stakeholders’ conflicting aims undermine the washback functions of a high stakes test. Language Testing. 22(2), 142-173. Read, J. (1988): Measuring the vocabulary knowledge of second language learners. RELC Journal 19, 12–25. Read, J. (2000). Assessing vocabulary. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. Read, J. &Chapelle. A. (2001). A framework for second language vocabulary assessment. Language Testing. 18(1), 1-32. Richards, J.C. (1976). The role of vocabulary teaching. TESOL Quarterly .10, 77–89. Saif, S. (1999). Theoretical and empirical considerations in investigating washback: A study of ESL/EFL learners. Doctoral Dissertation. University of Victoria. Saif, S. (2006). Aiming for positive washback: A case study of international teaching assistants. Language Testing.23(1),1-34. Schmitt, N. (1999). The relationship between TOEFL vocabulary items and meaning, association, collocation and word-class knowledge. Language Testing 16, 189-216. Schmitt, N. (2000). Vocabulary in language teaching. Cambridge: CUP. Schmitt, N. & Tseng, W. (2008). Towards a model of motivated vocabulary learning: A structural equation modeling approach. Language Learning, 58(2).357-400.. Shakeri, A. (2007). The washback effect of discrete-point and integrative tests on retention. M.A. Dissertation. Azerbaijan University of Iran. Shawcross, P. (2006). What do you mean by ‘washback effect’ of testing? Language Testing 13,152-175. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate and Noraini Ibrahim- González, Ph.D. The Washback Effect of Cloze and Multiple-Choice Tests on Vocabulary Acquisition 90

Shohamy, E. (1993). The Power of Test: The Impact of Language Testing on Teaching and Learning. National Foreign Language Center Occasional Papers. Washington, DC: National Foreign Language Center. Shohamy, E. (2000). The relationship between language testing and second language acquisition, revisited .Elsevier, 28.541-553. Svalberg, A. (2007). Language awareness and language learning. School of Education, University of Leicester, UK. Tsagari, D. (2007). Review of washback in language testing: How has been done? What more needs doing? Lancaster University: UK. Tseng, W. T. & Schmitt, N. (2008). Towards a model of motivated vocabulary learning: a structural equation modeling approach. Language Learning, 58(2), pp. 357-400 Wall, D. & Alderson, C. (1993). Examining washback. The Sri Lankan impact study. Language Testing, 10(1), 41_69. Zohrabi, M. & Farrokhi, F. (2006). A dictionary of research terms in applied linguistics. Tabriz: Mehr Iman Pubications.

======================================================= Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate in Translation Studies Section of Malay Language, Translation and Interpreting School of Humanities Universiti Sains Malaysia Penang, Malaysia [emailprotected] Noraini Ibrahim-González Senior Lecturer in Interpreting Freelance Malay-English-Spanish Court Interpreter Section of Malay Language, Translation and Interpreting School of Humanities Universiti Sains Malaysia Penang, Malaysia. [emailprotected]

Numerals in Thadou Elizabeth Lamkhovah Haokip, Ph.D. Scholar

Abstract An attempt is made here to study the numerals used in Thadou, which is spoken in Chandel and other districts of Manipur. Numbers are an integral part of a language. Thadou has a seven number system: cardinals, ordinals, aggregative, multiplicative, fractional, distributive and approximate numerals. The numbers from one to ten are the basic numerals that are used for the formation of higher numerals either by means of addition or multiplication. Introduction Thadou is one of the major tribes in Manipur. Of the total STs in Manipur, Thadou is the largest with 1.8 lakh population representing 24.6 per cent of the state’s total ST population as per Census of Manipur 2001. The language spoken by this people is known as Thadou language. They are mainly found in the hill districts of Manipur namely, Churachanpur, Chandel, Senapati, Tamenglong and Ukhrul. Majority of the Kuki tribes (non-Nagas) know Thadou language. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Elizabeth Lamkhovah Haokip, Ph.D. Scholar Numerals in Thadou

Erstwhile civil and military officers of the British India, namely, John Stone (1896), Shaw (1929) and Parry (1932), wrote about the Kuki tribes including the Thadou, their origin, customs, language and social organizations. Most of the Kuki tribes, according to the above mentioned authors, trace their origin to a mysterious cave. The term Kuki has been used for Lushai, Lakher and some other tribes of the North Eastern region of India (Shakespear 1912; Parry 1932), they are divided into two groups, viz., Old Kuki and New Kuki. During the post-independence period, Thirumalai of Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore and Shree Krishna of Anthropological Survey of India (1980) have done a very good work on Thadou language. It has the potential of developing into a major language among the Kukis of Manipur.

The language and the people Thadou belongs to the Northern Kuki-Chin subgroups of the Tibeto Burman family and is one of the major recognized languages in Manipur. It has close affinities with many other languages of the Kuki-Chin groups like Paite, Gangte, Simte, Vaiphei, Zou, etc. The speakers of Thadou are widely scattered but mainly found in Manipur, Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and some parts of Burma

Number Number is a word or symbol used in a counting system or used to show the position or order of something. It is also a grammatical category, most often associated with nouns and pronouns, whose primary correlation is with the number of distinguishable entities.

In Thadou, numerals can be classified as follows. i. Cardinals ii. Ordinals iii. Aggregative numerals iv. Multiplicative numerals v. Fractional numerals vi. Distributive Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Elizabeth Lamkhovah Haokip, Ph.D. Scholar Numerals in Thadou

vii. Approximate Numerals

Cardinals According to David Crystal, Cardinal is a traditional term retained in some models of grammatical description, referring to the numerals one, two, etc., in contrast with the ordinal numbers first, second etc. The basic cardinal numerals of Thadou can be divided into two classes. They are: (i) Basic Cardinal numerals (ii) Compound Cardinal numerals

The basic cardinal numerals in Thadou are mono-morphemic and they are used to form the compound. The following are the cardinals of Thadou.

khət

‘one’

‘two’

thum

‘three’

‘four’

ŋa

‘five’

gup

‘six’

səgi

‘seven’

get

‘eight’

‘nine

som

‘ten’

In Thadou the cardinal numbers from ‘one’ to ‘nine’ are independent as well as basic numerals and the numbers from ‘eleven’ to ‘nineteen’ are formed with the combination of ‘ten’ plus the basic numeral .

Compound Cardinal numerals Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Elizabeth Lamkhovah Haokip, Ph.D. Scholar Numerals in Thadou

The compound cardinal numerals can be divided into two groups based on the formation methodology employed by the Thadou language. The two groups are: 1. Additive compound 2. Multiplicative compound 1. The additive compound numerals are formed by using the numeral ‘ten’ followed by the other basic numerals. In the following examples, /som/ stands for ‘ten’, /le/ ‘and’, and the final suffix is the basic numeral somlekhat

‘eleven’

somleni

‘twelve’

somlethum

‘thirteen’

somleli

‘fourteen’

somleŋa

‘fifteen’

somlegup

‘sixteen’

somlesəgi

‘eighteen’

somleko

‘nineteen’

2. The multiplicative compounds are those numerals in Thadou that are formed by multiplying the numeral ‘ten’ by other basic numerals up to ‘ninety’. For the formation of ‘hundred and beyond’, the numeral for hundred /za/ is suffixed by basic numerals. Examples are given below:

somni

‘twenty’

somthum

‘thirty’

somli

‘forty’

somŋa

‘fifty’

somgup

‘sixty’

somsəgi

‘seventy’

somget

‘eighty’

somko

‘ninety’

zakhət

‘one hundred

za ‘hundred’ Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Elizabeth Lamkhovah Haokip, Ph.D. Scholar Numerals in Thadou

zani

‘two hundred’

Ordinals Ordinal numerals are formed from the corresponding cardinal numerals by suffixing the lexical nominalizer nə.

khətnə

‘first’

ninə

‘second’

thumnə

‘third’

linə

‘fourth’

getnə

‘eighth’

zəkhətnə

‘hundredth’

Aggregative Numerals; This is formed by suffixing jouse ‘all’ to the base nouns.

cəpəŋjouse

‘all the children’

numeijouse

‘all the girls’

pəsəljouse

‘all the boys’

sajouse

‘all the animals’

mijouse

‘all human/ everybody’

Multiplicative/Enumerative The concept of twice, thrice, etc. in English are conveyed by suffixing vei to the base cardinal numbers.

khətvei

‘once’

nivei

‘twice’

thumvei

‘thrice’

livei

‘four times’

ŋəvei ‘five times’ Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Elizabeth Lamkhovah Haokip, Ph.D. Scholar Numerals in Thadou

gupvei

‘six times’

Fractional Numerals In the formation of fractional numerals the bigger number precedes the smaller number. hopniso hop khət

‘1/2’

hoplisohopni

‘2/4’

hopŋə laha hopthum ‘3/5’

Besides these there are also lexicalized fractional numerals. They are abon/apum

‘whole’

akeh

‘half’

nikeh

‘half day’

akim

‘mid’

jankim

‘midnight’

Distributive Numerals Distributives are formed by reduplicating the numerals and followed by morpheme in and ceh as in the following. khət khət in

one by one

li li in

four by four

ni ni ceh

two each

gup gup ceh

six each

Approximative Numerals; ‘About x-numerals’ is said in Thadou by using /təbəŋ/ miŋətəbəŋ

‘about five people’

lekhəlitəbəŋ

‘about four book’

insomtəbəŋ

‘about ten houses’

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Elizabeth Lamkhovah Haokip, Ph.D. Scholar Numerals in Thadou

Conclusion From the above discussion it is observed that Thadou has a neat pattern of number system. Seven types of number system can be identified in Thadou. In Thadou, the cardinal numbers from ‘one’ to ‘nine’ are independent and can be called the basic numerals. The numbers from ‘eleven’ to ‘nineteen’ are formed with the combination of ‘ten’ plus the other basic numerals. The numbers like ‘twenty’ to ‘ninety’ are formed by multiplication of som which stands for ‘ten’ by other basic numerals. =================================================================== Colophon I am grateful to Prof. Ajit Kumar Baishya, Professor, Department of Linguistics, Assam, University, Silchar for his valuable suggestions and guidance to improve this paper. ================================================================== For Futher Reading on Thadou Grierson, G.A 1904.Linguistic Survey of India.Tibeto Burman Family Kuki Chin and Burma groups. New Delhi: Motilal Banarasidas. Hyman, with Haokip. T. (2004). Kuki-Thaadow grammar (draft) Kishan, S.1980.Thadou: A grammatical Sketch. Calcutta: Anthropological Survey of India Parry, N.E. 1932. The Lakhers, Macmillan and Co.Ltd. London. Shaw, William.1929. Notes on the Thado Kuki (ed. By J. H. Hutton) Govt. of Assam, Shillong. Shakespear, Lt. Col. J. 1912.The Lushai Kuki Clans, Macmillan and co. London Singh, Y.CH. 2000. Manipuri Grammar. Rajesh Publication, New Delhi. Stewart, R. 1978. A slight notice of grammar of Thadou. Manipur: Hill printing. Thirumalai, M. S. 1972.Thadou Phonetic Reader. Mysore, CIIL Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Elizabeth Lamkhovah Haokip, Ph.D. Scholar Numerals in Thadou

======================================================== Elizabeth Lamkhovah Haokip Linguistics Department Assam University Silchar 788011 Assam India [emailprotected]

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Elizabeth Lamkhovah Haokip, Ph.D. Scholar Numerals in Thadou

Teacher and Learner in Humanistic Language Teaching Davoud Amini, Ph.D. Candidate & Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate ================================================================== Abstract Since ‘the development of whole person’ was brought to the focus of attention by humanist psychologists as a central concern in educational theory, affective variables have been assumed to have a significant share in the learning process that goes on in a pedagogical setting. Meanwhile, the process of second language development, because of the very nature of language as a vehicle for communication, is immensely influenced by socio-affective variables. In an instructional setting, on the other hand, emotional factors are clearly manifested in what goes on between the teacher and learners. As a result, the way the affective dimension of teacher-learner interactions is handled can predict, to a large extent, the effectiveness of interactional activities in second language classes. In this paper, having reviewed the learner-teacher relationship in methodologies that were particularly based on humanistic language teaching, I will argue, following Kumaravadivelu’s post-method pedagogy, that humanistic handling of the instructional situation by the teacher, Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Davoud Amini, Ph.D. Candidate & Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate Teacher and Learner in Humanistic Language Teaching 100

beyond any methodological considerations, pledges a more positive atmosphere and better chances of language acquisition as a consequence. A set of guidelines are proposed to ascertain a humanistic relationship between teacher and learners in a language class. Key words: Humanistic Language Teaching, affective variables, second language acquisition, teacher-learner relationship Introduction From the class management point of view, a teacher’s position in the class can range from authoritarian to laissez-faire and even indifferent. However, teacher-learner interaction is not relevant to disciplinary issues only. It is a central issue in the learning process. Hedge (2000) quotes an unpublished research concerning teachers’ assessment of their role in the classroom. Facilitator of learning, source of advice, source of expertise, management, caring and sharing roles were among the ones receiving the highest approval among the teachers, respectively. Whatever terminology is used in talking about teachers’ role, one point is assumed as certain; the traditional image of teacher as the paragon of wisdom and the authority in the group is not acceptable anymore. Teacher and learners’ attitudes, expectations and beliefs concerning each other, themselves, pedagogical setting and classroom activities are so important for education that the whole instructional procedure is sometimes defined in terms of what goes on between the teacher and the learners. So the success or failure of a language teaching program relies to a large extent on the teacher-learner relationship. Meanwhile, humanistic language teaching, due to its unique emphasis on learner autonomy and affective factors is more sensitive to LTR (learner-teacher relationship). Fundamental principles of humanism such as ‘development of the whole person’ and ‘self-actualization’ (Rogers, 1961, Stevick, 1990) will not occur unless the teacher and learners are mentally tuned to the requirements of a humanistic language class which ought to be reflected in their attitudes and behavior. Accordingly, apart from what approach, method or technique is adopted for language instruction, the true development in the learners will not take place unless the teacher and learners commit themselves to the demands of humanistic LTR (Stevick, 1990, Arnold, 1999). Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Davoud Amini, Ph.D. Candidate & Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate Teacher and Learner in Humanistic Language Teaching

101

In this paper, following a brief overview of humanistic language teaching and the LTR within this paradigm, a set of fundamental suggestions will be set forward as guidelines to ensure humanistic language teaching. The reasoning is inspired by post-method argument. Overview of Humanism in Language Teaching There’s not a unified definition of HLT in the literature. While some observers attribute the title to a set of innovative methods of the 1970’s such as community language learning and silent way, others consider it as a general approach encompassing broader visions than that of a particular method. When the origins of these methods are reviewed in retrospect, it becomes clear that HLT grew out of humanistic psychology and education. The two founding figures of humanistic psychology, which emerged as a reaction to behaviorist claims of mechanical learning, are Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. In Maslow’s theory of hierarchy of needs, self-actualization was proposed as the ultimate and highest level of human development (Williams and Burden, 1997). Self-actualization defined as the realization of one’s full potentials and real qualities will not be achieved before lower-order deficiency needs, which are directly related to the person’s biological or psychological balance, are satisfied. Rogers, on the other hand, as the founder of counseling psychology introduced experiential selfinitiated learning originating from inside the learner into the psychology of learning (Rogers, 1961). To him, a precondition for learning to take place is that the subject of learning be relevant to the learner and stimulate active participation of the learner. Emphasis of Humanistic Theory Stevick (1990) as an enthusiastic advocate of HLT identified five emphases within humanistic pedagogy including feelings, social relations, responsibilities, intellect and self-actualization. The two key concepts that are manifested in almost all interpretative evaluations of humanistic theory are 1) development of the whole person i.e., the idea that learners have physical, social

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Davoud Amini, Ph.D. Candidate & Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate Teacher and Learner in Humanistic Language Teaching

102

and emotional dimensions in addition to cognitive sides and 2) the concept of self-actualization i.e., full realization of learner’s deepest true qualities. Moskowitz (1978) is considered as the pioneering figure in outlining a principled definition of HLT and putting it into classroom practice. However, the innovative methods of early seventies inspired by humanistic psychology were already at place before Moskowitz. Curran, as a student of Rogers, had applied the theory of counseling learning to the field of language teaching and offered community language learning (Curran, 1976). In this method teachers are primarily counselors who voluntarily give up their power and let the learners to realize their worth and responsibility in the learning process so that learners are gradually led to independence in using second language. Gattegno’s silent way was another method inspired by humanistic psychology that emphasized potentials of learners to deal autonomously with learning situation while teaching is subordinated to learning. Teachers are mainly elicitors of students’ inner resources (Gattegno, 1972). With suggestopaedia, also called desuggestopaedia, too, teachers are caretakers who try to release the reserve powers of learners’ mind by infantilizing them. In addition to these methods, almost all of the methodological proposals for language teaching seem to contain some elements of HLT. In this regard, no language teaching method is non-humanistic in nature. In communicative language teaching, as the dominant doctrine in language teaching, the teacher and learners are primarily communicators who participate in meaningful activities through maximally authentic use of language. So the teacher’s main role is facilitation of communication during fluency-based activities throughout focus-on-meaning sessions. In Brumfit’s words “only when there are messages being carried which are significant to users will there be full engagement with the linguistic code” (Brumfit, 1984). The main goal is to provide appropriate input and output opportunities for learners. However, the teacher will also monitor the learners’ performance and provide the relevant feedback to improve the students’ interlanguage during incidental focus-on-form episodes (Ellis, Basturkman and Loewen, 2002). Error treatment in this regard is assumed to be a social activity involving joint participation and meaningful transactions between the teacher and learner (Nassaji and Swain, 2000). Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Davoud Amini, Ph.D. Candidate & Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate Teacher and Learner in Humanistic Language Teaching

103

Similarly, task-based language teaching has borrowed a good number of axiomatic beliefs proposed by humanistic education. Emphasis on holistic development of the learner, personal relevance of the subject matter to the learner, imagination and creativity and goal-oriented classroom activities are among the many common features of TBLT and humanism. TBLT is supported by two theoretical streams, i.e., information-processing models and socio-cultural theory (Ellis, 2003). According to the ‘activity theory’ which is a basic argument within sociocultural framework, tasks as classroom activities cannot create learning opportunities by themselves. Rather, it is the participatory structure of task performance and learners’ orientation toward the task that will lead to learning from tasks. Lantolf (2000) asserts that people with different motives and goals will perform the same task in different ways. How learners view the task (e.g., as fun, drudgery, serious learning activity, etc.) is socio-historically determined. So it is quite probable that a communicative task be treated like traditional exercise type by the learners as a result of deviated orientation. Therefore the joint ownership of the activity (intersubjectivity in socio-cultural terms) is a necessary condition for the success of task implementation. This is achieved when the teacher admits learners’ goals or tries to establish rapport with them so that both the teacher and learners get engaged in an activity with identical orientation in mind. From this review of common frameworks for language teaching it becomes evident that almost all methods or approaches of language teaching have been benefited from humanistic guidelines. Despite some critical opinions to reduce HLT to specific methods or learner-centered learning (e.g., Gadd, 1998), basic tenets of HLT are broad and comprehensive enough to be relevant to all general aspects of language learning/teaching. In fact, the pedagogical success in language instruction is more a matter of ‘learning process’ than methodological options. These processes, according to Underhill, ‘contribute to the ambient learning atmosphere, including the attitudes, values and awareness of the teacher and of the learners’ (Underhill, 1989, p 251). The favorable learning process cannot be created by the instructional prescriptions of this or that method. Rather, it is the teacher and learners’ conceptualization of the learning process that will determine the success or failure, the idea which was reiterated by Kumaravadivelu more than a decade ago. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Davoud Amini, Ph.D. Candidate & Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate Teacher and Learner in Humanistic Language Teaching

104

Post-Method Pedagogy Kumaravadivelu’s agitation against the concept of method introduced a new vision to the field of language teaching and terminated controversies over methodological preferences. In his earliest introduction of post-method conditions Kumaravadivelu (1994), offered to rearrange the instructional scene by redefining the roles of theorizers, practitioners and learners. A canonical element of post-method conditions was the summon, in line with critical pedagogy, to empower teachers to ‘theorize from their practice and practice what they have theorized’ (Kumaravadivelu, 1994, p.30). Given the autonomy they deserve, teachers are emancipated from curricular constraints, so that they can make use of their learning and teaching experience and initiatives. The classroom procedure is shaped and managed by teachers through the process of principled pragmatism. In his later publications (Kumaravadivelu, 2001, 2003, 2006), Kumaravadivelu argued for autonomous and critical teachers and learners as the two fundamental elements of post-method pedagogy. Such autonomy will be developed not through transmission models of teacher education rather through a dialogic understanding between teacher educators and practitioners by 1) recognizing teachers’ voices and visions and 2) developing teachers’ critical capabilities (Kumaravadivelu, 2001). However, the most pedagogical part of post-method framework are the macro-strategies proposed for teachers to follow as general guidelines to classroom procedures and operationalized via micro-strategies. Although, Kumaravadivelu asserts that these strategies are theory-neutral and method-neutral, an analogical review will reveal that most of the macro-strategies such as maximizing learning opportunities, promoting learner autonomy, ensuring social relevance and rising cultural consciousness, etc are mostly comparable and compatible with basic humanistic guidelines including the development of whole person, self-actualization and social and cultural awareness. So, it is proposed here that a humanistic LTR can provide a general framework where teachers, away from any methodological bias, can be assured of learning outcomes. A set of guidelines to ensure a humanistic LTR are introduced in the following section. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Davoud Amini, Ph.D. Candidate & Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate Teacher and Learner in Humanistic Language Teaching

105

Guidelines to Ensure Humanistic Language Teaching 1. Personalization A subject alien to the learners will not involve them in the learning process. Subjects to which students feel detached, for some socio-cultural or historical reasons, need to be made relevant to the learners’ personal experience. In this regard, pre-reading and pre-listening phases of teaching can provide an opportunity to personalize the upcoming content of a text. Moreover, personalization of a subject can always be actualized by teacher’s being sensitive and attentive to students’ common experiences and feelings as well as individual particularities in terms of activities eliciting personal views and feelings. Touching upon learners’ individual interests and highlighting their specific strengths will create better chances of personalization. 2. Intersubjectivity Students need to know about the nature of the activity that is going on in the classroom. To this end, the teacher must take time out, when opportunities rise incidentally, to discuss very briefly the nature of the activity that is going on. Students ought to be convinced with the profitability of what they are asked to do. Otherwise, classroom activities will turn to service-like drudgery with no reward. Furthermore, learner-training sessions in language teaching institutes can be conductive in placing and maintaining learners on the educational route delineated by policy makers and educationists affiliated to the program. 3. Imagination Not all language use in real-life situations is aimed at serious interactional or transactional purposes. As Cook (1997) reaffirms a great deal of language used by native speakers is playful in nature rather than involving meaning and reality, a fact that must somehow be reflected in classroom activities. Teachers’ resorting to their imaginative power on the one hand and encouraging and rewarding students’ imagination on the other can have a crucial role in involving and developing the whole person which is a fundamental achievement from HLT point of view. Imagination manifests itself in language classes in the form of language games, role plays, fun, narratives and mimicry. Of course bringing imagination down into classes may Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Davoud Amini, Ph.D. Candidate & Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate Teacher and Learner in Humanistic Language Teaching 106

demand personality qualifications on teacher’s part. However, this will not detract from importance of the issue. After all, language teachers are ‘unemployed actors’ (Mole, 2011). The issue will gain greater significance when the cyclical nature of skill development in language is reminded. Learning language does not happen one-shot. Control over language items develops in a spiral manner through partial learning succeeded by repeated practice and review. Activities involving fanciful and fictional use of language are one means of creating varied contexts for using a particular language item. As an illustration in a class for introductory level young learners, when the newly-presented sentence “Are you hungry?” is repeatedly used by the teacher or students in various imaginary contexts characterized by different dramatic features, say, ‘a lamb captured by a wolf’, ‘a scarecrow to crows’, etc., there will be better chances of internalizing and perpetuating the command over the newly-acquired item. 4. Students as Language Users Students must be viewed in the first place as language users rather than language learners. This will place them in an equal position with the teacher so that the participatory structure of the class and conversational moves such as turn-taking, topic development and initiation will be dominated by conversational rules rather than classroom regulations. Despite its promise to create meaningful interaction, communicative language teaching may not be fully successful in initiating communications in the classroom. Jonathan (2006) sees this as a result of the contradictory and sort of mutually-exclusive roles that teachers take in a communicative class one as the manager of class activities, which rises from institutional duty and power, and the other as conversational partner, which demands egalitarian participation in communicative activities. HLT can resolve the paradox of genuine communication between teacher and learners. By giving up part of his/her power and authority as the controller of pedagogic activities and adopting the role of facilitator by participating in egalitarian interactions, the teacher provides equal opportunities for students to take the initiative in communicative activities. 5. Diversifying Resources Whole person development and activation of reserve powers of the learners, as underscored in HLT, requires flexibility and adaptability on teachers’ part with relevance to teaching material Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Davoud Amini, Ph.D. Candidate & Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate Teacher and Learner in Humanistic Language Teaching 107

and resources. Textbooks and teacher books should not be viewed as a sort of prescription to specify classroom activities or LTR. The utmost function of a textbook can be to provide a general framework for introducing models and topics of work and also to set the instruction on going. A positive learning atmosphere will be rendered as a result of teacher’s capability in creative exploitation of all teaching facilities available. With the technological contributions to instructional environments, confining classroom procedure to mandates of textbook does not seem reasonable anymore. Multimedia environment and on-line language learning programs can be helpful resources for both classroom activities and home-based practice. Learners who attend a language learning program with heterogeneous inner worlds will be better motivated and oriented to course objectives when they get engaged in variety of resources to work with. This will contribute to self-actualization which is an ultimate destination aimed by HLT. 6. Choices As Arnold (1998) has asserted teacher’s free hand in offering learners alternative subjects and even content material is a unique privilege of language teaching over other subjects of teaching. Teachers can take the advantage of this blissful liberty to remove part of the instructional confinements imposed on learners. The wider learners’ choices regarding materials, subject areas, procedure, etc. are, the more probably the learning milieu will be humanistic. While encouraging self-initiation, teachers should allow the learners the freedom to involve themselves in learning activities when they feel ready, convenient or appropriate. Maintaining the desired balance between freedom and control is left to the teacher’s humanistic sense. 7. Handling Emotions In line with a basic tenet of HLT which invokes the involvement of the whole person, both intellect and affect, the way students’ emotions are treated has a crucial impact on the learning/teaching process. When students feel good about themselves, the teacher and the course, they will be in a better position to learn. In their interactions with students, teachers should do their best to minimize negative affect such as anxiety, negative attitude, indifference and diffidence, on the one hand, and maximize positive affect including sense of belonging, positive attitude toward target language and society, self-esteem and motivation, on the other. The latter Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Davoud Amini, Ph.D. Candidate & Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate Teacher and Learner in Humanistic Language Teaching 108

one has probably the largest impact on language learning. Students need to have good reasons for following the language learning program. This is true both for adults and kids. While adults are mostly intrinsically-motivated with self-satisfaction, younger learners are motivated by external drives such as scores, rewards and competition. However, it is always a matter of proportion for learners to be intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. So teachers should always take both chances to motivate their learners. 8. Teachers’ Vulnerability A formal, impersonal LTR can be an obstacle by itself to the learning process. Teachers obliged to HLT are required to open their vulnerability to students in order to provide an amicable ambience in which learners feel free to involve their ‘whole’. Writing about the ways of establishing rapport between the teacher and students, Mole (2011) proposes that teachers share with students some details related to their private life, family life and personal experiences. By exposing their weakness to students, teachers get learners to develop a more realistic image of teachers as having human persona. This will allow them to trust teachers in sharing their own privacy with the class, which seems a necessary condition for genuine interactions required for language learning. 9. Self-evaluation Certainly, the issue of self assessment is encountered with such serious impediments in less democratic societies as lack of self-esteem and independence on students’ part on the one hand and wrong mentalities of their parents on the other. However, encouraging self-evaluation is quite inevitable as long as we commit ourselves to HLT. In this regard, some forms of selfassessment such as keeping files and portfolios of students’ writings, recordings and reports of their experiential contact with the foreign language can be a good point to begin with. 10. Priority of Learning over Teaching The teaching quality from HLT point of view is not assessed in terms of how well the teacher teaches. Nor can the quantity of teaching material be strictly specified in advance. The evaluation of a teacher’s performance as successful depends on how much learning has taken place, and Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Davoud Amini, Ph.D. Candidate & Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate Teacher and Learner in Humanistic Language Teaching 109

learning, from HLT point of view, is defined in terms of a holistic change in the learner’s behavior and mind. Therefore, apart from how satisfied the instructor is with his/her performance or how much of the syllabus is covered, the expected outcome of instruction involves the promotional changes in learners’ behavioral capabilities. As a result, a teacher will find satisfaction with the instructional outcome only when a display of improvement with the students’ behavioral skills is witnessed. Conclusion Learner-teacher relationship defined as duties and control towards the learning process shared between the teacher and learners has a determining role in molding classroom procedure regardless of theoretical or methodological options. Each of the majority of pedagogical implications offered by SL research findings pertain to one aspect of LTR. Therefore, any attempt to set up a principled relationship between learners and teacher will have facilitating effect on the learning process. Humanistic language teaching with its established principles has a lot to offer concerning a LTR which is amiable to learning. A set of basic principles derived from HLT were offered in this article to the end of arranging LTR in a way that will maximally contribute to a favorable milieu for language learning to take place. Proper teacher education and learner training will be essential to put the suggested guidelines into practice in an instructional setting. ================================================================== References Arnold, J. (1998). Towards more humanistic English teaching. ELT Journal, 52(3), 235-242. Arnold, J. (1999). Affect in language learning. Cambridge: CUP. Brumfit, C.J. (1984). Communicative Methodology in Language Teaching: The roles of fluency and accuracy. Cambridge: CUP. Cook, G. (1997). Language play, language learning. ELT Journal, 51(3), 224-231. Curran, C.A. (1976). Counseling-Learning in Second Languages. Apple River, Illinois: Apple River Press. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Davoud Amini, Ph.D. Candidate & Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate Teacher and Learner in Humanistic Language Teaching

110

Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: OUP. Ellis, R., Basturkman, H. & Loewen, S. (2002). Doing focus on form. System, 30, 419-432. Gadd, N. (1996). Towards less humanistic English teaching. ELT Journal, 52(3), 223-234. Gattegno, C. (1972). Teaching Foreign Languages in Schools: The Silent Way (2nd ed). New York: Educational Solutions. Hedge, T. (2000). Teaching and learning in the language classroom. Oxford: OUP. Jonathan, C. (2006). Humanistic Language Teaching, facilitation, and classroom conversation. Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching, 2, 159-174. Kumaravadivelu, B. (1994). The postmethod condition: (E)merging strategies for second/foreign language teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 29, 27-48. Kumaravadivelu, B. (2001). Toward a postmethod pedagogy. TESOL Quarterly, 35, 537-560. Kumaravadivelu, B. (2003). A postmethod perspective on on English language teaching. World Englishes, 22, 539-550. Kumaravadivelu, B. (2006). Understanding language teaching: From method to postmethod. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Lantolf, J.P. (2000). Second language learning as a mediated process. Language Teaching, 33, 79-96. Mole, I. (2011). Establishing rapport with your students. Humanizing Language Teaching, 13(2), (available on-line) http://www.hltmag.co.uk/apr11/sart08.htm. Moskowitz, G. (1978). Caring and Sharing in the Foreign Language Class. Rowley: Newbury House Publishers, Inc. Nassaji, H. & Swain, M. (2000). A Vygotskian perspective on corrective feedback in L2: The effect of random versus negotiated help on the learning of English articles. Language Awareness, 9(1), 34-51. Rogers, C. (1961). On Becoming a Person: A therapist view of psychotherapy. London: Constable & Robinson Ltd. Spaventa, L. (2009). Heart of the matter: On the shoulders of giants. Humanizing Language Teaching, 11(3), (available on-line) http://www.hltmag.co.uk/jun09/sart13.htm. Stevick, E.W. (1990). Humanism in language teaching. Oxford :OUP. Underhill, A. (1989). Process in Humanistic Education. ELT Journal, 44, 250-60. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Davoud Amini, Ph.D. Candidate & Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate Teacher and Learner in Humanistic Language Teaching

111

Williams, M. & Burden R. L. (1997). Psychology for language teachers: A social constructivist approach. Cambridge: CUP. ================================================================= Davoud Amini, Ph.D. Candidate in English Language Teaching Lecturer in Department of English Islamic Azad University, Sarab Branch Sarab Iran [emailprotected]

Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate in Translation Studies Section of Malay Language, Translation and Interpreting School of Humanities Universiti Sains Malaysia Penang Malaysia [emailprotected]

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Davoud Amini, Ph.D. Candidate & Mansour Amini, Ph.D. Candidate Teacher and Learner in Humanistic Language Teaching

112

Cognitive Dissonance of the Cordite Mayoites in The Playboy of The Western World C. Ganga Lakshmi, Ph.D. Candidate G. Baskaran, Ph.D. =====================================================================

John Millington Synge 1871-1909 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Millington_Synge

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. Ganga Lakshmi, Ph.D. Candidate and G. Baskaran, Ph.D. Cognitive Dissonance of the Cordite Mayoites in The Playboy of The Western World

113

John Millington Synge John Millington Synge is one of the greatest dramatists from Dublin. He is well known for his use of the native dialects in his plays. His play The Playboy of the Western World remains as a milestone of his achievement. It is a social satire which pictures the Irish characters. The simple theme and the effective construction of the plot around the chosen theme function as the pivotal point in the play. The play has Mayo, a small village in Western Ireland, as the major backdrop. The tragic comical instances which take place raise the satirical tone of the Mayo society. This article focuses on the dilemma of the Mayoites society, the cognitive dissonance and their shift in behavioural traits. Cognitive Dissonance in Mayo

http://www.druidsynge.com/theplays/the-playboy-of-the-western-world

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. Ganga Lakshmi, Ph.D. Candidate and G. Baskaran, Ph.D. Cognitive Dissonance of the Cordite Mayoites in The Playboy of The Western World

114

Cognitive dissonance represents the problems that arise in the mind because of the conflicting ideas. The article presents the conflicting ideas in Mayo on hearing and observing a fatal scene. The Playboy of the Western World starts at Mayo, where the people lead humdrum lives but search for joy in improper and false bravery. Christy, the central protagonist of the play, comes to Mayo. At Munster, a small Irish village, he has given a fatal blow to his father with a spade. To escape the death punishment and to save himself he moves from Munster and reaches Mayo after eleven long days. He thinks that he has murdered his father which really has not happened at all. In Mayo, Pegeen Mike, daughter of Michael James takes care of a country Shebeen. She is engaged to Shawn Keogh who is afraid of everything. Michael James wants to go to Kate Cassidy’s wake to enjoy the night there with liquor. He experiences the cognitive dilemma at that stance whether to leave for the funeral or to accompany his daughter. But he finally comes to the conclusion to go for his own enjoyment. This is an instance that shows Mayo’s choice of love for fantasy and fun. Synge satirizes the society packed with love for fun and fake at the cost of parental love. […] if I was him, I wouldn’t bother with this place where you’ll meet none, but Red Linahan, has a squint in his eyes, and Patcheen is lame in his heel, or the mad Mulrannies were driven from California and they lost in their wits. We’re a queer lot these times to go troubling the Holy Father on his sacred seat. (PBWW Act I)

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. Ganga Lakshmi, Ph.D. Candidate and G. Baskaran, Ph.D. Cognitive Dissonance of the Cordite Mayoites in The Playboy of The Western World

115

The above words of Pegeen express the Mayoites as extremists in Mayo. No other person from other countries will care for Mayoites as they are worst in their activities. Shawn, the fiancé of Pegeen does not want to accompany her as it is an approved practice to stay with a girl before marriage. The appearance of Christy in the scene and his immediate appointment as Pot-boy of the Shebeen by Michael represent the unconditioned life of the people. When Christy expresses that he has murdered his father, everyone is thrilled. Michael, after knowing Christy as a murderer, accepts and appoints him to take care of Shebeen and Pegeen. Christy’s father Old Mohan is also represented as a drunkard who wanders naked in the garden at night. Synge satirizes the society’s love for liquor and pleasure at the cost of selfdiscipline and responsibility. The Dilemma of the Female Characters The female characters experience a dilemma in the play. Pegeen, who has Shawn as her fiancé, falls in love with Christy at first sight. She adorns Shawn for the deed of murdering his father. She describes his physique and praises him to grab his attention. She dismisses Shawn’s presence immediately after Christy’s appointment. Just as cordite burst out when triggered, she throws Shawn as he does not possess the valor of a man. Belief and Practice of Mayoites According to Mayoites, man must not belong to pre-conventional or conventional levels where individuals accept the societal norms and act as per the demands of the society. The Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. Ganga Lakshmi, Ph.D. Candidate and G. Baskaran, Ph.D. Cognitive Dissonance of the Cordite Mayoites in The Playboy of The Western World

116

Mayo’s accept the post-conventional level of Kohlberg’s theory where individuals become autonomous and take decisions on the basis of their own ideas. But the Mayo’s believe that manliness represents mercilessness with cruelty and arrogance. The Mayoites thereby have a great attraction towards Christy’s valour as Christy states to them that he cut his father from the head to the waist with a spade. As Christy is beyond the post-colonial level and acts as an extremist, they all love him. He is considered as a playboy as he is excellent in sports and becomes a dream boy to every village girl. The village girls and farmers in Shebeen have got their own imagination of the way Christy has murdered his father in his beyond the post-conventional level. You have hanged him, the way Jimmy Farewell hanged his dog from the license, and had it screeching and wriggling three hours at the butt of a string, and himself swearing it was a dead dog, and the peelers swearing it had life. (PBWW Act I) This is a good instance to show how the villagers like some astonishing deeds of man in their life. It must be a murder. They consider the murder of a man and an animal to be the same but they expect some sensational scenes in it. As Christy has catered to their feast, they started to love him. The Widow Quin Another important character Widow Quin tries to get Christy. She has killed her husband and her flirting with Christy makes others feel irritated. She tries to convince Christy with the words that she will safeguard him from police by letting him inside her home and keeping him Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. Ganga Lakshmi, Ph.D. Candidate and G. Baskaran, Ph.D. Cognitive Dissonance of the Cordite Mayoites in The Playboy of The Western World

117

with her. When Old Mohan appears, Quin is in conflict whether to save Christy or to threaten him. Through any means she wants to get Christy. She misleads Old Mohan when he comes in to save Christy. Christy’s Dissonance Old Mohan realizes that his son has got the status of a playboy in Mayo. But he beats him in front of others for having hit him. The admiration of Mayoites for Christy gets shattered immediately after knowing that Christy has deceived them with the act of patricide. But Christy has a cognitive dissonance either to be happy for not being a murderer or to be regretful for the loss of the Mayoites’ affection and admiration. But Christy decides to retain the latter. He attempts to murder Old Mohan again in front of Mayoites. This patricidal attempt remains as cold- blooded murder scene in their eyes and they cannot accept it. The Mayoites who admired Christy till then suddenly become furious. They begin to tie up Christy’s hands and legs and started to scorch his legs. The dilemma of ideas whether to accept his falsified nature or to punish him resulted in the punishment. Paternal Dilemma Old Mohan appears for the third time. He, who has been dead against his son’s fatal deed of patricide, faces a dilemma at the sight of the intolerable punishment endured by his son. He has the dilemma whether to save his sinful son or to let him die in the hands of the Mayoites. At last, he decides and saves his son. Pegeen who is against Christy for his sinful deed at once becomes calm when Old Mohan appears for the third time. Christy at that moment undergoes Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. Ganga Lakshmi, Ph.D. Candidate and G. Baskaran, Ph.D. Cognitive Dissonance of the Cordite Mayoites in The Playboy of The Western World

118

dissonance whether to go with his father who rescued him or to accept Pegeen’s pretentious love. But finally he moves with his father to Munster leaving Pegeen and his love for her behind. He goes with his father on a conditional basis that he should not disturb him in his life thereafter. To Conclude This article shows that each and every character in The Playboy of the Western World possesses some cognitive dissonance in their own ideas. In this play, out of the dissonance all the characters react violently. In some sense the author wanted to depict some of the trends in the Irish society of his times, but his depiction may not be wholly acceptable to our contemporary society. There were riots in Ireland when this play was first enacted. Over the years, there is greater appreciation of the content and presentation of the play even in Ireland. ================================================================ Reference Synge, J.M. The Playboy of the Western World. Boston: John W. Lucy & Company, 1911 ================================================================ C. Ganga Lakshmi Assistant Professor Kalasalingam University Anand Nagar Krishnankoil 626126 Tamilnadu India [emailprotected] G. Baskaran Associate Professor Department of English Gandhigram Rural Institute Deemed University Chinnalapatti 624302 Tamil Nadu India [emailprotected] Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. Ganga Lakshmi, Ph.D. Candidate and G. Baskaran, Ph.D. Cognitive Dissonance of the Cordite Mayoites in The Playboy of The Western World

119

Outlining Saraiki Phonetics: A Comparative Study of Saraiki and English Sound System Muhammad Safeer Awan, Ph.D. Abdul Baseer, M.Phil, Ph.D. Candidate Muhammad Sheeraz, M.Phil, Ph.D. Candidate

Abstract Saraiki, a language widely used in South Punjab, some parts of Sindh, Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtoon Khwa in Pakistan, is gaining critical attention because of the ethno-linguistic politics in contemporary Pakistan which is culturally and linguistically diverse. Saraiki is believed to have six varieties. English, on the other hand, is considered to be the lingua franca of the world with many varieties. In the present study, focusing the Multani variety of Saraiki and the Standard British English, we endeavor to give a comparison of the phonetics of the two languages in terms of difference in their number of phonemes, places of articulation, and manner of Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12: 7 July 2012 Muhammad Safeer Awan, Ph.D., Abdul Baseer, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate and Muhammad Sheeraz, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate Outlining Saraiki Phonetics: A Comparative Study of Saraiki and English Sound System 120

articulation. In order to provide an account of Saraiki consonants, monophthongs and diphthongs, Saraiki syllables/words used as examples are transcribed and their meanings are provided in English. Diagrams, where necessary, are made to show the difference of place and manner of articulation of consonants of both the languages. Saraiki consonant clusters, Saraiki syllable structure, and stress patterns have also been discussed. The study is an attempt to further the research about the Saraiki phonetics. The study also illustrates that most of earlier researches about this widely used language in Pakistan were not carried out by the native speakers of Saraiki and therefore many gaps and problems have been found in them by the researchers of this article. Keywords: Phonetics, Saraiki, English, Sound System, Stress, Syllable, Clusters 1. Introduction This section is mainly devoted to Siraiki language supposing that the language in its comparison i.e. English has been widely researched and a large bulk of scholarly work is available on it. Hence, it requires no introductory writing here. Saraiki1 is spoken in the central areas of Pakistan. The population census in 1981 treated Saraiki as a distinct language. According to that census, it is the language spoken by about 9.83 % of the total population of Pakistan (Rahman, 1996, p. 1). But, Wagha (1990, p. 2) opines that due to some political, economic and social factors this figure is underestimated. According to Paul (2009) the total number of people who speak Saraiki in Pakistan is 13,843,106 and in India 20,000. Haq (1967, p. 108) claims that the area in which Saraiki is spoken is 48093 sq miles. On either side of the river Indus is located the Saraiki speaking area, in central Pakistan. Haq (1985, p. 17) considers it the first language (mother tongue) of the people of central parts of Pakistan whereas the second language of almost all the rest of Pakistanis. He asserts that no other Pakistani language is spoken as second language as 1

The word is spelt differently (e.g. as Siraiki, Seraiki and Saraiki, etc) by different scholars and organizations. In the present study, we have spelt it as Saraiki adopting it from the Department of Saraiki, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan, as given on http://www.bzu.edu.pk/departmentindex.php?id=33

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12: 7 July 2012 Muhammad Safeer Awan, Ph.D., Abdul Baseer, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate and Muhammad Sheeraz, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate Outlining Saraiki Phonetics: A Comparative Study of Saraiki and English Sound System 121

frequently as Saraiki is. Rasoolpuri (1976, p. 18) reinforces it by asserting that Saraiki is the only Pakistani language which is comprehended and spoken in all the provinces of Pakistan. Shackle (1976) classifies Saraiki into the following six varieties: (1) Central variety (2) Southern variety (3) Sindhi variety (4) Northern variety (5) Jhangi (6) Shahpuri These varieties are also divided on the basis of the regions they belong to like Multani, Riasti (Bahawalpuri), Dera Wali, Jhangi, etc. However, all these varieties were given a collective and agreed upon name i.e. Saraiki – a name previously given to this language only in Sindh – in 1962 in a meeting held under the banner of Bazm-e-Saqafat (Cultural Society), Multan (Khan, 1995, p. 105). There is a controversy regarding the history of Saraiki. Mughal (2007) has, however, proved that this language is the oldest of almost all the languages of the Sub-continent including Sanskrit, Hindi, Sindhi, Punjabi and Urdu. Kalanchvi has also declared it to be the oldest of all the languages of Indus Valley (1987, p. 9). Saraiki has attracted the attention of many indigenous and foreign researchers including orientalists like George Grierson, E. O. Brian, Christopher Shackle, Trump, Wilson and Jukes. Kalanchvi (2008) has given a detailed review of their ideas. But almost all the linguistic voyage in Saraiki remained concerned with the historical debate of the language with some occasional comments on its sounds and grammatical patterns. To our knowledge, no in-depth study is available on the phonetic and phonological patterns of Saraiki. The concern of the present paper is, hence, to define the sound system, syllable structure, and stress patterns of Saraiki focusing the first of the above given varieties i.e. Central Variety. This variety is spoken in the northern parts of D.G. Khan and Bahawalpur, and also in the districts of Multan and Muzaffargarh. Due to the historical significance of the district of Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12: 7 July 2012 Muhammad Safeer Awan, Ph.D., Abdul Baseer, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate and Muhammad Sheeraz, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate Outlining Saraiki Phonetics: A Comparative Study of Saraiki and English Sound System 122

Multan, this variety is sometimes known as Multani. Rasoolpuri (1980, p. 86) calls this variety the “pure” form of Saraiki. English, on the other hand is considered as the lingua franca of the world today (see Mauranen & Ranta, 2009; Dewey, 2007; Deterding & Kirkpatrick, 2006; Jenkins, 2000 & 2007; Seidlhofer, 2004, etc for detail). Apart from having two canonical varieties i.e. British and American, it is now having as many varieties as many peoples. Hence there are many Englishes in the world today. Our focus, however, will be the phonetics of British English. As the focus of the present study is the comparison of Saraiki and English phonetics, the components and attributes of the written part of these languages will not be discussed here. “Spoken language consists of successions of sounds emitted by the organs of speech, together with certain ‘attributes’ (Jones, 1979, p. 1). Every speech-sound belongs to one or other of the two main classes known as Vowels and Consonants” (Jones, 1979, p. 23). It was discovered, however, that there are different sounds which are neither vowels nor consonants and, thus, may be termed as “semi-vowels and laterals /w, r, l, j/ which are in a sense intermediate between vowels and stops” (Haggard, 1969, p. 144). The so-far discovered sounds of Saraiki are given below, followed by their tabular description as well as that of English, and their comparative analysis. 2. Consonants Peter Roach gives a very comprehensive definition of various types of consonants as follows: There are many types of consonant, but what all have in common is that they obstruct the flow of air through the vocal tract. Some do this a lot, some not very much: those which make the maximum obstruction (i.e. plosives, which form a complete stoppage of the airstream) are the most consonantal. Nasal consonants result in complete stoppage of the oral cavity but are less obstructive than plosives since air is allowed to escape through the nose. Fricatives make a considerable obstruction to the flow of air, but not a total closure. Laterals obstruct the flow of air only in the centre of the mouth, not at the sides, so obstruction is slight. Other sounds classed as approximants make so little obstruction to the flow of air that they could almost be thought to be vowels if they were in a different context (e.g. English w or r). (Roach, 2009)

In the light of the above definition and the above cited works on Saraiki language, we have attempted to work out Saraiki consonants which are as follows: 2.1 Saraiki Consonants Consonants (Phonetic)

Examples

Meanings

[p]

[pakhi]

[Bird]

[b]

[ba:d]

[After]

[ph]

[phuɾ]

[Swish of wings]

[bh]

[bhul]

[Forget ]

[ɓ]

[ɓʌl]

[the fuel]

[t]

[tʌp]

[Heat; fever]

[d]

[da:l]

[Lentils]

[t ]

[t a:n]

[Pile of Cloth]

[d ]

[d up]

[Sunshine]

[ʈ]

[ʈʌl]

[Be off]

[ʈh]

[ʈhʌp]

[Finish]

[ɗ]

[ɗaɗa]

[Grandfather]

[ɖ]

[ɖa:k]

[Post]

[ɖh]

[ɖhʌk]

[To cover]

[k]

[kʌn]

[Ear]

[ɡ]

[ɡum]

[lost]

[kh]

[khʌp]

[Get tired / Waste time]

[gh]

[ghʌr]

[Home ]

[tʃ]

[tʃʌn]

[Moon/Beloved]

[tʃh]

[tʃhʌl]

[dʒ]

[dʒʌdʒ]

[Judge]

[dʒh]

[dʒhʌl]

[Endure]

[ɠ]

[ɠ ]

[Cow]

[m]

[mʌl]

[Rub]

[n]

[nʌlkɑ]

[ŋ]

[maŋ]

[Demand]

[ɳ]

[hoɳ]

[Now]

[f]

[fa:l]

[Omen]

[v]

[vʌɽ]

[Get in]

[s]

[sun]

[Numb]

[ʃ]

[ʃʌl]

[Tired]

[x]

[xʌm]

[Curve]

[ɣ]

[ɣʌm]

[Sorrow]

[h]

[hʌl]

[Move]

[l]

[lʌt]

[Leg]

[ɾ]

[ɾʌt]

[Blood]

[ɽ]

[ɠuɽ]

[Flood]

[Tap]

[A kind of brown sugar in lumps]

[j]

[ja:d]

[Memory]

[z]

[za:l]

[Wife]

[ʄ]

[ʄʌlm]

[Leech]

2.2 Description of Saraiki Consonants in terms of place and manner of articulation

Place 

Bilabial

Manner ↓ Plosive

Labio-

Dental

Alveolar

dental P

Post

Palato

tʃ tʃ

Velar

dʒh ʃ

Lateral

Tap/Flap

Approxi-

mant Implosive

Glottal

dʒ h

Fricative

Palatal

Alveolar Alveolar

Affricate

Nasal

Retroflex

As the English sounds are common and can be easily found in various sources, we directly move to their description. 2.3 Description of English Consonants in terms of place and manner of articulation 2

For a detailed study into English sounds, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/pron/sounds/chart.shtml , http://www.yorku.ca/earmstro/ipa/consonants.html, http://www.stuff.co.uk/calcul_nd.htm, etc

Place 

Bilabial

Labiodental Dental

Alveolar

Alveopalatal Palatal

Velar Glottal

Manner ↓

Plosives

d tʃ

Affricates Nasal

Fricative

dʒ Ŋ

n f

Lateral

Approximent W

2.4 Differences between Saraiki and English consonants It seems Saraiki has 40 consonants. English, in contrast, has 24 consonants. Comparison of the description of consonants of both the languages shown above reveals that English has six plosives, while Saraiki has sixteen in number. /ph/ /bh/ /th/ /d / /ʈ / /ɖ / /kh/ /gh/ /ʈ/ /ɖ/ are separate phonemes in Saraiki, not the allophones as some of them i.e. /ʈ /, /kh / are in English because unlike English they create different words with distinguished meanings in Saraiki. /t/ /d/ /t / /d / /n/ /s/ /z/ are dental sounds in Saraiki, while /t/ /d/ /s/ /z/ /n/ are alveolar in English. English has only two affricates i.e. /tʃ/ /dʒ/, and Saraiki has four i.e. /tʃ/ /dʒ/ /tʃh/ /dʒh/. Saraiki has six retroflex sounds i.e. /ʈ/ /ɖ/ /ʈ / /ɖ / /ɳ/ /ɽ/. British English does not have any. It seems that the /ʒ/ sound is not there in Saraiki. Similarly /X/ and /ɣ/ sounds are absent in English. Saraiki has one approximant i.e. /j/, while English has three i.e. /w/ /r/ /j/. Saraiki has no /θ/ /ð/ dental sounds. Saraiki has four implosive sounds i.e. /ɓ/ /ɗ/ /ʄ/ /ɠ/, while English does not have any. 2.5 Similarities between Saraiki and English consonants /l/ is alveolar in both languages. /r / in English is approximant and alveolar, while it is flap and alveolar /ɾ/ in Saraiki. /m/ is bilabial in both languages. Both English and Saraiki have one lateral sound i.e. /l/. Both languages have glottal /h/ and velar nasal /ŋ/ in common. 3. Vowels Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12: 7 July 2012 Muhammad Safeer Awan, Ph.D., Abdul Baseer, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate and Muhammad Sheeraz, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate Outlining Saraiki Phonetics: A Comparative Study of Saraiki and English Sound System 127

Peter Roach defines vowels as: “The most common view is that vowels are sounds in which there is no obstruction to the flow of air as it passes from the larynx to the lips” (1997: 10). The following are the monophthongs and diphthongs of Saraiki and English and their comparison. 3.1 Saraiki Monophthongs Vowels

Examples

Meanings

[i]

[nika]

[Male Child]

[i:]

[mi:l]

[Mile]

[a]

[man]

[a:]

[la:ʃ]

[Corpse]

[o:]

[ko:l]

[Near]

[e]

[met]

[Erase]

[ɛ]

[ɓɛh]

[Sit]

[e:]

[me:l]

[Wedding Night]

[æ]

[mæl]

[Dirt]

[ʌ]

[mʌt a]

[u]

[puli]

[Bridge]

[u:]

[ku:li]

[Soft]

[ ]

[m nʄ]

[Jute]

[ :]

[m :ndʒh]

[Missing somebody]

[ :]

[m :h]

[Rain]

[ ]

[m ng]

[Fiancé]

[ ]

[m nɖ ]

[Roots]

[ :]

[m :nɖ e]

[Shoulders]

[ ]

[ɠ ɽ]

[Count it]

[Come around]

[Sluggish; slow]

[ :] [ɠ :ɽ] [A sort of illness] Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12: 7 July 2012 Muhammad Safeer Awan, Ph.D., Abdul Baseer, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate and Muhammad Sheeraz, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate Outlining Saraiki Phonetics: A Comparative Study of Saraiki and English Sound System 128

[ ]

[m ]

[I]

[ʌ]

[bʌɽ]

[Become / be]

[ɔ]

[dɔɾ]

[Era]

3.2 Differences between Saraiki and English monophthongs It seems from the above given sounds and example that Saraiki has 23 monophthongs. But English has only 12 in number which are: [i:], [i], [e], [ ], [u], [u:], [o:], [o], [a:], [a], [e:], [ә]. English does not have nasal monophthongs. Saraiki monophthongs are long or short, nasal or oral. The location of Saraiki short monophthongs is shown below: Figure 1: Location of Saraiki Short Vowels:

Saraiki has following short vowels: /I/ /a/ /e/ /ɛ/ /æ/ /ʌ/ /u/ /ɔ/. It has five long vowels: /I:/ /a:/ /o:/ /e:/ /u:/. , six short nasal vowels i.e. / / / / / / / / / / /ʌ/. and four long nasal vowels: / :/ / :/ / :/ / :/. 3.3 Saraiki Diphthongs Diphthongs

Examples

Meanings

[ʌi] [kʌi] [Several] Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12: 7 July 2012 Muhammad Safeer Awan, Ph.D., Abdul Baseer, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate and Muhammad Sheeraz, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate Outlining Saraiki Phonetics: A Comparative Study of Saraiki and English Sound System 129

[ɔi]

[kɔina]

[No]

[ui]

[khui]

[A well]

[ei]

[lei]

[glue]

[ae]

[bʌɽae]

[Made]

[ʌe]

[ɠʌe]

[Went]

[ie]

[mʌɾsie]

[oe]

[You Mr.!]

[ue]

[dʒue]

[In gambling]

[ao]

[khao]

[Eat]

[ʌo]

[nʌokʌɾ]

[Attendant]

[eo]

[ɗeo]

[Give]

[io]

[pio]

[Drink]

[aɛ]

[bʌɽaɛm]

[I made (it)]

[au]

[mʌɾvau]

[About to be killed]

[iu]

[piu]

[Father ]

[ea]

[sumea]

[(Is) sleeping]

[ua]

[dua]

[Prayer ]

[iʌ]

[nʌsiʌt]

[A piece of advice]

[ʌ ]

[it ʌ ]

[At this place]

[a ]

[ɠa ]

[Cows]

[u ]

[bu ]

[Father’s sisters]

[u ]

[bu ]

[Of father’s sisters]

[i ]

[ɠi ]

[If you went]

[a ]

[kha ]

[Should we eat?]

[Songs of lamentation]

[i ]

[hʌti

[e ]

[sʌʄe ]

[From right hand side]

[ʌ ]

[ithʌ ]

[From this place]

[u ]

[dʒu ]

[Lice]

[bukhe ]

[Hungry men]

[bukhi ]

[Hungry women]

[e ] [i ]

]

[(Buy) from the shop]

3.4 English Diphthongs

Diphthongs

Transcription

Word

[ei]

[dei]

[Day]

[әʊ]

[nәʊ]

[No]

[ai]

[skai]

[Sky]

[ɔi]

[tɔi]

[Toy]

[aʊ]

[haʊ]

[How]

[iә]

[piә]

[Pier]

[eә]

[peә]

[Pair]

[ʊә]

[tʊә]

[Tour]

While English has only 8 diphthongs, Saraiki has as many as 31. Both the languages have /ei/ and /ɔi/ in common. Saraiki does not have /әʊ/ and /ai/. No diphthong in Saraiki ends at /ә/. English does not have nasal diphthongs. The above given information also shows that the total number of Saraiki phonemes is 94 and not 48, 56 or 58 as Shackle (as cited in Rasoolpuri, 1980, p. 76), Rasoolpuri (1980, p. 75) and Haq (1984, p. 18) believe. The problem with their description and understanding is that they ignore the fact that Saraiki monophthongs and diphthongs are separate sounds.

4. Saraiki Consonant Clusters Unlike many of the Pakistani languages which are in direct contact with it, Saraiki has consonant clusters as well. These consonant clusters have two categories: a) Initial clusters b) Final clusters a) Initial Clusters Initial cluster of Saraiki generally consists of dental plosive plus /r/, e.g. [tɾ]

[tɾ ]

[Three]

[dɾ]

[dɾeh]

[Too much]

[d ɾ]

[d ɾak]

[To jump]

b) Final Clusters (i) Dental Plosives plus /r/ [tɾ]

[atɾ]

[Perfume]

(ii)Voiceless fricative plus voiceless plosive [ t]

[kɾa t]

[Rigid]

(iii) Plosive cluster [kht ]

[vakht ]

[Time]

5. Saraiki Syllable Structure Saraiki has following syllable structure: V:

[e:]

[m ]

CV:

[ha:]

[This] [I] [Ok, yes]

CCV

[tɾ ]

[Three]

[akh]

[Eye]

V:C

[a:kh]

[Ask]

VCC

[atɾ]

[Perfume]

CVC

[ɓa:l]

[Child]

CCVC

[d ɾak]

[Jump]

CVCC

[saxt]

[Hard]

Saraiki syllable structure formula can be: Co-2 V Co-2 English Syllable structure formula is: Co-3 V Co-4 6. Stress Principal suprasegmental features are stress, tone and intonation (Ladefoged 1982). Languages differ in sound segments i.e. phonemes, in the formation of these sound combination i.e. phonotactic rules, and in the degree of force i.e. stress given to syllables and words. All syllables in Saraiki occur at regular interval of time. So, it is syllable timed language. As a result of syllable timing, vowels in Saraiki are clear cut. There is no vowel reduction in connected speech in Saraiki. English is stress timed language: degree of force given to syllables in words differs. Conclusion Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12: 7 July 2012 Muhammad Safeer Awan, Ph.D., Abdul Baseer, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate and Muhammad Sheeraz, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate Outlining Saraiki Phonetics: A Comparative Study of Saraiki and English Sound System 133

The above study demonstrates that English and Saraiki are different regarding the number and kind of sounds, place and manner of articulation. English has 24 consonants while Saraiki has 40. English monophthongs are 12 while those of Saraiki are 23. English Diphthongs are 8 and Saraiki Diphthongs are 31. In this regard, the researchers of present study (who are, incidentally, all Saraiki-speaking) have also demonstrated that earlier studies carried in this field by Shackle, Haq and others have discovered less number of sounds perhaps because they were not native speakers of this language and for this reason they failed to perceive the subtle differences in various sounds of Saraiki. Further differences of phonemes of both the languages are also discussed above. Like English, Saraiki has consonant clusters. Both languages differ in their syllable structure formula. English is stress timed language, while Saraiki is syllable timed. ================================================================== References Deterding D. & A. Kirkpatrick (2006). ‘Emerging South-East Asian Englishes and intelligibility’. World Englishes 25/3: 391-409. Dewey, M. (2007). English as a Lingua Franca: An empirical study of innovation in lexis and grammar. Unpublished PhD thesis, King’s College London. Haggard, M. P. (1969). Perception of Semi-vowels and Laterals. Retrieved on 16 August, 2011 from http://www.haskins.yale.edu/sr/SR017/SR017_08.pdf Haq, M. A. (1967). Multani Zuban Aur Uska Urdu Se Taalluq. Bahawalpur: Bahawalpur Urdu Academy. Haq, M. A. (1984). Saraiki Zaban dey Qaidey Qanoon. Multan: Saraiki Adabi Board. Haq, M. A. (1985). Saraiki Dian Mazeed Lisani Tehqeeqan. Multan: Saraiki Adabi Board. Jenkins J. (2000). The Phonology of English as an International Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Jenkins J. (2007). English as a Lingua Franca: Attitude and Identity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12: 7 July 2012 Muhammad Safeer Awan, Ph.D., Abdul Baseer, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate and Muhammad Sheeraz, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate Outlining Saraiki Phonetics: A Comparative Study of Saraiki and English Sound System 134

Jones, Daniel. (1979). An Outline of English Phonetics. New Delhi: Kalyani Publishers. Kalanchvi, D. (1987). Saraiki Zaban tey Adab. Bahawalpur: Saraiki Adabi Majlis. Kalanchvi, D. (2008). Saraiki Lisaniat. Bahawalpur: Academy of Saraiki Literature. Khan, J. A. (1995). Saraiki Saqafat. Multan: Roohani Art Press. Ladefoged, P. (1982). A Course in Phonetics. London: Harcourt Brace Jovannovich Lewis, M. P. (Ed.). (2009). Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/. Mauranen, A. & Ranta, E. (Eds.). (2009). English as a Lingua Franca: Studies and Findings. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Mughal, S. (2007). Ifadat: Ilmi-o-Adabi Mazameen. Multan: Jhok Publishers. Rahman, T. (1996). Language and Politics in Pakistan. Karachi: Oxford University Press. Rasoolpuri, A. (1976). Saraiki Rasm-ul-Khat ki Mukhtasar Tareekh. Multan: Bazm-eSaqafat. Rasoolpuri, M. A. (1980). Saraiki Zaban Oonda Rasmulkhat atey Awazan. Rasoolpur: Saraiki Publications. Roach, P. (1997). English Phonetics and Phonlogy: A practical course. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Roach, P. (2009). English Phonetics and Phonology Glossary: A Little Encyclopaedia of Phonetics. Retrieved on 16 August 2011 from http://www.cambridge.org/servlet/file/EPP_PED_Glossary.pdf?ITEM_ENT_ID=249 1706&ITEM_VERSION=1&COLLSPEC_ENT_ID=7

Seidlhofer, B. (2004). Research perspectives on teaching English as a Lingua Franca. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics Vol.24. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12: 7 July 2012 Muhammad Safeer Awan, Ph.D., Abdul Baseer, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate and Muhammad Sheeraz, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate Outlining Saraiki Phonetics: A Comparative Study of Saraiki and English Sound System 135

Shackle, C. (1976). The Saraiki Language of Central Pakistan. London: Uneoprint. Wagha, A. (1990). The Saraiki Language: Its Growth and Development. Islamabad: Derawar Publications. ============================================================== Muhammad Safeer Awan, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of English, International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan [emailprotected] Abdul Baseer, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate Lecturer in English Government College University Faisalabad, Pakistan [emailprotected] Muhammad Sheeraz, M.Phil., Ph.D. Candidate Department of English, International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan [emailprotected]

Gandhi and His Hindustani Ganpat Teli, M.Phil. =================================================== Abstract During the freedom movement of India, the complex and controversial of the National Language was raised. In this controversy Gandhi supported the concept of Hindustani. Gandhi’s thoughts on languages are discussed in this paper. This article will try to look on other dimensions of his thoughts on languages as well. Gandhi accepts religion as a base to consolidate his views on language. However, Gandhi’s concept was an expression of exclusion in some sense, as non-northern and nonHindu and non-Muslims weren’t part of it. In addition to these features, Gandhi’s contradictions regarding thoughts on language will also be discussed. Key Words: Gandhi, National Language, India, Hindi, Hindustani, Urdu, Colloquial, Sankrit, Nagari, Arabic, Persian, Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, Hindu, Muslim. M.K. Gandhi stepped into the Indian political scene in the initial decades of the last century and soon became the unquestioned leader of the Indian NationalCongress. He already had strong views on the question of National Language for India when he was not yet well recognized. These views were propagated by him for the linguistic unification of India. In the words of Granville Austin, “Gandhi placed the language issue at the heart of the independence movement” (Austin 2010: 47). In the course of his campaign for the unified national language, he chaired the annul sessions of Hindi Sahitya Sammelan at Indore twice in 1918 and 1935 and delivered its presidential speeches. He also formed Dakshin Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ganpat Teli, M.Phil. Gandhi and His Hindustani 137

Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha in 1918 (in 1946 ‘Hindi’ was replaced with ‘Hindustani’), Rashtrabhasa Prachar Samiti in 1936, Hindustani Prachar Sabha in 1942. He regularly monitored the programmes of Hindustani (Gandhi’s use of the terms Hindi, Hindi-Hindustani and Hindustani was rather ambiguous. For convenience, Hindustani is used to represent Gandhi’s advocated language in this paper.) propagation in the non-Hindi regions. In addition to this, he delivered many speeches and wrote many articles in an attempt to build a consensus in favour of Hindustani as the national language. Baldev Raj Nayar notes this fact of Gandhi’s effort writes that “Even though other leaders from non-Hindi regions had advocated the cause of Hindi as the national or link language, it was Gandhi who took active steps for its propagation in the non-Hindi areas” (Nayar 1968). Not only Hindi but due to Gandhi’s efforts, the issue of National Language came into mainstream debate. In words of Jyotirindra Das Gupta, “the most important advocate of a common Indian language designed to unify the national movement was Mahatma Gandhi.” (Das Gupta 1970: 108) Gandhi was favouring Hindustani as the unified national language of India. His concept of Hindustani faced challenges from the advocates of the camps of English, Hindi (Sanskritised Hindi), Urdu (Persianised Urdu) and other Indian languages, but Gandhi rejected these claims. For him, English was simply a language of administrators, so he emphasised upon the need for the administrators to learn local languages, not people to learn English: “Crores of men should learn a foreign tongue for the convenience of a few hundreds of officials is the height of absurdity. … Nobody disputes the necessity of a common medium. But it cannot be English. The officials have to recognize the vernaculars” (Gandhi 1956: 17). Hindi and Urdu are one and the same, according to Gandhi. Both the languages represent only Hindu and Muslim communities respectively. His stress was on the fusion of both Hindi and Urdu. In his words, “Hindustani, i.e., a correct mixture of Hindi and Urdu, is the national language” (ibid 149). For him, fusion of Hindi and Urdu reflects fusion of Hindu and Muslims. As for other Indian languages, he argued that these are provincial languages which could be used in their respective provinces, but for inter-provinces purposes Hindi/Hindustani should be used as the national language. In his second Indore speech Gandhi said, “I have always held that in no case whatsoever do we want to injure, much less suppress or destroy, the provincial languages. We want only that all should learn Hindi as common medium for inter-provincial intercourse” (ibid 38). What is Hindustani? Though the Hindustani was supported by prominent figures like Gandhi, it didn’t have a monolithic definition and thus was used in variously various references (Rai 2001: 11-16; Rahman 2011: 31-41). Before the spread of the Hindi-Urdu controversy, lingua-franca of northern-central India was known as Hindustani. After the dispute of Hindi and Urdu gained momentum, Hindustani was also used for Hindi and Urdu separately and commonly. Gandhi himself has used this phrase in various contexts. However, Gandhi’s popular definition of Hindustani is as follows:

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ganpat Teli, M.Phil. Gandhi and His Hindustani

138

Hindustani is the language which is spoken and understood and used by Hindus and Muslims both in cities and villages in North India and which is written and read both in the Nagari and Persian scripts and whose literary forms are today known as Hindi and Urdu. (Gandhi 1956: 113) A point in this regard worth mentioning is that Gandhi was not consistent about the nomenclature of the said language. Initially he was using the term Hindi, then Hindi-Hindustani and later calling it Hindustani. He also exhibited contradictions and uncertainty in using the nomenclature. However, towards the end of his life, these contradictions and uncertainty were reduced considerably, especially after 1945 when he left Sammelan. In 1936, he said “Hindi, Hindustani and Urdu are different names for the same speech” (ibid 63) and in 1938 he said that “for the purpose of crystallizing Hindustani, Hindi and Urdu may be regarded as feeders” (ibid 88). Further in 1946 he clearly stated that, “neither Urdu nor Hindi is to be termed Hindustani. Though not in vogue today, Hindustani is a wise mixture of the two” (ibid 154-55). In another piece, he elaborated on the correlation between this trio: “Hindustani is spoken by both Hindus and Muslims. But it has now assumed two forms: Sanskritised Hindi and Persianised Urdu” (ibid 145). Observing these fluctuations in Gandhi’s discourse pertaining to Hindustani, Granville Austin writes, “Gandhi, as we shall see, used the words Hindi and Hindustani at all different times for varied reasons, but he was always speaking of the same tongue, that is broad Hindustani written in both - Urdu and Devnagari scripts” (Austin 2010: 48). Though, Gandhi himself shifted from ‘Hindi’ to ‘Hindustani’, he mentioned that the issue of nomenclature wasn’t of a prominent importance for him, important was the nature of the said language. However, contradiction and uncertainty are not restricted merely to the nomenclature and usage of the languages but has also proliferated into other aspects of Gandhi’s thought on the question of language. He was ambiguous and in the words of David Lelyveld, “typically vague about what language other than English he might have preferred to use ...” ( Lelyveld 1993: 191). Peter Brock also noted ambiguity and said “some ambiguity undoubtedly existed in the mind of Mahatma” (Brock 1983: 204). Colloquial and Sanskrit This is a general notion that Gandhi was in favour of the colloquial form of language. In his first Indore speech in 1918 he said, “I have often said that Hindi is that language which is spoken in the North by both Hindus and Muslims and which is written either in the Nagari or the Persian script. This Hindi is neither too Sanskritized nor too Persianized. The sweetness which I find in the village Hindi is found neither in the speech of Muslims of Lucknow nor in that of the Hindu pandits of Prayag. The language which is easily understood by the masses is the best. All can easily follow the village Hindi” (Gandhi 1956: 9-10). As far as vocabulary was concerned, in his second Indore speech in 1935, Gandhi suggested, “all words which have become current coin in the language of the people should be freely accepted in our national language” (ibid 40). But, contrary to this, in a piece on languages of southern India he took a position in favour of Sanskrit vocabulary in the following words: “So far as South Indian languages are concerned it is only Hindi with large Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ganpat Teli, M.Phil. Gandhi and His Hindustani

139

number of Sanskrit words that can appeal to them, for they are already familiar with a certain number of Sanskrit words and the Sanskrit sound” (ibid 54). This is notable that despite an impact of Sanskrit on Tamil and other Dravidian languages, strong resistance to the domination of the Sanskritisation process was noticed among those who had not been traditionally learning or allowed to learn Sanskrit. This led to de-Sanskritisation and created anti-Sanskrit sentiments. Observing this David Lelyveld rightly commented that, “ignoring anti-Sanskrit sentiment in Tamil Nadu, Gandhi argued that the common Sanskrit vocabulary would serve to bridge the languages of India together” (Lelyveld 2002:181). However, in another instance of favouring Sanskrit, Gandhi mentioned in the context of Gitanjali by Rabidra Nath Tagore that, if Gitanjali was transliterated in Nagari script, people of the all regions would be able to comprehend it because “there is in it a vast number of words derived from Sanskrit and easily understood by the people of the other provinces” (Gandhi 1956: 43). Even if we avoid Gandhi’s non-recognition of the “forms of diglossia” which in the words of Paul R. Brass “have arisen in all major language regions of India, but Tamil is generally used as the classic example in South Asia” (Brass 2010: 210), Gandhi’s statement is in sharp contradiction to his vision of colloquialism. Language and Religious Communities Gandhi did have concerns about the unified language and harmonious relation between Hindu and Muslim communities and he perceived Hindustani as a better solution. In the words of William L. Richter, “He sought to unite Hindus and Muslims into one nation through use of composite Hindu-Urdu vocabulary and both scripts” (Richter 1971: 29). He was quite confident about this solution, as he wrote in 1948, “I may be alone today in my belief, but it is obvious that ultimately it is neither Sanskritised Hindi nor Persianised Urdu which will win. It is only Hindustani which will win ultimately” (Gandhi 1956: 186). The notion that Hindi is a language of Hindus and Urdu of Muslims is a false perception and also, a root cause of Hindi-Urdu controversy. But, Gandhi got the wrong impression and approved the separation of Hindi-Urdu as the languages of Hindus and Muslims respectively. While defining Hindustani he used terms Hindus and Muslims, etc., of the northern India. He had also extensively used phrases such as Urdu of Muslim brothers, Language of Muslims, Language spoken by Hindus. This notion of Gandhi was extensively expressed in his writings and speeches. In another instance, when Hindustani was declared as the language of Congress, adherents of Hindustani should have observed this as a victory over religious symbolism of Hindi and Urdu, but Gandhi took this debate in the opposite direction. He commented on the decision, “Independently of the Congress, Hindi and Urdu will continue to flourish. Hindi will be mostly confined to Hindus and Urdu to Muslims” (ibid 83). The Script Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ganpat Teli, M.Phil. Gandhi and His Hindustani

140

Gandhi had also carried the notion of religious association of the scripts. For him, this was more contested than the languages themselves. In fact, the Urdu-Hindi controversy itself initially started as script controversy between Persian and Nagari. He recognised Nagari as a script of the Hindus and Persian-Arabic as that of the Muslims and said in his first Indore speech, “There is no doubt difficulty in regard to scripts. As things are, Muslims will patronize the Arabic script while Hindus will mostly use the Nagari script” (ibid 10). Even if we avoid the mistake of placing Arabic script instead of Persian in this discourse, Gandhi’s notion of scripts’ association to the religious communities does appear sharp. Gandhi placed Arabic in consideration as the representative of Muslims, as popular Islamic religious texts were written in the Arabic. However, this is a fact that Persian language and script, instead of Arabic, were used in Mughal courts and as a counterpart in this controversy itself is a rejection of religious association of languages and scripts (Gupta 2011: 27). Gandhi’s contradictions were also reflected in this regard. He himself recognised that many Hindus such as Tej Bahadur Sapru were great scholar of Urdu and he was also unhappy with the decision granting official status to the Hindi and Nagari in United Province (Gandhi 1956: 171). And in 1948 he also accepted that Nagari isn’t associated with all the Hindus, “we cannot forget that many Hindus and Sikhs are ignorant of the Nagari script” (ibid 182). But with the exception of a few instance of contradictions he exhibited a strong sense of association of Hindi-Urdu with Hindus and Muslims respectively. Even Gandhi’s stress upon Urdu was because of, as in the word of David Lelyveld, he considered that “it was a matter of religious importance to Muslims and it should be respected and nurtured for that reason” (Lelyveld 2002: 184). However, Gandhi’s proposal of two scripts - Nagari and Persian - was just a temporary arrangement and “In the end, the script which is the easier of the two will prevail” (Gandhi 1956: 10). While presenting this pre-requisite, he wasn’t impartial. He was in favour of Nagari for national integration and many a times very explicitly expressed his favour for Nagari. He wrote in 1927, “It is my firm conviction that there should be one script for all the Indian languages, and that script can only be Devanagari ...” (ibid 25). Further in 1948, in his one of the last pieces on language he said, “It is no secret that among the various scripts I consider Nagari to be by far the best” (ibid 184). This is also notable that Gandhi’s argument in favour of Nagari reflects its socalled association with the Hindu community. In the course of projecting Nagari as a unifying script, Gandhi wrote, Before the acceptance of Devnagari script becomes a universal fact in India, Hindu India has got to be converted to the idea of one script for all the languages derived from Sanskrit and the Dravidian stock. ... If all these scripts could be replaced by Devnagari for all the practical and national purposes, it would mean a tremendous step forward. It will help to solidify Hindu India and bring the different provinces in closer touch (ibid 25-26). Gandhi’s thoughts related to script also reflect contradictions. William L. Richter observed the contradictions in the following words: “There was also an apparent Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ganpat Teli, M.Phil. Gandhi and His Hindustani 141

contradiction in Gandhi’s simultaneous advocacy of a common Devanagari script for the regional languages and two scripts for Hindustani” (Richter 1971: 31). Heterogeneity and Unification In the process of unification, Gandhi was keen in making the unified national language. Gandhi’s attempt “harnessed linguistic self-determination to the independence movement” (Friedrich,1962) and “only reflected the linguistic hegemony of the north” (Ahmad, 2006). Gandhi’s definition of Hindustani could be analyzed in this way: National language is that which is spoken in the northern India by Hindus and Muslims only. Needless to say, this concept was very narrow, which excludes the people of the rest of the country. While defining the national language Gandhi described five requirements for national language, as follows- “1. It should be easy to learn for government officials, 2. It should be capable of serving as medium of religious, economic, and political intercourse of throughout India, 3. It should be speech of the majority of the inhabitants of India, 4. It should be easy to learn for the whole country, 5. In choosing this language, considerations of temporary passing interests should not count” (Gandhi 1956: 3). Afterwards, he declared that, “We shall have to admit that it is Hindi” that has these characteristics (ibid 4) but he did not elaborate here how Hindi or Hindustani possessed these attributes. Though, Gandhi did acknowledge the differences between Hindi and other languages and the varying levels of learning difficulties, especially to those who speak Dravidian languages (ibid 6), yet he imposed the responsibility and burden on Dravidians only. For instance, he asked the Kannada speakers in a public address, “Have you not energy enough to devote to a study of Hindi four hours each day for just one month? Do you think that is too much to devote this time to cultivate contact with 200 millions of your own countrymen?” (ibid 49) Linguistic Hegemony Gandhi argued that Hindustani is spoken by a majority of the people in this country. So, for the unified link language Gandhi asked the Dravidian inhabitants to learn Hindustani. (One could include the speakers of Tibeto-Burman and AustroAsiatic languages also here.) Gandhi believed that speakers of Dravidian languages are lesser in numbers than Hindi, making it more logical for them to learn Hindi: The Dravidians being in a minority, national economy suggests that they should learn the common language of the rest of the India than that the rest should learn Tamil, Telugu, Kanarese and Malayalam in order to be able to converse with Dravidian India. (ibid 18) In this context, it is notable that India has vast linguistic heterogeneity, languages of four language families, Indo-Aryan branch of Indo-European, Dravidian, Tibeto-Burman and Austro-Asiatic - were and are spoken here. Further, each and every family has its own internal diversities and among them many languages have classic linguistic and literary heritage. Even Hindi-region itself has linguistic diversity in the form of languages such as Awadhi, Bhojpuri, Brijbhasha, Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ganpat Teli, M.Phil. Gandhi and His Hindustani 142

Maithili, and Santhali. But here, this heterogeneity and diversity were ignored and all non-Dravidian languages were defined under Hindi or Hindustani. Gandhi and Hindi Sahitya Sammelan As stated above, Gandhi was also associated with the Sammelan for a long period and he was also under the influence of the linguistic notion of Sammelan. This association continued till 1945. In 1942 he wrote about this: “I am proud of my connection with that body” (ibid 102) i.e., Sammelan. On the issue of opposing Sammelan he said, “I have been associated with the Sammelan since 1918 how can I deliberately oppose it? Moreover, there should be strong reasons if I were to oppose it. There is nothing of the kind” (ibid 111). Gandhi drifted away from Sammelan later when he formed somewhat favourable opinion of Hindustani and started to stress upon both Hindi and Urdu as component of the Hindustani. This development caused a conflict between Gandhi’s position and the language policy of the Sammelan. Sammelan criticised Gandhi and his evolving thoughts on language and pushed forward its own notion of language. Gandhi also criticised Sammelan. In 1945, while expressing his displeasure over Sammelan’s position Gandhi stated that, “If the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan people insist that they will work only for the Sanskrit-ridden Hindi, the Sammelan ceases to exist for me” (ibid 123). In the same year, Gandhi resigned from the Sammelan. Conclusion It could be concluded that contradiction and ambiguity appeared in almost all the aspects of Gandhi’s thoughts on national language - whether it be the issue of name, form, script or any other dimensions of the language debate. Influence of the Sammelan on his linguistic thought was also reflected in his notion. Gandhi considered Urdu and Hindi as a language of Muslims and Hindus respectively. Gandhi’s proposal of Hindi or Hindustani as a unified language was also on the track of Sammelan, as it advocated linguistic hegemony of Northern-India over the rest of the country. However, it is also noticeable that towards the last days of his life, Gandhi was arriving at a somewhat rational position, but this could not reach its logical culmination because of his marginalisation at the social and political fronts. He had tremendous influence on common people of the country but not on the power elites. Also, creation of an impartial Hindustani at least would have been able to prevent division of Hindi-Urdu and the grudge between Hindu-Muslim communities, which was intended by Gandhi. ========================================================= References

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ganpat Teli, M.Phil. Gandhi and His Hindustani

143

Ahmad, Nizar (2006): “A note on Gandhi, Nation and Modernity” Social Scientist, Vol. 34, No. 5/6 (May - Jun.). Viewed on 10/11/2011 (http://www.jstor.org/stable/27644141). Austin, Granville (2010): “Language and the Constitution: The Half-Hearted Compromise” in Asha Sarangi (ed) Language and Politics in India, (Delhi: Oxford University Press) 41-92 Brass, Paul R. (2010): “Elite Interests, Popular Passion and Social Power” in Asha Sarangi (ed) Language and Politics in India, (Delhi: Oxford University Press) 183-217 Brock, Peter (1983): The Mahatma and Mother India: Essays on Gandhi’s Non-Violence and Nationalism, (Ahmedabad: Navajivan Publishing House) Das Gupta, Jyotirindra (1970): Language Conflict and National Development, (Delhi: Oxford University Press) Friedrich, Paul (1962): “Language and Politics in India” Daedalus, Vol. 91, No. 3 Current work and controversies-2, (Summer 1962). Viewed on 13/11/2011 (http://www.jstor.org/stable/20026727). Gandhi, M.K (1956): Thoughts on National Language, (Ahmedabad: Navajivan Publishing House) Gupta, Jeetendra (2011): Bharatiy Itihasbodh ka Sangarsh aur Hindi Pradesh, (Delhi: Granthshilpi) Lelyveld, David (1993): “The Fate of Hindustani”, in Carol A. Breckenridge and Peter van der Veer (ed) Orientalism and the Postcolonial Predicament Perspectives on South Asia,( Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press) 189-214 Lelyveld, David (2002): “Words as Deeds: Gandhi and Language” in Paul R. Brass and Achin Vanaik (ed), Competing Nationalisms in South Asia, (New Delhi: Orient Longman) 172-186 Nayar, Baldev Raj (1968): “Hindi as link language”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 3, No. 6 (Feb. 10). Viewed on 31/07/2011 (http://www.jstor.org/stable/4358239). Rahman, Tariq (2011): From Hindi to Urdu: A Social and Political History, (Hyderabad: Orient BlackSwan) Rai, Alok (2001): Hindi Nationalsim, (Hyderabad: Orient Longman) Richter, William L.(1971): “Gandhi and Language: Political Relevance for the seventies” Gandhi Marg, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Jan.) 26-40 ============================================================== Ganpat Teli, M.Phil., Ph.D. Student Centre of Indian Language School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) New Delhi-110067 India [emailprotected]

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ganpat Teli, M.Phil. Gandhi and His Hindustani

144

English Language Learning Strategies Employed by Jordanian Students at Yarmouk University Abdel-Basit Mohammad Al-Khasawneh, Ph.D. Candidate Fadi Maher Al-Khasawneh, Ph.D. Candidate ================================================== ABSTRACT The current study aims at investigating the language learning strategies that are most frequently employed by EFL learners at Yarmouk University. It also aims to find out if there are statistically significant differences in the use of language learning strategies in relation to gender. The sample of this study encompasses 121 students (65 male students and 56 female students) from the various faculties at Yarmouk University. For this purpose, the researchers developed a questionnaire based on Oxford’s (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL). The data obtained were calculated and analyzed via descriptive statistics and independent sample Ttest. The results revealed that Jordanian students are moderate users of language learning strategies. Compensation strategies were the most frequently employed language learning strategies, while the least frequently employed strategies were the memory strategies. In addition, the results showed no statistically significant differences in the use of language learning strategies in relation to gender. Keywords: Language learning strategies, SILL Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Abdel-Basit Mohammad Al-Khasawneh, Ph.D. Candidate & Fadi Maher Al-Khasawneh, Ph.D. Candidate English Language Learning Strategies Employed by Jordanian Students at Yarmouk University 145

Introduction It is clear that English language has become the dominant language worldwide. It is the common language for billions of people around the world (Pakir, 2000). Also, English is widely used and it is considered as the main language used in different fields such as tourism, economics, science, aviation, and international business (Al-Issa, 2006). In the educational context, English plays a vital role in education and students are expected to communicate effectively in institutions where English is used as the medium of instruction (Adams & Keene, 2000). In Jordan, English plays an important role in the Jordanian education and students are expected to have a good command of English to proceed in their studies. According to Jafar (2008), English is taught all through the entire span of the school years from K-12 as a foreign language, and it is considered as an obligatory subject for the school curriculum. In addition, English language is necessary to communicate with the world, social development, acquisition of new technology, and education (Zughoul, 2003). Recently, most of the studies on language learning strategies have paid more attention to learners’ strategies in learning English rather than teaching methods to language learning strategies (Khasawneh, 2012). The reason of such shift is due to the importance of language learning strategies in overcoming the difficulties in communication and they might improve the learners’ competence towards the target language (Nunan, 1988; Oxford, 1990). In addition, a considerable number of studies have emphasized the significance of language learning strategies use among ESL or EFL learners (Abraham & Vann, 1987; Chamot & Kupper, 1989). The importance of language learning strategies arises from the fact that teaching students to use LLS can help them to reach a sense of learning autonomy and become successful language learners (Oxford and Crookall, 1989). A number of researchers have attempted to provide definitions for language learning strategies. Schemeck (1988) views learning strategies as “the implementation of a set of procedures (tactics) for accomplishing something‖ and learning strategy is a sequence of procedures for accomplishing learning” (p.5). Oxford & Crookall (1989) define language learning strategies as “steps taken by the learner to aid the acquisition, storage, and retrieval of information” (p.404). Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Abdel-Basit Mohammad Al-Khasawneh, Ph.D. Candidate & Fadi Maher Al-Khasawneh, Ph.D. Candidate English Language Learning Strategies Employed by Jordanian Students at Yarmouk University 146

They indicate that strategies might be used consciously but it can also become habitual and automatic with practice. Later on Oxford (1990) expanded this definition to include “specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective, and more transferable to new situations” (p.8). Oxford (1990) developed one of the most comprehensive which is widely accepted in the language learning area. She classified language learning strategies into two types, namely direct and indirect strategies. Direct strategies are called so, because they are utilized directly in dealing with the target language. Direct strategies include the following: Cognitive strategies: These strategies empower the learners to use the language materials directly, for instance synthesizing, reasoning, note-taking, and analysis. Memory strategies: These strategies enable the learners to link the L2 notions and concepts with another. However, they are not related to deep comprehension. Memory strategies encompass images, key words, and acronyms. Compensation strategies: These include strategies which help the learners to bridge the knowledge gap in the language fields. Gestures and guessing from context are examples of compensation strategies. Indirect strategies involve supporting and managing language learning without direct engagement and it includes the following categories:

Metacognitive strategies: These involve recognizing the learners’ priorities and needs, planning, monitoring and evaluation the learning process. In other words, they are used to handle the learning process. Affective strategies: These help the learners to regulate their motivation, attitudes and emotions. For instance, self-encouragement and reducing anxiety level.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Abdel-Basit Mohammad Al-Khasawneh, Ph.D. Candidate & Fadi Maher Al-Khasawneh, Ph.D. Candidate English Language Learning Strategies Employed by Jordanian Students at Yarmouk University 147

Social strategies: These involve interaction and collaboration between the learners themselves, and the learners and their teachers. Social strategies include asking questions, asking for clarifications, and talking with native speakers in order to explore the target culture.

A number of studies have attempted to investigate the factors that might affect the use of learning strategies such as language proficiency. Oxford & Nyikos (1989) indicate that the use of language learning strategies are related to several factors such as language proficiency, gender, culture, age, academic major, beliefs, and ethnic. Among the aforementioned factors, gender is considered as one of the most significant factors that affect the use of language learning strategies as proved by the prior research works in this field.

Problem Statement To keep up with the recent developments in the field of language learning strategies, Jordanian instructors should be able to implement these strategies in their teaching techniques and procedures. Also, Jordanian EFL learners should be aware of the various language learning strategies as a prerequisite to become more successful language learners. Up to the researchers’ knowledge, Jordanian learners’ perceptions and beliefs of language learning strategies have never been researched. Consequently, the current study aims at investigating the various language learning strategies used by Jordanian students at Yarmouk University.

Research Objectives The main objective of this study is to find out the various language learning strategies employed by Jordanian students while learning English language. It also looks at the variations of using language learning strategies in relation to gender. More specifically, this study sought to answer the following questions: 1. What are the most frequently language learning strategies used by EFL learners at Yarmouk University? 2. Are there any statistically significant differences between males and females in their use of language learning strategies? Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Abdel-Basit Mohammad Al-Khasawneh, Ph.D. Candidate & Fadi Maher Al-Khasawneh, Ph.D. Candidate English Language Learning Strategies Employed by Jordanian Students at Yarmouk University 148

Research Methodology Participants The participants of this study were 121 students from the various faculties at Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan in academic year 2012. The participants consisted of 65 male students and 56 female students whose ages range from 17 to 22.

Research Instrument A questionnaire based on Oxford’s (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL). The Arabic version of the questionnaire was used to elicit the language learning strategies which are currently employed by Jordanian students at Yarmouk University. The questionnaire contained 50 items on a five-Likert scale ranging from 1 (‘never or almost never true of me’) to 5 (‘always true of me’). It was piloted to 30 students from the various faculties at Yarmouk University. The Cronbach’s alpha reliability of the Arabic version of SILL questionnaire was 0.93.

Data Collection Procedures The questionnaires were administered to all participants by English teachers during the English class from 16th to 23th of February, 2012 (second semester) at Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan. A brief explanation of the purpose of the study was given. The students were informed that their responses to the questionnaires would be kept confidential and would have no effect on their course grade.

Data Analysis The Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) for Microsoft Windows 17.0 was used to analyze the data obtained from the present study. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the frequency of using language learning strategies among students such as Mean (M), Standard Deviation (SD), and t test was used to find out if there are statistically significant differences in the use of language learning strategies according to gender.

Results and Discussion of the First Research Question Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Abdel-Basit Mohammad Al-Khasawneh, Ph.D. Candidate & Fadi Maher Al-Khasawneh, Ph.D. Candidate English Language Learning Strategies Employed by Jordanian Students at Yarmouk University 149

What are the most frequently language learning strategies used by EFL learners at Yarmouk University? In order to answer the first research question, the researchers used descriptive statistics including means and standard deviations to calculate the frequency of language learning strategies use among the students. The analysis of strategy use was based on Oxford (1990) as follows: 1.0 - 2.4 = low strategy use 2.5 - 3.4 = medium strategy use 3.5 - 5.0 = high strategy use

The following table presents the results obtained to answer the first question. Table 1: The Frequency scores of Using Language Learning Strategies among Students Strategy Category

Rank

Cognitive

121

2.97

.57

Memory

121

2.70

.65

Compensation

121

3.13

.63

Metacognitive

121

3.00

.65

Affective

121

2.79

.65

Social

121

2.99

.72

Overall

121

2.95

.51

As shown in the table above, Jordanian EFL students were moderate strategy users. These findings do not support the prior research works conducted in ESL learning context; ESL learners showed a high frequency use of English language learning strategies (Politzer, 1983; Phillips, 1991; Nyikos & Oxford, 1993). However, these study results were in line with the findings of the earlier research conducted in EFL context (Bremner, 1999; Wharton, 2000). The results of the present study also reported a medium frequency use of each of the six categories of strategy with mean statistics within the range from 3.13 to 2.70. Jordanian EFL learners showed a high interest of using compensation strategies, which is consistent with the results of previous studies (Kim, 1995; Lee, 1994; Ok, 2003), and the order of preference was: compensation Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Abdel-Basit Mohammad Al-Khasawneh, Ph.D. Candidate & Fadi Maher Al-Khasawneh, Ph.D. Candidate English Language Learning Strategies Employed by Jordanian Students at Yarmouk University 150

strategies, followed by metacognitive strategies, social strategies, cognitive strategies, and affective strategies.

Results and Discussion of the First Research Question Are there any statistically significant differences between males and females in their use of language learning strategies? To answer this research question, T-test statistics were used to examine the significant differences in the use of English learning strategies between male and female students. The results obtained to answer the second research question are presented in Table 2.

Category Cognitive Memory Compensation Metacognitive Affective Social Overall

Gender Male (n=65) Female (n=56) Male (n=65) Female (n=56) Male (n=65) Female (n=56) Male (n=65) Female (n=56) Male (n=65) Female (n=56) Male (n=65) Female (n=56) Male (n=65) Female (n=56)

M 2.93 3.01 2.68 2.71 3.14 3.12 2.98 3.01 2.77 2.80 2.97 3.00 2.92 2.97

SD .56 .58 .64 .65 .60 .66 .65 .66 .68 .63 .69 .75 .51 .51

t -.39

Sig. (2tailed) .70

-1.11

.27

.17

.87

-.47

.64

-.42

.68

-.42

.67

-.80

.43

The results shown above revealed no significant differences in the use of language learning strategies between male and female students. In other words, the strategy uses between male and female learners in Jordan at the university level were similar, and the gender factor was not crucial in affecting the use of language learning strategies. The results are also indicated no significant differences between males and females in the use of different categories of language learning strategies. These results are consistent with the past studies on EFL learners (Lee, 1994; Kim, 1995; Oh, 1996). On the other hand, the results of the current study did not concur with results of research within the ESL context. The findings of these studies reported more strategy Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Abdel-Basit Mohammad Al-Khasawneh, Ph.D. Candidate & Fadi Maher Al-Khasawneh, Ph.D. Candidate English Language Learning Strategies Employed by Jordanian Students at Yarmouk University 151

use among female students than their male students’ counterparts (Bacon, 1992; Ehrman & Oxford, 1990; Green & Oxford, 1995; Hong-Nam & Leavell, 2006).

Recommendation for Further Research Works In the present study, the researchers investigated the types of language learning strategies employed by Jordanian students at Yarmouk University. In addition, the researchers investigated if there are statistically significant differences in the use of language learning strategies in relation to the variable of gender. However, further research works need to be carried out with a larger number of Jordanian students taking into consideration different regions in Jordan with different educational levels to reduce the limitations of the current study. Future studies need to investigate other factors which affect the use of language learning strategies such as language proficiency, study level, academic major, and learning style. In addition to the survey study, future studies should take into consideration other research methodologies (e.g. classroom observation, interviews, and think aloud protocols). Employing such methods would provide indepth understanding of the beliefs and types of language learning strategies employed by the students. ================================================================== References Abraham, R. G., and Vann, R. J. (1987). Strategies of two language learners: A case study. In A. L. Wenden & J. Rubin (Eds.), Learner strategies in language learning (pp.85-102). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Adams, K., & Keene, M. (2000). Research and writing across the disciplines (2nd ed.). California: Mayfield Publishing Company. Al-Issa, A. S. M. (2006). The cultural and economics politics of English language teaching in Sultanate of Oman. Asian EFL Journal 8(1), 194-218. Bacon, S. M. (1992). The relationship between gender, comprehension, processing strategies and cognitive and affective response in foreign language listening. The Modern Language Journal, 76, 160–178. Bremner, S. (1999). Language learning strategies and language proficiency: Investigating the relationship in Honk Kong. Canadian Modern Language Review, 55, 490-514.

Chamot, A. U., and Kupper, L. (1989). Learning strategies in foreign language instruction. Foreign Language Annuals, 22, 13-24. Ehrman, M. E., & Oxford, R. L. (1995). Cognition plus: Correlates of language learning success. The Modern Language Journal, 79, 67-89. Green, J. M., & Oxford, R. L. (1995). A closer look at learning strategies, L2 proficiency, and gender. TESOL Quarterly, 29(2), 261-297. Jafar, F. (2008). The Use of English in Internet Communication by Jordanian Students. Al Basaer Journal, 12(2), 9-34. Hong-Nam, K., & Leavell, G. A. (2006). Language learning strategy use of ESL students in an intensive English learning context. System, 34, 399-415. Khasawneh, F. (2012). Vocabulary learning strategies: a Case of Jordan University of Science and Technology. ESP World, 34(1), 1-23. Kim, Y. M. (1995). The effect of gender and learning context on the use of language learning strategies. English Teaching, 50, 331-345. Lee, H. W. (1994). Investigating the factors affecting the use of foreign language learning strategies and comparing the strategy use of EFL and ESL students. English Teaching, 48(1), 51-99. Nunan, D. (1988). Syllabus Design. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Nyikos, M., & Oxford, R. L. (1993). A factor analytic study of language learning strategy use: interpretations from information-processing theory and social psychology. The Modern Language Journal, 77, 11-22. Oh, J. (1996). The effects of attitude and sex on use of EFL learner strategies. English Teaching, 51(2), 35-53. Ok, K. L. (2003). The relationship of school year, sex and proficiency on the use of learning strategies in learning English of Korean junior high school students. Asian EFL Journal, September. Retrieved from http://www.asian efljournal.com/sept_03_ok.pdf. Oxford, R. L. (1990). Language learning strategies: What every teacher should know.Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle Publishers. Oxford, R. L. and Crookall, D. (1989). Research on language learning strategies: Methods, findings, and instructional issues. Modern Language Journal, 73, 404-19.

Oxford, R., and Nyikos, M. (1989). Variables affecting choice of language learning strategies by university students. Modern Language Journal, 73, 291-299. Pakir, A. (2000). The development of English as a glocal language: New concerns in the old saga of language teaching. In H. W. Kam & C. Ward (Eds), Language in the Global Context: Implications for the Language Classroom (pp.14-31). Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre. Phillips, V. J. (1991). A look at learner strategy use and language proficiency. CATESOL Journal, 4, 57-67. Politzer, R. L. (1983). An exploratory study of self reported language learning behaviors and their relation to achievement. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 6(1), 55-68. Schemeck, R. R. (Ed.) (1988). Learning strategies and learning styles. New York, NY: Plenum Press. Wharton, G. (2000). Language learning strategy use of bilingual foreign language learners in Singapore. Language Learning, 50(2), 203-243. Zughoul, M.R. (2003). Globalization and EFL/ESL pedagogy in the Arab World. Learning a language 1(2). ================================================================= Abdel-Basit Mohammad Al-Khasawneh The Northern University of Malaysia [emailprotected]

Fadi Maher Al-Khasawneh The Northern University of Malaysia [emailprotected]

Janus Myth With Reference to Amulya Malladi’s The Mango Season Ghayathry D., M.A., M.Phil. ================================================= Introduction – What is a Myth? Myth is a legendary or invented story, celebrating the life/lives of heroes and demigods and deities, rooted in primitive folk belief, presenting supernatural episodes to explain natural events and facts. Myths attempt to interpret creation, divinity and religion; to explain the meaning of existence and death. Myths may or may not be connected with the regular alternation of day and night and of winter and summer. Romans worshipped their Gods on both individual and communal levels. Each part of a Roman house had a God associated with it. The God Janus presided over the main door to the house; Janus was envisioned as a human figure that faced both directions at once and was Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ghayathry D., M.A., M.Phil. Janus Myth - With Reference to Amulya Malladi’s The Mango Season

155

thus suited to watch over the doorway. The Romans believed that if they paid due respect to these gods each day, they could be confident of enjoying divine blessing for their daily activities. Myth is an ancient traditional story of gods or heroes, especially one explaining some fact or phenomenon of nature. It might be a commonly held belief without any rational foundation. It also refers to a story with a veiled meaning that has taken roots in a culture. Although it is difficult to draw rigid distinctions among various types of traditional tables, people who study mythology find it useful to categorize them. Myth has always had a very significant position in human psychology and society from its beginnings as primitive religious narrative to its recent adaptation as an aid in the exploration of the unconscious mind. Myths are deep rooted in the psyche of the whole society and they are created to serve some function or to explain the mysterious natural phenomenon. The divine myths explaining the natural divine powers are the reflections of human thoughts and superstitions. Most myths are related to social rituals – set forms and procedures in sacred ceremonies. But anthropologists disagree as to whether rituals generated myths or myths generated rituals. Myths attempt to interpret creation, divinity and religion; to explain the meaning of existence and death; to account for natural phenomena; and to chronicle the adventures of legendary heroes. Myths are not simply a collection of stories passed down from ancient peoples; they are a fundamental part of every culture, both past and present. Their influence can still be felt in our languages, religions and customs. In many parts of the world, the beliefs and rituals Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ghayathry D., M.A., M.Phil. Janus Myth - With Reference to Amulya Malladi’s The Mango Season

156

that are inextricably linked with these mythologies remain an essential element of everyday life and culture. The universal human practice of myth-making appears to be the earliest means by which people interpreted the natural world and the society in which they lived. Thus myth has been the dominant mode of human reflection for the greater part of human history. Myths about the Roman God Janus Janus is the Roman god of gates and doors, beginnings and endings. The first of January was dedicated by the Romans to their God of gates and doors. A very old Italian god, Janus has a distinctive artistic appearance in that he is commonly depicted with two faces… one regarding what is behind and the other looking toward what lies ahead. Thus Janus is representative of contemplation on the happenings of the past year, while looking forward to the new. Some sources claim that Janus was characterized in such a peculiar fashion due to the notion that doors and gates look in two directions. Therefore, the God could look both backward and forward at the same time; Janus was portrayed with one bearded face and the other clean–shaven, which may have symbolized the moon and the sun, or age and youth. Later, he is most often shown with beards on both faces and frequently holds a key in his right hand. Very early statues of Janus (around the second century B.C.) depict him with four faces. In his role as the Guardian of Exits and Entrances, Janus was also believed to represent beginnings. The explanation for this belief being that one must emerge through a door or gate in order to enter into a new place. Therefore, the Romans also considered Janus as the god of Beginnings and his name was an obvious choice for the first month of their year. A month referred to by the Ancient Romans as Ianuarius, which is not so far removed Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ghayathry D., M.A., M.Phil. Janus Myth - With Reference to Amulya Malladi’s The Mango Season 157

from the modern day “January”, taken from the Etruscan word Jauna which means “door”. Originally, however, Janus was honored on the first day of every month, in addition to being worshipped at the beginning of the planting season and again at the harvest. Deference was also paid to him at the most important beginnings in the life of an individual such as birth and marriage. In Rome, temples dedicated to Janus were numerous, the most important being known as the Janus Geminus, a double–gated structure (one door facing the rising sun and the other, the setting sun) found on the forum Romanum through which the Roman legionaries marched off to battle. This particular temple served a symbolic function. When the gates of the temple were closed, this represented peace within the Roman Empire; when the gates were open, it meant that Rome was at war. He particularly presided over all that is double–edged in life, and represented the transition between the primitive and the civilized. He opened and closed all things, and sat, not only on the confines of the Earth, but also at the gates of Heaven. Air, sea and land were in the hollow of his hands, and the world moved on its hinges at his command. He was popularly represented seated with two heads, one that of a youth (to signify the concept of beginning), the other that of an aged man (indicating the end). In his left hand he held a key, to show that he opened all things in the beginning, and shut them at the end, and in his right hand he carried the scepter with which he controlled all undertakings and their progress. Janus Myth is compared here with Amulya Malladi’s masterfully written new novel The Mango Season, in which a young woman must decide whether to follow her heart or tradition.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ghayathry D., M.A., M.Phil. Janus Myth - With Reference to Amulya Malladi’s The Mango Season

158

Amulya Malladi Amulya Malladi was born in 1974 in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh. She pursued a Bachelor's Degree in Electronics Engineering from Osmania University, Hyderabad and secured a Masters Degree in Journalism from the University of Memphis, Tennessee, United States. She then moved on to working as an online editor for a high-tech publishing house in San Francisco, and then as a marketing manager for a software company in the Silicon Valley. After living in the United States for many years, Malladi shifted base to Copenhagen, Denmark with her husband Soren Rasmussen and her two sons. Malladi's father was working in the Indian Army, and hence Amulya had lived all over the country. Love Relationships in Amulya’s Novels Amulya Malladi’s novels explore love/relationships that happen between the most unlikely people in the most unlikely situations. A sharp antithesis to the love stories that authors are penning between college friends or urban, modern couples constantly on-the-go, Amulya’s work of fiction explores complex themes and settings. She has written five novels Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ghayathry D., M.A., M.Phil. Janus Myth - With Reference to Amulya Malladi’s The Mango Season

159

till now: A Breath of Fresh Air, The Mango Season, Serving Crazy with Curry, The Sound of Language and Song of the Cuckoo Bird.

The Sound of Language The Sound of Language is the story of an Afghan refugee Raihana, who comes to Denmark, just a few months before 9/11. In Denmark, refugees get monetary support from the government and in return, they are obligated to take Danish classes and participate in what is called praktik. Usually refugees cluster together and speak in their native language as they clean supermarkets or do other jobs of the same nature for their praktik. But Raihana finds a praktik with a beekeeper, Gunnar. Recently widowed, Gunnar is an unhappy man. He and his wife had loved their bees and now Gunnar ignores them, uncaring that they’ll die if he doesn’t pay them attention. He’s resistant to have Raihana work for him at first, but slowly she worms her way into his life, and helps resurrect his love for bees and his life. Gunnar in return makes Raihana leave her past behind and embrace her future.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ghayathry D., M.A., M.Phil. Janus Myth - With Reference to Amulya Malladi’s The Mango Season

160

This is not a love story. This is a story about a unique friendship between two people who cannot communicate clearly with each other because they don’t speak the same language. Song of the Cuckoo Bird Kokila came to Tella Meda, an ashram by the Bay of Bengal, an orphan, barely a month after she was married. She was just 11 years old. Once there Kokila made a choice that altered the fabric of her life. Instead of becoming a respectable woman, a wife and mother, youthful passion and fear drove Kokila to choose to remain at Tella Meda under the care of the young and handsome guru, Charvi. A Breath of Fresh Air On December 3, 1984, Anjali waits for her husband to pick her up at the station in Bhopal. In an instant, her world changes forever. Her anger at his being late turns to horror when a catastrophic gas leak poisons the city air. Anjali miraculously survives. Her marriage does not. A smart, successful schoolteacher, Anjali is now remarried to Sandeep, a loving man, a professor. Their lives would be nearly perfect, if not for their young son’s declining health. But when Anjali’s first husband suddenly reappears in her life, she is thrown back to those troubling days of their marriage with a force that impacts everyone around her. The Mango Season The Mango Season is a dramatic portrait of modern woman’s anguish over her inability to blend her two worlds. The story is told with beautiful word pictures. Malladi’s imagery makes one hope for a juicy, tasty, happy end the story, a rich ripe mango. Serving Crazy with Curry Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ghayathry D., M.A., M.Phil. Janus Myth - With Reference to Amulya Malladi’s The Mango Season

161

Between the pressures to marry and become a traditional Indian wife and the humiliation of losing her job in Silicon Valley, Devi is on the edge-where the only way out seems to be to jump. Yet Devi's plans to "end it all" fall short when she is saved by the last person she wants to see: her mother. Forced to move in with her parents until she recovers, Devi refuses to speak. Instead, she cooks . . . nonstop. And not the usual fare, but off the wall twists on Indian classics, likes blueberry curry chicken or Cajun prawn biryani. Now family meals are no longer obligations. Devi's parents, her sister, and her brother-in-law can't get enough, and they suddenly find their lives taking turns as surprising as the impromptu creations Devi whips up in the kitchen each night. Then a stranger appears out of the blue. Devi, it appears, had a secret - one that touches many a nerve in her tightly wound family. Though exposing some shattering truths, the secret will also bring them back together in ways they never dreamed possible. Interspersed with mouthwatering recipes, this story mixes humor, warmth, and leapoff-the-page characters into a rich stew of a novel that reveals a woman's struggle for acceptance from her family and herself. About the Novel When twenty seven years old Priya leaves her home in Silicon Valley to visit her family in India, she carries with her a secret; she has fallen in love with and is planning to marry an American man. But soon after her arrival in her native land, Priya learns that her mother and father have chosen a husband for her in the usual traditional way of an arranged marriage. Priya’s world is instantly thrown into chaos as she must reconcile her passions and her parent’s wishes. Family Suggestions for Focused Study Abroad Priya has come from a traditional family consisting of strict grandfather & grandma; ruling mother, understandable father and lovable brother. In Priya’s grandfather’s rule book Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ghayathry D., M.A., M.Phil. Janus Myth - With Reference to Amulya Malladi’s The Mango Season

162

duty was high on the list, and in Priya’s, personal happiness was a priority. From this background she moves abroad for her higher studies getting strict instructions such as:  Do not eat beef.  Do not get too friendly with foreign people; you cannot trust them.  Cook at home; there is no reason to eat out and waste money.  Save money. Last on the list, but most important - Do not find yourself some foreign man to marry. Thoughts on Matrimony Fate begins ruling over the rules. She meets Nick and lives with him. And her views on matrimony were shaped long before she came to America: “Even though I was raised in a society where arranged marriages was the norm, I always thought it was barbaric to expect a girl of maybe twenty-one years to marry a man she knew even less than the milkman, who for the past decade, had been mixing water with the milk he sold the family”. (Page 1) These thoughts on matrimony our heroine kept to herself. After 7 years she gets back to India to reveal herself. “I didn’t want to go, I had to go” says Priya, “I didn’t want to go because as soon as I got there, my family would descend on me like vultures on a fresh carcass, demanding explanations, reasons, and trying to force me into marital harmony with some “nice Indian boy”. I had to go because I had to tell them that I was marrying a ‘nice American man’. (Page No: 3) Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ghayathry D., M.A., M.Phil. Janus Myth - With Reference to Amulya Malladi’s The Mango Season

163

The Fruit of Her Memories The one thing that she does look forward is the fruit of her memories – mangoes. When she was a child, summer was all about mangoes, rich, lush, ripe sweet mangoes with juice that would dribble down to her chin, hands and neck. The mango season coincides with the monsoons and the wedding season in India. They are symbolic of passion, heat, emotion and happiness; and indeed, growing up, Priya and her brother Nate called mangoes HAPPINESS. Young age without responsibilities gives us a period of Happiness. How to Break the News? Getting consent from her Grandfather is again a major step for Priya. Guilt shuts the doorway to let her tell the truth. If she reveals about Nick then she thinks that the whole family will reject her. Love will be curbed. Like the Janus figure with beards on both faces and frequently holding a key in his right hand, Priya’s happiness, future lies in the hands of her grandfather; when he accepts, everyone will follow him and Priya’s path will be clear. Priya’s dilemma becomes a personal torment when she cannot tell her family that she is engaged to an American, Like the Janus’s two faces -- one seeing what is behind, and the other looking toward what lies ahead, Priya is forced to choose between the love of her family and Nick, the love of her life. Tormenting Marriage Proposals for an Arranged Marriage But Priya’s relatives remain the same. Her mother and father insist that it’s time they arranged her marriage to a “nice Indian boy.” Her extended family talks of nothing but marriage – particularly the marriage of her uncle Anand with Neelima has kept them reeling.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ghayathry D., M.A., M.Phil. Janus Myth - With Reference to Amulya Malladi’s The Mango Season

164

Not only did Anand marry a woman from another Indian State, but he also married for love. Happiness and love are not the point of her grandparents’ or her parents’ union. Again this frightens her and she hides her secret, and this made her even to agree to a bride-seeing ceremony, but fortunately the person she met opens the pages of his life which made her put a protective shield on herself. Janus the God of Doors, Beginnings and Endings Like the Janus Gemius, a double – gated structure (one door facing the rising sun and the other, the setting sun). Priya’s life is also double–sided; either she must fall or rise. If she wants to win the hearts of the family there will be a fall in her life, and she may lose Nick; but if she reveals herself and opens the gates, then she will rise and win the heart of Nick. And finally she goes by the dictates of her heart and gets her father’s consent followed by everyone. Conclusion The Mango Season is a panorama of Indian tradition. Malladi artfully places Priya in a situation between two opposite worlds. She reverts to childhood when faced with the knowledge that she will break her grandfather’s heart with the betrayal of loving a foreigner. The young woman must ultimately decide between dogmatic tradition and heartfelt emotion. As Janus is representative of the contemplation on the happenings of an old year while looking forward to the new, Priya fights her own battles and emerges scathed but victorious.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ghayathry D., M.A., M.Phil. Janus Myth - With Reference to Amulya Malladi’s The Mango Season

165

Malladi has captured a young woman’s struggle to please her family, honor her past, and follow her feelings. The Mango Season is a trip into a complex cultural process of Indian girls of contemporary India who go in large numbers for study abroad. ============================================================ WORKS CITED 1. Malladi Amulya. The Sound of Language. Ballantine Books, 2007 print 2. Malladi Amulya. A Breath of Fresh Air. Ballantine Books, 2002 print 3. Malladi Amulya. The Mango Season. Ballantine Books, 2003 print 4. Malladi Amulya. Serving Crazy with Curry. Ballantine Books, 2004 print 5. Malladi Amulya. Song of the Cuckoo Bird. Ballantine Books, 2005 print 6. Vaja Iros. Myths in Girish Karnad’s Plays – A Critical Study. Paradise publishers, 2010 print 7. www.patheon.org/articles/j/janus.html 8. www.mythencylopedia.com/Iz-Le/janus.html 9. www.novareinna.com/festive/janus.html 10. http://www.amulyamalladi.com/media_kit/media_kit.htm ===================================================== Ghayathry D., M.A., M.Phil. Assistant Professor of English Department of English Sri Sarada College for Women (Autonomous) Salem 636 016 Tamil Nadu, India [emailprotected]

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ghayathry D., M.A., M.Phil. Janus Myth - With Reference to Amulya Malladi’s The Mango Season

166

British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman This paper explores the history of government-funded education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman prior to the beginning of the country‟s modern era in 1970. In doing so, it offers a brief history of British attempts to assert control across the sultanate, before presenting an account of the plans put in place by the British supervised and funded Developmental Department to build a country-wide education system following its founding in the late 1950s. Similarities between education developments sponsored by the department and those occurring on the subcontinent during British colonial rule in previous generations are explored. Keywords: Muscat and Oman; British India; education; developmental department Introduction

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

167

The issuing of an order in support of the recommendations of the Macaulay Minute on Education in India by Governor-General William Bentinck on March 7, 1835, significantly altered the course and development of formal education in British India (Thirumalai, 2003). The major tenets of Macaulay‟s Minute included that, while vernacular education should be preserved for the masses, “higher branches” of knowledge, such as science, philosophy and literature, should be taught in the medium of English. Moreover, only a select group of Indian students were to be the beneficiaries of English-medium education, although the Western knowledge to which they had privileged access would eventually filter down through the various social strata of Indian society to their countrymen (Rashtriya, 2008). However, perhaps more importantly than this educated class‟s position as conduit of enlightened learning and “advanced” knowledge in Indian society, was their ability to act as intermediaries between the foreign rulers and the ruled. Macaulay‟s Minute represented perhaps one of the most well known and, in many ways, influential precedents in the development of education in India under British rule. Even when, as the twentieth century approached and the events of the Indian Uprising ushered in a new era of direct rule from London, it became clear that the class of intermediaries Macaulay envisioned had failed to materialise, attempts to reorient Indian education often matched the expansion of vernacular schooling with the kind of stricter rationing of English-medium learning that was far from disparate with Macaulay‟s stance. In fact, although the Wood Despatch of 1854 dismissed Macaulay‟s “downward filtration” theory (Rashtriya, 2008) and Lord Curzon, some fifty years later, derided the “cold breath of Macaulay‟s rhetoric” (cited in Evans, 2002, p. 277), English-medium education was increasingly confirmed in Indian society as the language of higher education and gateway to social opportunity. It is in these ways that the influence of Macaulay‟s Minute on education in British India is perhaps most readily recalled. However, it is also important to note here that the recommendations put forth by the Minute also, to an extent, reverberated across the entire Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

168

empire. In fact, Phillipson (1992, p. 111) describes it as “a seminal influence on language policy throughout the British Empire”, while Arthur King, the former DeputyDirector General of the British Council‟s English language division, even went so far as to claim Macaulay “determined the use of English from Hong Kong to the Gambia” (King, 1961, p. 23). Even though the extent of these claims has been questioned by a number of scholars (Brutt-Griffler, 2002; Evans, 2002; Howatt, 2004), it is nonetheless informative to apply them to some of the colonial possessions falling into British India‟s sphere of influence. In particular, it is interesting to examine parallels between developments in education in British India and those that occurred in its close neighbours in the Gulf region. That such areas of overlap have often been overlooked is due to a number of reasons. However, perhaps the most important of these is the simple fact that domestic issues within the British Gulf protectorates were largely left to the discretion of local tribal rulers. Due to this overall lack of British concern with the internal matters of the Gulf protectorates, pre-independence education in the region is often divided into three main areas: madrassas with their focus on studies in the Qur‟an, Arabic and basic mathematics (Al-Khwaiter, 2001); formal schools, such as those in Dubai, Sharjah, Qatar and Bahrain, following Egyptian curricula and funded, until the 1930s, by the region‟s pearling industry (Verde, 2010); and, though far less influentially than in the Levant, missionary schools typified by the American-run Arabian Mission (Al-Misnad, 1985). The scope for Macaulayian-style influence within this context, therefore, may appear exceedingly limited. However, that is not to say that developments in British India were completely irrelevant across the entire Gulf region. In fact, an examination of the nascent government-funded education system in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman during a period when British officials assumed more or less direct control of the country‟s internal

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

169

affairs from the late 1950s to 1970, reveals a number of parallels between developments in the sultanate and those that had begun in the Bengal more than a century before.

The Anglicists and Orientalists in British India British interests in the Gulf region were initially developed as a response to the threat of Qawasim piracy to Indian maritime trade, with a “General Treaty of Peace” concluded between the British government and tribal rulers of the Gulf coast in early 1820. Articles of this treaty provided for a British Resident in the Persian Gulf to police the region‟s waterways and to use Royal Navy vessels to enforce the end of slavery and piracy (Aitchison, 1865). For the duration of British control, the chief resident in the Gulf reported first to the governor of Bombay, and then, following the establishment of the Raj in 1858, the viceroy of India. This arrangement was in place until Indian independence in 1947, upon which time the resident was relocated from the Persian city of Bushehr to the island kingdom of Bahrain, where it became directly subordinate to the Foreign Office. At the same time the modern-day Gulf states were being pulled, slowly but irrevocably, into the British India sphere of influence, a number of important developments were occurring in the debate between the anglicists and orientalists in relation to the future direction of public education in the Bengal. In his examination of the history of English language teaching across the world, Howatt (2004) claims an important rallying point for the orientalists was the establishment, in 1800 under Governor-General Sir Richard Wellesley, of the Fort William College in Calcutta. The driving philosophy of this college was the instillation in newly arrived graduates from the company‟s Haileybury College public school near London of the principles of good government and Christian values necessary for their new company roles. Added to this education in the provision of good Christian governance, Howatt (2004) continues, was the study of the ancient languages of India and the Middle East, including Sanskrit and classical Arabic, as well as oriental cultures and histories. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

170

Moreover, thirteen years after the founding of the Fort William College, the company also began investing in the translation of a number of basic science texts into the dominant oriental tongues – evidence of clear and direct support for the orientalist position. However, as Howatt (2004) notes, by 1833, these policies in favour of orientalism had failed. The Fort William College was attacked on the basis that its instruction in the oriental tongues was an impediment to India‟s progress, while the popularity of the few translated texts available remained limited. Moreover, developments across the Bengal, and especially in Calcutta where the East India Company was headquartered, offered a clear sign that the demand for education in English among the Indian middle-classes was growing. In fact, Ferguson (2003) notes that one of the first of many private colleges offering Western-style education, the Hindu College, opened in Calcutta in 1817. Demand for such colleges among the aspiring Indian classes was driven by the desire of many families to secure their children‟s futures through placement in clerical positions that required knowledge of the English language. Within this context, the East India Company engaged the services of the poet, historian and politician, Thomas Macaulay, as a member of the Supreme Council of India. According to Thirumalai (2003), Macaulay‟s arrival in India saw him take up, in addition to his appointed role on the Supreme Council, the presidency of the Committee of Public Instruction – perhaps the most influential bureaucratic battleground in the orientalist versus anglicist controversy at the time. Thirumalai states that any policy decisions regarding education in company-ruled India were blocked due to an irreconcilable difference of opinions among the ten committee members. That is, five wanted to maintain the traditional course of encouraging learning in and translation into the oriental languages, while the remainder believed that, while vernacular tongues should be retained for teaching most subjects, employing English as the medium of instruction for “higher branches” of knowledge was an important part of England‟s mission abroad. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

171

Macaulay refused to act on the impasse until both sides were given the opportunity to present their cases before the Supreme Council. This they did in January, 1835, with Macaulay‟s resultant Minute on Indian Education expressing official support for the anglicist position produced in February of that year (Thirumalai, 2003). The Macaulay Minute, as it is commonly known today, is perhaps most immediately recalled for its support of the provision of English-medium education for a select group of Indian subjects. This class, “English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect” was to act as a class of interpreters “between us and the millions whom we govern” (cited in Broughton, 1864, p. 6) and was intended to have a civilizing influence, through the downward filtration of Western knowledge from the English-educated to the previously “benighted” masses, on the great majority who would remain without access to Englishmedium education Ferguson (2003) states that within three years of the publication of the Macaulay Minute there were up to forty English-based seminaries under the control of the Committee. The system of education the company introduced to India, moreover, was reinforced with the handover of control of the subcontinent from the East India Company to the Raj following the Indian Uprising beginning in 1857. In fact, despite the strike against Macaulay‟s position ostensibly contained the 1854 Wood Despatch recommendation of mass vernacular and English-language education across the Bengal, Ferguson states that by the 1870s Macaulay‟s vision had nonetheless been largely realised as “six thousand Indian students had enrolled in higher education and no less than 200,000 in Anglophone secondary „schools of the higher order‟” (p. 190). Moreover, within the half century following the Wood Despatch, Evans (2002) claims the number of English and Anglo-vernacular secondary schools run by either missionary societies or private Indian institutes continued to grow rapidly, even as the vernacular-language primary school system remained limited. This growth was driven by a strong demand for English within Indian cities. However, contrary to Macaulay‟s targeted middle classes, Evans states this demand came mostly from the lower social Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

172

stratum of metropolitan dwellers; people who sought the language skills necessary to secure clerical jobs both in the ranks of colonial government and in private enterprise. Once such skills had been developed to a reasonable level, it was not uncommon for these students to abandon their studies and seek employment. However, Evans (2002) states that a lack of employment opportunities combined with the growing number of students processed through these institutes to create an unemployed and disaffected class of English-speakers. They were viewed with suspicion by colonial authorities who feared they could become politically active and eventually challenge British rule. Perhaps inevitably, the Raj responded through a return to pro-vernacular education policies that sought to limit the accessibility to English both as a language and a medium of instruction. This repositioning is perhaps best exemplified by the Advisory Committee on Education in the Colonies 1925 draft report entitled “The place of the vernacular in native education”, in which the view was promulgated that vernacular education, insofar as possible, should dominate primary education while English should be taught as a second language at the secondary level and only used as a medium of instruction at the “highest levels” (Whitehead, 2003). The policy that was eventually formed from this report was endorsed by the Imperial Education Conference in 1927 and thus espoused a clear aim of “restricting as far as possible the teaching and learning of English” (Evans, 2002, p. 279). The development of public education in British India, therefore, was a contentious area dominated by orientalist and anglicist positions. Whether Phillipson (1992) is correct in asserting that the British sought to maintain power through policies promoting the privileged position of English in colonial societies, or Evans (2002) in claiming colonial authorities were far more concerned with curtailing this spread, it appears that the education system in British India could be summarised in the following terms: The masses were to receive their educations in vernacular tongues; select students were to develop English language skills before being exposed to instruction in other subjects in the language; English was to be the medium of instruction for higher level studies, such Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

173

as upper secondary school and university; and, finally, English was to be restricted to only those whose access would most greatly benefit, or perhaps least threaten, British rule. In this short and somewhat rudimentary summary can clearly be seen aspects of both the orientalist and anglicist positions. This is perhaps not surprising. After all, the contest for influence in the formation of education in British India lasted well over a century. Moreover, despite their airs of mutual hostility, the anglicists and orientalists essentially shared the same aim of employing education as a tool of reinforcing colonial rule. What may be more surprising, however, is that developments occurring in education in colonial India displayed a number of parallels with those implemented by British authorities in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman more than a decade after Indian independence.

British Influence in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman By the time the Macaulay Minute was receiving official support within the upper echelons of the East India Company, the kingdoms of the Arabian Gulf were in the process of entering the “protection” of the British Empire. However, unlike the direct control the colonisers were eventually to extend over vast areas of the subcontinent, British influence in the Gulf region was largely concerned with matters of foreign policy. This concern is perhaps best exemplified by the signing of the Exclusive Agreement with the Trucial States in 1882, which prescribed that no agreements with foreign powers could be entered into without British approval (Federal Research Division, 2004). This increasing level of influence was equally felt in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman. Contemporary reports from the sultanate describe a country that was a virtual, if destined to remain unofficial, British dominion. The roots of this influence could be traced to 1798 when the East India Company, concerned primarily with securing its flanks from hostile European powers and with one eye on the expansion of the Ottoman

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

174

Empire and another contemporary rival, the French-backed Egyptian Empire under Mohammed Ali, concluded a treaty with Sultan bin Ahmed to the effect that the sultan: would always take the part of the British government in international affairs, deny any commercial or other foothold to the French and Dutch, dismiss employees of French nationality, exclude French vessels from Muscat (British Embassy Muscat, 2011, para. 4). Another important assertion of British influence in the country was the 1861 settlement by Lord Canning, Governor-General of India, between Sultan Thwain of Oman and Sultan Majed of Zanzibar, in which it was agreed the two previously united lands should be divided into separate entities (Kechichian, 1995). As part of the Canning Agreement, Sultan Majed was to compensate his brother for the loss of income derived from the lucrative east African slave trade, of which Zanzibar was a major hub, with an annual payment of 40,000 Maria Teresa silver dollars. However, after Zanzibar defaulted on this payment in 1871, the British assumed responsibility for the debt and continued paying these instalments to Muscat until 1956. In addition to the “Zanzibar subsidy”, by the end of the nineteenth century the British government had extended a loan of 60,000 Maria Teresa dollars to the sultanate, thus further indebting a country already severely impoverished by the loss of the slave trade. By the time the Zanzibar subsidy ended in the late 1950s, reliance on British grants had become acute, with Allen and Rigsbee (2000) claiming they reached a level of between one and two million pounds a year, in exchange for a controlling hand in the sultanate‟s administration. One of the first explicit expressions of the role of the British resident as the power behind the throne could be seen in the military intervention in a rebellion lead by the Nizwa-based Imam between 1913 and 1920. This armed rebellion against Sultan Taimur ended in the British-mediated Treaty of As-Sib, in which the autonomy of the interior of the country, known as the Imamate of Oman, was officially recognised. When, in 1954, the Saudi-backed Imam Ghalib re-ignited the rebellion against Sultan Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

175

Sa‟id, British special forces were again called on to subdue the interior in operations that continued until early 1959 when Ghalib was ousted from his Jabal Akhdar stronghold (MacKenzie, 2011). This intervention eventually resulted in the introduction of a draft resolution before the United Nations in 1960 calling for the “independence of Oman” from Great Britain (Oran, 1961). The resolution, introduced by the Imam in exile in Syria and Saudi Arabia and backed by ten independent Arab countries, was only narrowly defeated with the somewhat disingenuous British defence that Sultan Sa‟id enjoyed full sovereignty in all internal matters. As the military and financial power of the British resident continued to grow, so did the visible indicators of British influence. These included the placement of British public servants and military men in positions of power within government ministries. One of the best-known of these was Neil McLeod Innes who, under the title of Minister of Foreign and External Affairs, claims to have acted as Sultan Sa‟id‟s “military secretary, staff officer, liaison officer, political officer, passport officer, director of medical services, and secretary for development” (Innes, 1987, p. 10). Other indicators of British control included the expansion of the RAF airbase on Masirah island, the use of British Raj era rupees and annas, in addition to Maria Teresa dollars, as currencies in circulation throughout the country (Ashmore, 2010), and the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II adorning postage stamps until 1966 (Holes, 2007). The strongest indicator of British power in the sultanate, however, came at a time when the conflict with the Imamate of Oman coincided with the end of the annual payment of the Zanzibar subsidy. The precarious financial and strategic position Sultan Sa‟id found himself in eventually resulted in a British delegation, under Julian Amery, arriving in Muscat in 1958. According to Allen and Rigsbee (2000), this visit produced an agreement which was later formalised as the Exchange of Letters between the Government of Great Britain and Northern Island and the Sultan of Muscat and Oman concerning the Sultan‟s Armed Forces, Civil Aviation, Royal Air Force Facilities and Economic Development in Muscat and Oman. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

176

Allen and Rigsbee (2000) state this Exchange of Letters granted Sultan Sa‟id financial and military assistance in exchange for the re-organisation of the country‟s armed forces and the introduction of a civil development program, both directly under British supervision. British control in the internal affairs of the sultanate, therefore, came to be exercised in a direct manner. Evidence of the extent of this control can be seen in the British government‟s directive to David Smiley, the newly appointed head of the Sultan‟s Armed Forces, that any orders from Sultan Sa‟id deemed to run contrary to British interests should be appealed through the Persian Gulf resident. In fact, in his memoirs of his time in the country, Smiley wrote, “I was an officer not only of the Sultan but of the Queen, and my first duty was to the Queen” (Smiley & Kemp, 1975, p. 92) Allen and Rigsby (2000, p. 19) summarise the circ*mstances of British colonisation imposed on Sultan Sa‟id through the Exchange of Letters in concise terms:

Despite a 25-year effort to secure his independence of British control and a decade after the withdrawal of the British raj from India, Sa‟id now found himself relegated to a similar status to that of the rulers of the old Indian „native‟ states. A flood of British expatriates assumed control of the affairs of his state while he maintained a largely puppet administration. Given the virtual state of colonisation the British held the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman in, therefore, it may stand to reason that the education policies introduced to help resolve the “Oman question” in a way that would bolster faltering British power in the Middle East, may reflect the developments in education in colonial-era India described above. The Developmental Department Perhaps the two most important specifications set out by the 1958 Exchange of Letters were the re-organisation of the Sultan‟s armed forces and the founding of a Developmental Department to oversee improvements in a wide array of areas, including health, agriculture, roadways and education. Sultan Sa‟id‟s opposition to the development of a government-funded education system in the country is well Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

177

documented (Peterson, 2004). In particular, it is widely accepted today that the sultan was pressured into opening the first two public-funded schools in Muscat and Muttrah, in 1940 and 1948 respectively, in an attempt to assuage British demands that he take the first steps in the country‟s modernisation. Within these schools students hand-picked by the sultan could receive the equivalent of a primary school education with classes from grades one to five. The medium of instruction was Arabic although the study of English as a foreign language was “required in the upper grades” (Allen & Rigsbee, 2000, p. 11). Despite the apparent lip service paid to the value of starting a government-funded system to educate the country‟s populace – or at least those of his subjects living in and around the capital, as the third government school in Salalah wasn‟t opened until the year of the sultan‟s abdication – reports by foreign public officials and correspondents from the day describe a ruler deeply suspicious of what education would mean. For example, although the Muscat school was, according to the British writer Ian Skeet (cited in AlHajri, 2006), reportedly the better of the two institutions operating during his visit in the 1960s, the school building appeared almost derelict – a place with cracked and broken windows and covered in a thick layer of dust. Perhaps more damning, however, is the recollection of a conversation between the first president of the Developmental Department, the Ceylon-born Hugh Boustead, and Sultan Sa‟id, in which Boustead attempted to convince the sultan of the necessity of establishing primary schools to educate the sons of tribal chiefs and provincial governors to allow them to eventually take part in government. Sultan Sa‟id, himself educated in British India‟s exclusive Mayo College in the 1920s and known to other Arab rulers of the time as “that Indian” (Townsend, 1977, p. 63), however, dismissed the suggestion with the riposte, “That is why you lost India, because you educated the people” (Al-Hajri, 2006, p. 273). The sultan‟s objections were to be put aside as the British administrators expanded their control. In the wake of his public acquiescence to the British-order not to attack Saudi forces that had occupied the Baraimi oasis in 1952, the sultan apparently put Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

178

himself into a symbolic self-imposed exile in his palace in distant Salalah (Townsend, 1977). With the anti-reform minded ruler thus far from the British machinations of government in the capital, the Developmental Department, with an annual budget of around 500 million rupees for its work across all areas of interest (Peterson, 1978), devised a string of ambitious education projects that would, it was hoped, help build a modern education system. With this budget, the department funded teacher salaries in the two government schools in operation in the capital area. In addition, it introduced a scholarship program which paid for select groups of boys from notable tribal families to continue their educations as teacher-trainees in the recently re-designated former Colony of Aden, with the first group of about four students leaving Oman in 1963 (Rabi, 2006). In addition to this program, the department also funded the construction of a boarding school in Muscat for the sons of sheikhs from the interior. The building itself was completed in 1964, although, Pridham (1986) states, never used for its intended purpose. Another purposebuilt school for girls was also underway by the time Sultan Sa‟id abdicated in 1970 (Peterson, 2007). Other unrealised plans put forth by the department during this period included the building of more elementary schools across the country, expanding the elementary school in Muttrah to act as an institution for continuing studies, and the construction of a commerce school. However, for a complex array of reasons – including the hostility to the development of the education system openly expressed by the sultan, the uprisings and rebellions occurring in various parts of the country, and, perhaps no less importantly, the withdrawal of Foreign Office support for the sultan to continue in his position as the country‟s figurehead – these plans were destined to remain unfulfilled during Sultan Sa‟id‟s reign.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

179

Parallels with British India There do, therefore, appear to be a number of similarities between the education policies implemented in British India and those in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman during the post-Exchange of Letters British administration. Perhaps the most prominent of these is the rationale, put forth by the chief political resident, Hugh Boustead, that elementary schools be created in Oman for the sons of prominent tribal and political leaders to ease their transition into government service later in life. This rationale is strikingly similar to the recognition of the value of creating a middle class to act as intermediaries between the foreign masters and local populace that was so famously supported by Macaulay in 1835. That this may have been one of the ultimate aims of the British-funded expansion of public education in the sultanate appears even more likely in light of Allen and Rigsby‟s (2000) assertion that one consequence of the Exchange of Letters was the de facto takeover of the sultanate by British public servants who were ultimately answerable to the Persian Gulf Political Resident. With Sultan Sa‟id, much like the rulers of the Indian native states under the British Raj, having accepted his role as a figurehead, the British administrators may have viewed the forging of a small, literate and sympathetic middle class as one of their first priorities. Of course, unlike British India where the “higher branches” of knowledge were taught in the English language, all evidence points to the fact that English, at least in the two government schools established in Oman under Sultan Sa‟id, was taught only at the higher levels as a foreign language. However, it is important to recall here that one of Lord Curzon‟s 1904 recommendations to redress what he perceived as the educational imbalances that had developed in India under Macaulay‟s influence, was that the teaching of English “should not be prematurely employed as the medium of instruction in other subjects” (cited in Skutnabb-Kangass, 2009, p. 42). This directive found full support in the Advisory Committee‟s recommendations of the late 1920s that qualified EFL/ESL teachers be employed in the colonies to build students‟ English language skills before being exposed to instruction in other subjects in the language. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

180

Education in and/or about English within the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, therefore, was apparently aimed at influential tribal families in order to create a select ruling class that could operate between the British-controlled government in Muscat and the masses beyond the capital‟s walls. Although the system in place may seem extremely limited when held in contrast to that evident in India as early as the 1870s, it should be stated here that the percentage of Indian and Omani citizens in formal schooling was not that different. For instance, Ferguson (2003) estimates that between the 1860s and 1940s, enrolments in primary and secondary schools ranged between 0.5 and 4 percent of the total Indian population. With an enrolment of around 900 students in government schools in the 1950s, the percent of Omanis in primary schooling during this era could be estimated to be around 0.2 percent. However, when these figures are calculated for 600 or so students of the two government schools in the capital area in and around Muscat, it becomes apparent that attempts to provide a formal education in the seat of government power became more concentrated. In particular, although no census information is available from the era, reports of Muscat and its sister port, Muttrah, in the early 1950s estimate the population of these towns to be around 13,000 people (Boersma, 1991; Lebon, 1970), in which case this figure, excluding those students attending the American missionary school in Muscat (Scudder, 1998), edges above four and a half percent. Despite these similarities, however, one notable difference between the education system developed in British India and that in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman was the lack of institutions of higher education – be they secondary schools or universities along the lines of those established in Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in the wake of the Wood Despatch (Tikekar, 2006). However, as stated above, the British authorities did attempt to deal with this issue through the provision of educational scholarships, provided through the Developmental Department, for a select group of boys to attend Englishmedium colleges in Aden.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

181

How this system would have expanded or become further integrated if not for the uncertainty surrounding the Aden Emergency of 1963 and the ensuing conflict that saw a British withdrawal from the protectorate four years later (Tatchell, 2009) can only remain a matter of conjecture. However, the planned establishment of both an institution of continuing studies and a school of commerce by the Developmental Department, suggests implementing a system of higher level education in the sultanate may have formed part of the British administration‟s plans.

Conclusion It is perhaps far too simple to claim, especially from the vantage point of historical distance, a glimpse of the shadow of the education policies formed under the East India Company and implemented, in various guises, by the Raj over those developed in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman during de facto British rule following the Exchange of Letters in 1958. In particular, it is easy to see the cohesion in the necessity outlined in the Macaulay Minute of educating a local elite to act as intermediaries between the foreign rulers and the masses and the assertion, by Hugh Boustead to Sultan Sa‟id in the 1950s, that the sons of sheikhs and district governors needed education to develop a countrywide civil service. Moreover, further developments in education unveiled by the Developmental Department, including paying for Palestinian and Egyptian teachers to work in Oman‟s government schools, sponsoring small groups of boys from important tribal families to receive a tertiary-level education in Aden, and the building of a boarding school in Muscat for boys from select families from the interior, all add to the appearance of an incipient education system which could claim a number of parallels with that developed in British India. However, perhaps the clearest overlaps between the system of public education developed under the British Raj and that which emerged in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman came not during the period of overt foreign control of the country, but after the Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

182

time when Sultan Sa‟id abdicated. It was in the post-1970 era that the education decrees of Sultan Qaboos, including providing government schools across the country where Arabic was the medium of instruction and English studied as a foreign language at higher levels, the end of restrictive regulations placed on private schools under the previous regime, and, eventually, the establishment of a public university where English-medium instruction was employed for the teaching of sciences, medicine, engineering and so on, that the strongest echoes of British India can most clearly be heard. It is interesting to ponder, then, how far these developments in education under the Sandhurst-educated son of Sultan Sa‟id owed to the foundations laid down by the Developmental Department some years before. It is also interesting to consider how these developments would have been realised during the Sa‟id years if the civil strife gripping the country didn‟t combine with the loss of British dominions across the Middle East to result, eventually, in the withdrawal of support for the sultan the Foreign Office had already done so much to drive into exile in the far reaches of his own country. ============================================================ References Aitchison, C. S. (Ed.). (1865). A collection of treaties, engagements, and sunnuds relating to India and neighbouring countries. Calcutta: Military Orphan Press. Al-Hajri, H. (2006). British travel writing on Oman: Orientalism reappraised. Bern: Peter Lang. Al-Khwaiter, J. (2001). Communicative language teaching and curriculum innovation in the teaching of English as a foreign language in Qatar. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom. Retrieved March 10, 2011 from https://www.dora.dmu.ac.uk/handle/2086/4250 Al-Misnad, S. (1985). The development of modern education in the Gulf. London: Ithaca Press.

Allen, C. & Rigsbee, W. L. (2000). Oman under Qaboos: From coup to constitution, Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

183

1970-1996. New York: Routledge. Ashmore, A. (2010). Sand, oil and dollars. Keynes: Author House. Boersma, J. (1991). Grace in the Gulf. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing. British Embassy Muscat. (2011). Embassy history. Retrieved November 16, 2011, from http://ukinoman.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/our-embassy/embassy-history Broughton, H. (1864). Education in India since 1835 (with a hitherto unpublished Minute of Lord Macaulay). In D. Masson (Ed.), Macmillan’s magazine (vol. 10) (pp. 2-17). London: Macmillan. Brutt-Griffler, J. (2002). Class, ethnicity, and language rights: An analysis of British colonial policy in Lesotho and Sri Lanka and some implications for language policy. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 1(3), 207-234. Evans, S. (2002) Macaulay‟s minute revisited: Colonial language policy in nineteenthcentury India. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 23(4), 260282. Federal Research Division. (2004). United Arab Emirates: A country study. Whitefish, Montana: Kessinger Publishing. Ferguson, N. (2003). Empire: How Britain made the modern world. New York: Penguin. Holes, C. (2007). The Omani Arabic dialects in their regional context: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. In N. Al Zidjaly (Ed.), Building bridges: Integrating languages, linguistics, and translation in pedagogy and research (pp. 215-231). Muscat: Sultan Qaboos University Press. Howatt, A.P. R. (2004). A history of English language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Innes, N. M. (1987). Minister in Oman. Cambridge: Oleander. Kechichian, J. A. (1995). Oman and the world: The emergence of an independent foreign policy. Santa Monica: Rand. King, A. H. (1961). The nature of the demand for English in the world to-day as it affects Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

184

British universities. In H. G. Wayment (Ed.), English teaching abroad and the British universities (pp. 22-25). London: British Council. Lebon, J.H. G. (1970). The Persian Gulf. In W. G. East & O.H. K. Spate (Eds.), The changing map of Asia (pp. 94-109). London: Taylor and Francis. MacKenzie, A. (2011). Special force: The untold story of the 22nd special air service regiment. New York: I.B. Tauris. Oran, Y. (Ed.). (1961). The Middle East record, 1961. Jerusalem: Tel Aviv University. Peterson, J. E. (1978). Oman in the twentieth century. Kent: Croom Helm. Peterson, J. E. (2004). Oman: Three and a half decades of change and development. Middle East Policy, 11(2), 125-137. Peterson, J. E. (2007). Historical Muscat: An illustrated guide and gazetteer. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. Phillipson, R. (1992). Linguistic imperialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pridham, B. R. (1986). Oman: Change or continuity? In I. R. Netton (Ed.), Arabia and the Gulf: From traditional society to modern states (pp. 132-155). Kent: Croom Helm. Rabi, U. (2006). The emergence of states in a tribal society: Oman under Sa’id bin Taymur, 1932-1970. Sussex: Sussex Academic Press. Rashtriya, T. (2008). Vocational education. New Delhi: APH Publishing. Scudder, L .R. (1998). The Arabian mission’s story: In search of Abraham’s other son. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing. Skutnabb-Kangass, T. (2009). Multilingual education for global justice: Issues, approaches, opportunities. In T. Skutnabb-Kangass, R. Phillipson, A. J. Mohanty & M. Panda (Eds.), Social justice through multilingual education (pp. 20-36). Bristol: St. Nicholas House. Smiley, D. & Kemp, P. (1975). Arabian assignment. London: Cooper. Tatchell, J. (2009). A diamond in the desert: New York: Grove/Atlantic. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

185

Thirumalai, M. S. (2003). Lord Macaulay the man who started it all, and his minute. Language in India, 3(4). Retrieved from http://www.languageinindia.com/april2003/macaulay.html Tikekar, A. (2006). The cloister’s pale: A biography of the University of Mumbai. Mumbai: Mumbai University. Townsend, J. (1977). Oman: The making of the modern state. London: Croom Helm. Verde, T. (2010, May/June). Houses of wisdom. Saudi Aramco World, 24-37. Whitehead, C. (2003). Colonial educators: The British Indian and colonial education service 1858–1983. London: I.B. Taurus. ============================================================ C. J. Denman, M.Ed., Ed.D. Scholar Sultan Qaboos University PO Box 43, PC 123 Al-Khoud Sultanate of Oman [emailprotected]

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 C. J. Denman, M.Ed, Ed.D. Scholar British India and Pre-1970 Public Education in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman

186

Portrayal of Middle Class Women in Bapsi Sidhwa’s Ice-Candy Man During the Catatonic Times of Partition N. Gunasekaran, M.A., M.Phil. and V. Peruvalluthi, Ph.D. ==================================================================

http://www.bapsisidhwa.com/ Abstract The women characters "subtly but effectively subvert the ingrained elements of patriarchy, privileging female will, choice, strength along with the feminine qualities of compassion and motherhood” in Ice-Candy-man which can undoubtedly be termed as a feminist novel - the traditional novel eulogizes the heroic qualities of men, while in feminist Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 N. Gunasekaran and V. Peruvalluthi, Ph.D. Portrayal of Middle Class Women in Bapsi Sidhwa‟s Ice-Candy Man during the Catatonic Times of Partition

187

narratives women acquire such attributes by their active involvement in and control of situational contexts. Lenny, the narrator in Ice-Candy-Man is also the centre of the novel, retaining her independent identity in diverse situations. Her attitude towards her nameless cousin significantly portrays the feminist need for assertive equality. Lenny, the child narrator of the novel, witnesses the barbaric cruelties of the Partition days, including the inhuman commoditization of women. Yet what emerges as the dominant note or thematic motif in the novel is not the victimization of women, but their will and sustained effort to fight against it and overcome it. Most of the other Partition novels in English have concentrated largely on the helplessness of women pitched against oppressive male forces. Khushwant Singh's Train to Pakistan, and Manohar Malgonkar's A Bend in the Ganges, highlight the trauma women had to undergo during the catatonic times of Partition.

The Woman Characters The women characters of Ice-Candy-Man draw our attention to the facts of victimization of women and their being forcefully compelled to define their lives according to the pre-fixed gender roles. They also expose the patriarchal biases present in the Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 N. Gunasekaran and V. Peruvalluthi, Ph.D. Portrayal of Middle Class Women in Bapsi Sidhwa‟s Ice-Candy Man during the Catatonic Times of Partition

188

archetypal social perceptions. Lenny, the child protagonist, recognizes these social patterns and exhibits the vivacity to transcend them. She also records the multi-faceted trauma women had faced during the unsettling and devastating days of Partition.

Original title: Ice Candy Man Ice-Candy-Man has strong women characters who want discriminatory action against women stopped, and emphasize on conditioning them for life-long and speak against willing subjugation to men; the women of Ice-Candy-Man are not only conscious of their desires, but also eagerly assertive about their independent handling of situations. Subversion of Patriarchy The women characters "subtly but effectively subvert the ingrained elements of patriarchy, privileging female will, choice, strength along with the feminine qualities of Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 N. Gunasekaran and V. Peruvalluthi, Ph.D. Portrayal of Middle Class Women in Bapsi Sidhwa‟s Ice-Candy Man during the Catatonic Times of Partition

189

compassion and motherhood.” Ice-Candy-man can undoubtedly be termed as a feminist novel - the traditional novel eulogizes the heroic qualities of men, while in feminist narratives women acquire such attributes by their active involvement in and control of situational contexts. Lenny, the narrator in Ice-Candy-Man is also the centre of the novel, retaining her independent identity in diverse situations. Her attitude towards her nameless cousin significantly portrays the feminist need for assertive equality. The Essential Nature of Feminist Writing At this point it should be interesting to note that all women's writing may not be necessarily feminist. A piece of writing which justifies, propagates or perpetuates discrimination against women cannot be termed as feminist. Only that artistic work, which sensitizes them to forge their independent identity in a patriarchal set-up which essentially exposes to the readers the practices of subjugation, and opposes them, can be treated as being feminist in nature. Ice-Candy-Man not only sketches and critically reviews the dehumanizing patriarchal norms engendering a discriminatory social climate, but also portrays the struggles against them, as well as the desire to manifest an assertive self-will, on the part of its women characters. Focus on Will and Sustained Effort of Women Lenny, the child narrator of the novel, witnesses the barbaric cruelties of the Partition days. Yet what emerges as the dominant note or thematic motif in the novel is not the victimization of women, but their will and sustained effort to fight against it and overcome it. Most of the other Partition novels in English, as well as in other languages, have concentrated largely on the helplessness of women pitched against oppressive male forces. Khushwant Singh's Train to Pakistan, Manohar Malgonkar's A Bend in the Ganges in English, and the short stories of Saadat Hasan Manto and Kishan Chander in Urdu highlight the trauma women had to undergo during the catatonic times of Partition. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 N. Gunasekaran and V. Peruvalluthi, Ph.D. Portrayal of Middle Class Women in Bapsi Sidhwa‟s Ice-Candy Man during the Catatonic Times of Partition

190

Even the more contemporary authors have not been able to escape it. They have talked about the national trauma of Partition using the device of the child narrator and taking the linear time narration. Clever Juxtaposition – Portrayal of Lenny Sidhwa, on the other hand, treats the theme of Partition with a clever juxtaposition of images and an underlying ironical humour without compromising the innate independence of women. Lenny perceives many differences in the personality traits and interests of men and women. However, Lenny is neither influenced nor conditioned by her perception of genderbased social stereotypes—that she assertively retains her interests is evident in her attitude towards her Ayah, Hamida and her cousin. When godmother arranges a meeting with Ayah, Lenny insists on accompanying her. She feels that Ayah has been wronged and shamed by her friends and she shares her humiliation. She wants to „comfort and kiss her ugly experiences away.‟ She does not think that sexual exploitation should remain a stigma for any woman, "I don't want her to think she's bad just because she's been kidnapped." She also keeps Hamida's past a secret under the impression that if revealed her mother may sack her. Her sympathy binds her to all the women characters in the novel. Through Lenny’s Eyes Through Lenny, Sidhwa vividly portrays Ice-Candy-Man's toes, Avail's furtive glances towards Sharbat Khan and the Masseur's intimacy with Ayah. Her relationship with her cousin, allowing her clandestine forages into physical intimacies, shows her mental independence. Despite the pressures of socially constructed gender-roles and expectations the awakening of an individuality which is present in Lenny can be felt in other women characters too. Lenny's mother belongs to the privileged economic strata of the society. She can engage several servants to look after the children and other daily chores. She is kept busy with her social obligations - entertaining guests and partying use up her time. Lenny's physical handicap has generated a sense of guilt in her which often surfaces in her conversations. She says to Col. Bharucha, "It's my fault, I neglected her—left her to the care Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 N. Gunasekaran and V. Peruvalluthi, Ph.D. Portrayal of Middle Class Women in Bapsi Sidhwa‟s Ice-Candy Man during the Catatonic Times of Partition

191

of Ayah." Lenny admires her delicate beauty, but resents her "all-encompassing" motherliness. She is initially possessive about her mother but soon learns to cope with it. Her mother's voluptuous appeal generates a subtle jealousy in her psyche: “The motherliness of Mother....How can I describe it? While it is there it is all-encompassing, voluptuous. Hurt, heartache and fear vanish....The world is wonderful, wondrous - and I perfectly fit in it. But it switches off, this motherliness....” (42) Motherliness Mother's motherliness has a universal reach. Like her involuntary female magnetism it cannot be harnessed. “I resent this largess. As father does her unconscious and indiscriminate sex appeal. It is a prostitution of my concept of childhood rights and parental loyalties. She is my mother - flesh of my flesh and Adi's. She must love only us!” Lenny is given ample personal space by her mother. Though decisively controlling and channelizing her children's lives, she allows them to frolic around and view life from their own standpoints. Lenny is permitted to accompany Imam Din twice to a village Pir Pindo, her visits to parks and restaurants with Ayah are also unchecked. She is also able to effortlessly control the entourage of servants and run her household smoothly. Despite her liberated handling of children and a modern life-style, she is very much a traditional wife, humouring constantly the wishes of her husband. She is almost servile in her attitude towards her husband, coquettishly appeasing him and trying to create an atmosphere of pleasant mirth around him. Lenny sceptically looks on when her mother chatters in saccharinely sweet tones to fill up the "infernal time of Father's mute meals." Inner Void – Social Grace as Pleasure and Bondage Though Lenny is not able to decipher it, her remarks hint at the presence of an inner void in her mother's personality. Most of the women writers have hinted at the presence of an inner hollowness in the lives of women, which is often shielded by the deceptively beautiful screen of their social graces and obligations. For women like Mrs. Sethi, social elegance is not simply a pleasure, but it is also bondage, because herein they are forced to accept their Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 N. Gunasekaran and V. Peruvalluthi, Ph.D. Portrayal of Middle Class Women in Bapsi Sidhwa‟s Ice-Candy Man during the Catatonic Times of Partition

192

role as female. Lenny's Ayah Shanta is focussed upon in a serious manner. She is a Hindu girl of eighteen and everything about her is also eighteen years old. Though she is employed by considerate masters, her condition is that of an unprotected girl whom everybody treats only as a sex object. Looking at Ayah, Lenny also becomes conscious of her sexuality: “The covetous glances Ayah draws educate me. Up and down, they look at her. Stub-ended twisted beggars and dusty old beggars on crutches drop their poses and stare at her with hard, alert eyes. Holy men, marked in piety, shove aside their pretences to ogle her with lust. Hawkers, cart-drivers, cooks, coolies and cyclists turn their heads as she passes, pushing my pram with the unconcern of the Hindu goddess she worships.”(3) Sexuality While the sexuality of Lenny's mother lies beneath the veneer of sophistication and unfulfilled longings, Ayah's is transparent and self-serving. She is fully aware of her sexual charm and uses it without any inhibition to fulfil her desires. She has accumulated a good number of admirers who regularly assemble in the Victoria Garden - the Ice-Candy-Man, the Masseur, the Government House gardener, the restaurant owner, the zoo-attendant, and a knife-sharpening Pathan are her regular admirers. Charms of Ayah Ayah uses her charm to obtain easy gains - cheap doilies, cashew nuts, extra serving of food etc. She successfully uses her charm as a strategy of survival and manipulation till the violence of Partition destroys her familiar world. Her portrayal also represents the male exploitation of female sexuality. Ice-Candy-Man manages to kidnap her with the help of some hooligans and forces her into prostitution. Despite her conviction that she is now an impure person, she retains her will to go back to her family and face life anew. Her refusal to admit defeat despite physical and emotional mutilation, and her determination to probe into future alternatives impart to her a strong moral courage. Godmother and Slave Sister

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 N. Gunasekaran and V. Peruvalluthi, Ph.D. Portrayal of Middle Class Women in Bapsi Sidhwa‟s Ice-Candy Man during the Catatonic Times of Partition

193

Godmother and Slave sister - Rodabai and Mini Aunty - are other major female characters in the novel who are presented with a sense of glee. The one-and-a-half-room abode of her godmother is termed as her heaven by Lenny. She is also a surrogate mother for Lenny in a mutually fulfilling relationship. Her portrayal is presented to us by Lenny in a fascinated manner, as if she is an idolized entity. She is presented as an old lady, plainly attired in Khaddar saris, covering herself from head to foot, possessing a penchant for sharp wit, accurate repartee and a profound understanding of human psyche. She makes it her business to know everything about everybody, and tries to help people whenever she can. She donates blood, seeks admission to a boarding school for Ranna, traces the Ayah and manages to send her back to her people. She is also a formidable person, and scolds the Ice-Candy-Man for disgracing the Ayah, "Oh? What kind of man? A royal pimp? What kind of man would allow his wife to dance like a performing monkey before other men? You're not a man, you're a low-born, two-bit evil little mouse!" Despite Slave sister's protest she permits Lenny to accompany her to Ayah's place. She is also a sensitive person. When she realizes that Ayah, despite her marriage to the Ice-Candy-Man, does not want to live with him, she decisively sets about to rescue her. Her visit to the Ayah has the trappings of a trial: she sits and acts as a judge. Unlike other female figures of the novel Godmother has transcended her sexuality and emerges as an authoritative presence, able to achieve her desires. She embodies the ideal of strength in female characters. Other Female Characters in Ice Candy Man Other female characters are Muccho, the sweeper, and her daughter Papoo. Muccho takes Papoo as her rival and saddles her with all the household chores, beating and abusing her on the slightest of pretexts. Ayah and other servants constantly try to save the young child from this abuse but often their efforts are fruitless. Once she had to be admitted to hospital for two weeks as she had concussion as a result of her mother's severe beating. But despite this senseless maltreatment, Papoo cannot be browbeaten into submission. She is strong and highspirited, but as Sidhwa suggests very early in the story, "There are subtler ways of breaking people." Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 N. Gunasekaran and V. Peruvalluthi, Ph.D. Portrayal of Middle Class Women in Bapsi Sidhwa‟s Ice-Candy Man during the Catatonic Times of Partition

194

Muccho arranges her marriage with a middle aged dwarf whose countenance betrays cruelty. Papoo is drugged with opium at the time of the ceremony to suppress her revolt. Lenny curiously studies Muccho's face during the wedding ceremony and is startled to find a contented smile on her lips. The sketch of Muccho suggests that women themselves are unconsciously bound by their conditioning and saddle their daughters with a repetitive fate, treating marriage as a panacea of all ills. The women characters of Ice-Candy-Man draw our attention to the facts of victimization of women and their compulsions to define their lives according to the pre-fixed gender roles. They also expose the patriarchal biases present in the archetypal social perceptions. Lenny, the child protagonist, recognizes these social patterns and exhibits the vivacity to transcend them. She also records the multi-faceted trauma women had faced during the unsettling and devastating days of Partition. ============================================================== References Alter, Joseph. “Celibacy, Sexuality, and the Transformation of Gender into Nationalism in North India.” The Journal of Asian Studies 53.1 (1994): 45-66. JSTOR. Web. 3 Nov. 2010. Baral, K. C. “Postcoloniality, Critical Pedagogy, and English Studies in India.” Pedagogy 6.3 (2006): 475-491. Project Muse. Web. 29 Oct. 2010. Brian, Paul. Modern South Asian Literature in English. Westport: Greenwood p. 2003. Print. Kumar, Sathish. Dr, A Survey of Indian English Novel. Bareilly: Prakash Book House, 2006. Sidhwa, Bapsi, Ice-Candy-Man. New Delhi: Penquin Books India; 1989. =========================================================== N. Gunasekaran, M.A., M.Phill., B.Ed., PGDCA. Assistant Professor Department of English Sri Vidya Mandir Arts and Science College Uthangarai-636 902 Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 N. Gunasekaran and V. Peruvalluthi, Ph.D. Portrayal of Middle Class Women in Bapsi Sidhwa‟s Ice-Candy Man during the Catatonic Times of Partition

195

Krishnagiri District Tamilnadu India [emailprotected] V. Peruvalluthi, Ph.D. Associate Professor of English Department of English Government Arts College Tiruvannamalai-606 603 Tamilnadu India [emailprotected]

196

Conventional Implicatures Iftikhar Haider Nagra, Ph.D. Student =====================================================

Conventional implicature remains a controversial domain. While it continues to be invoked to handle non-truth conditional aspects of lexical meaning, this tends to constitute an admission of analytic failure, a label rather than true explanation of the phenomenon in question. (Horn, 2004: 6)

Conventional Implicature: A controversial Term This paper discusses and highlights different aspects of conventional implicatures (CIs). Conventional Implicature is a highly controversial term that is viewed in different ways by different pragmatics theorists. According to Horn (2004), CI can be defined as, an implicature that is part of the stored meaning of a lexical item or expression in the mental lexicon. CIs are not part of the truth conditions of the sentence that contains it, and they cannot be derived from the principles of language use, i.e. they are independent of the cooperative principle and its maxims (Grice, 1975). Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Haider Nagra, Ph.D. Student Conventional Implicatures

197

The Roots of the Concept Many theorists in the field of pragmatics hold different views about conventional implicature. The roots of this concept can be traced back to the work of Locke and Frege. Grice was a pioneer who introduced the term conventional implicature, and due to his initial work this term gained some popularity among other theorists. Grice failed to provide a clear definition of this class of meaning, and similarly failed to elaborate upon whether it is part of semantics or pragmatics. This lack of information about Grice‟s take on conventional implicatures has given rise to contradictory views by different theorists. According to Feng (2010), Grice‟s treatment of conventional implicatures is “incoherent, inadequate and thus vulnerable” (2010: 74). This paper will discuss details of different theories about conventional implicatures to help us understand the views of those who accept or reject Grice‟s traditional conception of CIs. Bach and Carston rejected Grice‟s original view of CIs. On the other hand Potts did not totally reject the original view of Grice, but did attempt to explain it in different words and attempted to redefine it. Potts (2005) considers CIs to consist of the “idiosyncratic properties of grammar”. Potts used Grice‟s definition as a point of departure for developing his own logic of conventional implicatures by including some new conventional expressions. Salmon approves of Potts‟s view and considers it to be a step forward from Grice‟s original conception of CIs. Furthermore, Salmon (2009) discusses data regarding CIs which aligns with his conception of this concept with the Gricean system. Horn also shares the same opinion about CIs in that he also supports the Gricean conception of CI. Although all of these theorists somehow criticized the Gricean view of CIs, their alternatives to Grice‟s view also have problems of their own. I will discuss these theorists in detail in the next section. Preliminaries in the Theory of Conventional Implicatures Frege‟s (1952[1892]) ideas related to his distinction between „reference‟ and „sense‟ laid the foundations for the development of the concept of CIs. Frege emphasized that sometimes meaning may go beyond reference and sense but did not say anything about how such situations contribute to the total meaning of the utterances. Horn (2007) has spent a considerable amount of time discussing the contributions of Frege to the traditional conception of Conventional

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Haider Nagra, Ph.D. Student Conventional Implicatures

198

Implicatures. But Grice was the pioneer who used the term Conventional Implicatures in his popular paper, “Logic and conversation” (Grice, 1961). Grice contrasted between conversational and conventional implicatures, and used the popular example of “she is poor but honest” (Bach, 1999, p.330) to elaborate on the notion of CIs. This example implies that there is contrast between being poor and being honest. Grice (1961) discussed this contrast using the words, “implied as distinct from being stated” (p.127). Let us consider another utterance, “she is poor and honest”. If we compare these two utterances then it is obvious that the truth of the first utterance requires nothing more than the truth of the second utterance. The only difference is that by uttering the first utterance instead of the second one, the speaker implicates contrast. In simple words, being an implicature means that the truth of first utterance is not a necessary condition for the truth of second utterance. Reliance on Specific Meaning of Specific Words There are certain words in sentences which contribute to the specific conventional meaning and results in conventional implicature. Conventional implicature relies on the specific meaning of these specific words in a sentence. Popular examples of such words include but, even and still. The notion that such words are not parts of „what is said‟. Grice discussed such words to the effect that CIs do not have any influence on the truth and falsity conditions of „what is said‟. This clearly shows that CIs are not truth conditional. In other words, locutions that carry CIs can generate implicatures on the basis of their conventional meaning. Conversational Implicature vs. Conventional Implicature Potts (2005) asserts that the lack of clarity of Grice‟s discussion makes it challenging to show that CIs constitute a distinct class of meaning. Grice did not describe CIs as a class of meaning, but rather as a way to clarify the features or properties of Conversational Implicatures. If we compare CIs and conversational implicatures we can find some distinct differences by using the three properties of calculability, detachability, and cancelability. These three main properties constitute Grice‟s test for distinguishing Conventional Implicature from Conversational Implicature. According to Grice, CIs are not “calculable,” which differentiate them from conversational implicatures. Conversational Implicatures are calculable because they rely on the Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Haider Nagra, Ph.D. Student Conventional Implicatures

199

assumption that what is said does not suffice to engender the implicature. As regards Conventional Implicature, calculation is not needed as the implicature is already given in the form of some conventional expression which has specific meaning. Conventional Implicature is “detachable,” whereas conversational implicature is “not detachable.” For example, if we use a different locution to express the same meaning, the conventional meaning cannot be maintained. The final property discussed by Grice as a mark of distinction between conventional and conversational implicature is Cancelability. Conversational implicatures are cancellable where as conventional implicatures are not cancellable. The conventional meaning of conventional implicatures is encoded in the expression that gives rise to a certain additional meaning. That is, the conventional meaning is part of the stored meaning in the mental lexicon. Grice did not provide a detailed description of his notion of conventional implicature. He did not describe conventional implicature as a class of meaning, but rather as a way to clarify the properties of conversational implicature. Furthermore, Grice did not clarify whether conventional implicature is part of semantics or pragmatics. This limited fragmented information about conventional implicature as a separate class of meaning results in different kinds of reformulations to the point where it has become difficult to differentiate conventional implicature from other classes of meaning. This may be one possible reason for the divided opinion that exists among later theorists attempting to develop Grice‟s „provisional fragmentary discussions of conventional implicature into a theory‟ (Feng, 2010, p.3). Bach’s (1999a) Rejection of Grice’s Theory of Conventional Implicatures Bach offers a strong critique of the Gricean notion of CIs and rejects them by asserting “ Grice‟s category of conventional implicature throws a monkey wrench into his distinction between what is said and what is implicated” (1999a: 327). Bach finds the Gricean notion of conventional implicature problematic, and criticizes Grice for creating difficulties as a result of his effort to relate his notion of conventional implicature to his distinction between what is said and what is implicated. Here Bach argues that conventional implicature is derived from the meaning of particular expressions rather than from conversational circ*mstances. Bach offers Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Haider Nagra, Ph.D. Student Conventional Implicatures

200

his solution to removing this „monkey wrench‟ from the Gricean frame work of conventional implicature. Bach observed in 1999 that propositions that contain expressions of CIs, e.g. but, even, and still are part of „what is said,‟ so such propositions cannot be considered to be CIs. He calls these conventional expressions as „preservative operators‟ („give rise to a new proposition and at the same time they preserve the original meaning‟) and contends that they affect the truth conditions of sentences. Bach argues that locutions which are not part of „what is said‟ do not necessarily generate conventional implicature as the same is true for utterance modifiers such as “confidentially” and “in other words”. Furthermore, such expressions generate new propositions and simultaneously keep /preserve the original meaning. Bach criticized CIs because the rationale behind the existence of CI is not strong. He believes that this concept is based on the intuition that “the falsity of this proposition is compatible with the truth of what is said; hence that this proposition is not part of what is said” (Bach 1999, p.338). Bach considered the category of conventional implicatures to be redundant as expressions like but, even and therefore can be incorporated into the new category of indirect quotations. Bach further asserted that any linguistic expression which passes his indirect quotation test is part of „what is said‟. Bach further elaborates about IQ-test in these words: An element of a sentence contributes to what is said in an utterance of that sentence if and only if there can be an accurate and complete indirect quotation of the utterance (in the same language) which includes that element, or a corresponding element, in the „that‟-clause that specifies what is said (Bach, 1999, p.340). The following examples further illustrate Bach‟s point: (1)

a. Shaq is huge but he is agile. b. Marv said that Shaq is huge but that he is agile.

(2)

a. Even Shaq can make some free throws. b. Marv said that even Shaq can make some free throws.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Haider Nagra, Ph.D. Student Conventional Implicatures

201

These examples illustrate how some conventional expressions such as but and even occur as a part of indirect quotations. Bach asserts when a speaker utters ACIDS (Alleged Conventional Implicatures Devices) then the speaker is committed to another proposition which is not part of what is said. He treats ACIDS as a part of what is said. In addition, ACIDS pass the IQ-test which is discussed above. In a nutshell, Bach believes that CIs do not exist in natural language and he discussed four factors by focusing on but as a case study. He believes that these four factors „conspire‟ to create this category of Conventional Implicatures (Bach, 1999a, 343-350). These four factors are given below: 1) It (but) doesn‟t encode a unique contrastive relation as its import varies across different contexts. 2) The contrast indicated by but is often common ground which is not part of what speaker is asserting. 3) People are usually forced to judge an utterance containing but as true or false. 4) It (but) usually requires an extra clause to spell out its contribution. Bach‟s conception of CIs has its own problems. First, I think that his IQ-test is not very reliable. Bach‟s IQ test claims that any element which can be embedded in an indirect quotation contributes to what is said. This is applicable to the English language with some exceptions. Hall (2004) and Carston (2002) questioned the reliability of Bach‟s IQ test even for the English language. Carston provides example sentences based on indirect reports as a means of proving her point. One example appears below: (3) Beth said that frankly she had had enough of John‟s lies. If Carston is correct about the acceptability of above sentence then Bach‟s test appears to be unreliable. I am uncertain whether Bach‟s test is reliable in some other languages. Evidence from Non-English Languages – Punjabi and Urdu If I think of my native languages Urdu and Punjabi, these languages have certain elements which can be embedded in indirect quotations, as asserted by Bach, but they do not contribute anything to what is said. According to Feng (2010), the IQ-test is too rigid as it ignores some of the background beliefs about speaker and hearer.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Haider Nagra, Ph.D. Student Conventional Implicatures

202

In a nutshell, Bach argues that the conventional meaning of locutions such as „but‟ is part of what is said. I think that Bach offers a rational analysis of conventional implicature. If I translate the popular example of Grice “she is poor but honest” into Urdu, which is my native language, then, in my point of view, contrast does not appear to be implicated, and instead it is part of what is said. Relevance Theorists’ Rejection of CIs Relevance theorists disagree with the alternatives provided by Bach, and also believe that there is no such thing as Conventional Implicature. Carston‟s (2002) views are that CIs were based on Blakemore‟s (1987) assertion that a conjoined utterance generates two propositions which play parallel inferential roles. Relevance theorists treat conventional expressions such as but and therefore as “coded means for constraining the inferential tasks involved in utterance interpretation” (Blackmore, 2002:89). Many relevance theorists consider that expressions such as but and fortunately trigger higher level explicatures (Wilson and Sperber, 1993; Blakemore, 2002; Carston, 2002). Carston (2007) also discussed the structure of utterances that contain and. Carston asserted that, according to the communicative principle of Relevance, “a presumption of optimal relevance is conveyed by very act of „ostensive‟ (overt) communication” (p.574). Relevant theorists‟ use of „ostensive‟ also supports their assertion that the meaning of contrast in expressions such as but generate explicatures rather than implicatures. This can be elaborated with the help of the following example: (4) Hermoine is very beautiful, and she comes from a wealthy family.

The above sentence communicates conjoined proposition [p&q] along with what is expressed by the individual conjuncts [p] and[q]. So in (5) „what is said‟ includes both [p] and [q] along with what might be understood as an implicature of Hermoine being lucky to be both beautiful and from a wealthy family. According to relevance theorists the additional meaning of (5) is part of the semantic meaning and is already encoded. Their primary concern is the different explicatures it might generate.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Haider Nagra, Ph.D. Student Conventional Implicatures

203

Carston (2002) also discusses certain other expressions such as therefore, after all, and you see as being constraints on the hearer‟s processing cost. She further claims that such constraints are procedural “effort saving device[s] one would expect to feature in a code which is subservient to a relevance-driven processing mechanism, which is geared to driving, cognitive effects at least cost to the processing resources of the system” (Carston, 2002:162). Carston concluded that an utterance containing but does not generate Conventional Implicature of contrast but it can generate an explicature of contrast. Furthermore, relevance theorists asserted that they have little concern about whether or not the extra meaning in the utterances is part of the truth conditions of the utterances, which is contrary to the Gricean criteria for Implicature. Some relevance theorists assert that expressions such as in other words, for example, frankly, unfortunately, confidentially and many others, are “external to the truth conditional proposition but contribute content to higher level explicatures” (Wilson and Sperber, 1995, cited in Feng,2010). In order to illustrate their point, consider the following examples: (6) a. Mary to Peter: Sadly, I cannot help you to find a job. b. Mary cannot help Peter to find job. c. Mary is sad that she can‟t help Peter to find a job. Wilson and Sperber (1995) emphasize that one utterance can have many explicatures. For instance, in the above example, 6b is the basic level explicature and 6c is the higher level explicature. In a nutshell, relevance theoretic analysis has developed a thought-provoking inquiry into the nature of Conventional Implicatures. However, it is also problematic in certain respects. Blakemore (2002) claims that Grice‟s account of conventional implicature is a standard speech act account. She discusses the case of but as indicating to her as speech act. She mentions Grice‟s proposal that conventional implicatures should be analyzed as second order speech acts. I think that Blakemore‟s assumption is wrong, and regard it as an exaggeration to claim that Grice intended to analyze CIs as traditional speech acts. Grice did talk about higher-order speech acts such as contrasting, adding and explaining but these speech acts differ from traditional speech acts as postulated by Austin (1962) and Searle (1979). Blakemore‟s criticism of Grice‟s notion of CI is thus not realistic. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Haider Nagra, Ph.D. Student Conventional Implicatures

204

Potts: Reexamination of Grice’s Theory of Conventional Implicature Potts does not reject this classical notion. However, he has taken certain steps to develop the logic of CIs by using Grice‟s (1975) ideas as his point of departure. Potts (2005) ignores Grice‟s original examples of but and therefore and includes several new expressions, e.g., relative clauses, nominal appositives, sentence adverbials, expressive epithets, expressive attributive adjectives and honorifics. Let us examine some of Potts‟ examples and elaborate on how he perceives CIs. (7) Lance Armstrong, a Texan, has won the 2002 Tour de France. (8) The damn electric clothes dryer didn‟t come with an electric plug! Potts states conventional implicature in (7) is expressed by using a nominal appositive ‘a Texan’, in (8) the same idea is expressed by using the expressive attributive adjective damn. Potts further asserts that these two expressions are grammatically different but both are speakeroriented entailments and independent of „at-issue‟ entailment. Potts (2005) used the term “atissue” to indicate the descriptive meaning instead of the Gricean notion of „what is said.‟ Potts‟ descriptive meaning is similar to the manner in which Kartunen and Peters (1979) explain „implicative verbs‟ such as manage and fail. This is elaborated in the example below. (9) Bart managed to pass the test. Descriptive: Bart passed the test. Conventional Implicature: Bart tried hard to pass the test. Potts claims that such utterance gives rise to two possible meanings: what is said (descriptive) and what is implicated. Moreover, „at issue‟ is the main theme of an utterance while conventional implicature is a secondary entailment. Potts claims that CI is used either to guide the discourse in a particular direction or used to help the hearer better understand why the „at-issue‟ content is important at that stage. With this in mind, the above examples can be used as discussion points for generating two possible meanings, descriptive meaning akin to what is said and what is implicated. In (7) the descriptive meaning is that Lance Armstrong has won the 2002 Tour de France and the CI is that Lance Armstrong is a Texan. In (8) the expression damn is adding extra meaning to the effect that the speaker is unhappy with not having gotten a plug with his electric clothes dryer. So Potts allowed certain new expressions to become parts of CIs. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Haider Nagra, Ph.D. Student Conventional Implicatures

205

Potts (2007) has used the three principles of calculability, malleability, and reinforceability to differentiate between Conventional Implicatures and Conversational Implicatures. Potts further elaborated on his three principles using the following examples: (10)a. What city does Sam live in? b. I know he lives in France. This example reflects that the speaker needs to make some calculations in order to infer exactly where Sam lives. Potts (2007) asserts that conversational Implicatures are malleable because their meaning changes according to the current context. However, this is not true for Conventional Implicatures because context doesn‟t matter for CIs. CIs have a fixed meaning regardless of the context in which they appear. The third principle which distinguishes between conversational and Conventional Implicatures is the reinforceability of Conversational Implicatures. This indicates CI also depends on the speakers if they want to generate a Conversational Implicature or not. Another important distinction is Potts‟ (2007) distinction between Conventional Implicatures and presuppositions. He claims that when linguists describe them, their description usually matches with presuppositions which results in a „confusing history‟. He further asserts that CIs are redundant and their content cannot be repeated. Potts (2007) explains that an utterance can generate both descriptive meaning and Conventional Implicatures and it is thus important to differentiate between these two layers of meaning. Moreover, CIs are inert assertorically and scope wise. This means that by denying the conventional implicature provided by the parenthetical in (7) it will automatically deny the entire proposition, and not just the content in the parenthetical. Potts provided certain examples in order to elaborate on these arguments. These examples provide good factual supports to the notion of Conventional Implicatures. I think he has been successful in developing a convincing logic for his take on CIs. However, his work remains imperfect, and some theorists have questioned his approach to CIs by pointing out some of the problems. Feng (2010) argues that, “Pott‟s logic is a misnomer rather than a Gricean development” (p.69). Feng agrees with Potts‟s assertion that the evidence in Grice‟s work for CIs is meager, but he criticized Potts for not rooting his logic in the work of Grice. Potts himself has claimed Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Haider Nagra, Ph.D. Student Conventional Implicatures

206

that his work is based on Kattunen and Peters (1979) rather than Grice (1961, 1975, 1989). Analyzing the work of Potts makes it clear that he accepts the existence of CIs, but his new focus on different conventional expressions appears quite different in comparison with the actual concerns regarding the Gricean framework of CIs. Some of the new conventional expressions that Potts introduced contribute to the truth conditions of the utterances in which they appear. This is contrary to what Grice thinks about CIs as being non-truth conditional. If we consider example (7) as discussed above, it is clear that it expresses two propositions. That means that anyone who utters (7) says something false if even one of the two propositions is false. Neal (2001) claims that utterances such as (7) express two propositions. If both of utterances are false then such an utterance is clearly false. However, if only one utterance is false, then Neal didn‟t say anything whether it is false or true. Proposition1. Lance Armstrong has won the 2002 Tour de France. Proposition2. Lance Armstrong is a Texan. Feng (2010) believes that Potts claim of CIs as being „always speaker oriented‟ is very rigid for two reasons. First, there is weak support for this claim made by Potts and second Potts‟s test of speaker orientation is unreliable. Feng cites some of the examples that contain parenthetical adverbs from Potts‟s work which are not speaker-oriented to illustrate his argument. Let us examine one such example: (11) Bill entered his room. Unfortunately, it had been burgled. In (11) the parenthetical adverb reflects the comment of Bill, who thinks it is unfortunate that the room had been burgled as well as showing that Potts‟s test of speaker orientation is unreliable. In a nutshell, Potts‟s work is a good addition to the literature on CIs but his work does not involve Gricean development because he did not include classical insights regarding CIs in his analysis. Feng (2010) claims that Potts is right to claim that the meaningfulness of the conventional implicature dimension is not dependent on the truth and falsity of the at-issue dimension but it is incompatible with Grice‟s original motivation. Grice intends CI to be truth conditional and dependent upon what is said, and this dependency is one of the defining characteristics of Grice‟s view of CIs. Salmon’s Theory of Double Subject Sentence and New Conventional Implicatures Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Haider Nagra, Ph.D. Student Conventional Implicatures

207

While supporting the existence of CIs, Salmon (2009) claim that Potts‟s (2005) speakeroriented criterion failed to address Double Subject Sentences (DSS). According to Salmon, DSSs involve a dislocation construction that appears in the spoken variety of Brazilian Portuguese Vernacular (BPV). He cited a few examples of DSS at the begining of his paper: (12) Esse Presidente, o imposto esta cada vez mais alto. „This president, taxes are getting higher and higher.‟ (13) O Lulu presidente, Voce acha que as coisas estao melhorando? „Lulu [being] president, do you think things are getting better‟? In the above examples, one common feature is that the main sentence is preceded by a parenthetical constituent. Salmon calls this constituent noun phrase one (NP1). Salmon explains that NP1 should meet certain conditions. For example, it should exhibit part whole relationship with the main sentence, and its meaning should be referential or generic. Salmon reviewed some of the problematic aspects of Potts‟s speaker-oriented approach in indirect speech with specific reference to DSS. He claims that DSSs are main clause phenomena which cannot be reported in indirect speech. This condition is also an important part of Bach‟s IQ test. However, this condition of Bach‟s IQ test does not hold for Potts own data, so Salmon assigned a special category to CIs discussed by Potts as being“New Conventional Implicatures” (NCI). Salmon discussed four points concerning NCIs and these appear below: 1. [N]CIs are part of the conventional meaning of words. 2. [N]CIs are commitment and thus give rise to entailments. 3. These commitments are made by the speaker of the utterance „by virtue of the meaning of‟ the words he chooses. 4. [N]CIs are logically and compositionally independent of what is „said (in the favored sense)‟, i.e. independent of the at-issue entailments. (P. 56) Salmon asserts that it is the 3rd requirement which gives rise to NCIs. Salmon reviews the above requirements in his paper by contending that DSS aligns with all of the traits of NCIs. As regards the very first requirement given above, meaning (1), he claims that the meaning of the NP1 of the DSS relies on the lexical constituent of the noun phrase. As regards the second requirement, what is stated in the NP1 is a commitment, and it creates entailment. This Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Haider Nagra, Ph.D. Student Conventional Implicatures

208

requirement clearly accepts the semantic contribution of NP1. The third requirement concerns all how it is difficult for the DSS to elaborate on how commitments are made by the speaker. The fourth requirement states that the meaning of CIs is distinct from „what is said‟. Salmon further elaborated on these requirements using examples such as the one given below: (14). Illinois, tornado e muito comum. „In Illinois, tornadoes are very common.‟ Salmon highlighted that in the above example the content of NP1 is independent of the content of „what is said.‟ This means that the speaker may deny the statement „tornadoes are very common‟ without denying „in Illinois‟. This argument appears to be a bit problematic because in using our language we usually consider both as being necessary for successful communication. One of the highlights of Salmon‟s work is his claim that DSSs can easily fit into the Gricean framework of CIs. He enumerated all of the properties of CIs as being part of DSS e.g., non-cancellable, detachable, and non-truth conditionals. We can analyze the above example (12) in the light of Salmon‟s comparison of DSS and CIs. According to Salmon‟s framework in (12) holds that the primary utterance will be true even if we delete NP1 because truth and falsity of „what is said‟ will not be affected by this change. Furthermore, NP1 does not play any role in terms of the properties of CIs, i.e., calculability, cancellability, and detachability. Consider the following example: (15) O apartment, as garrafas de cerveja estavam por toda a parte. The apartment, beer bottles were everywhere. Salmon claims that the truth or falsity of „what is said‟ in the DSS above is not affected by the truth or falsity of the initial NP. He went on to add that the latter simply contributes to the hearer‟s comprehension of the DSS, and the deletion of the initial NP thus would not affect the speaker‟s assertion that „beer bottles are everywhere‟. This shows that the primary utterance is true even if the initial NP is absent. So, the NP1 does not have any share in terms of calculability.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Haider Nagra, Ph.D. Student Conventional Implicatures

209

On the other hand the DSS is detachable, because the content of DSS cannot be expressed using other expressions that have same truth conditional content. As mentioned above, this approach presents some problems because it seems a bit unusual to claim that deleting NP1 in (13) would not affect the truth or falsity of „what is said‟. I think that in (12) the presence of NP1 makes a clear difference as regards the meaning of the entire utterance, so NP1 should have some sort of impact with respect to truth or falsity. Grice meets Frege in Horn’s Theory of Conventional Implicature Horn‟s framework offers strong support for Grice‟s traditional views of CIs. Horn (2007) attaches a great deal of importance to the work of Frege, and devotes a considerable portion of his paper to Frege‟s classification of three relations. These three relations are known as: Voraussetzung (presupposition), Nebengedanke (side-thought, which relates to Grice‟s notion of „what is said‟) and Andeutung (Grice‟s notion of „what is implicated‟). Horn asserted that French-language T/V pronoun choices in French can provide factual support for CIs. He illustrated his claim with using the following example: (16) a- Tu es soul „You (sing) are drunk‟ b. Vous etes soul. „You (plural) are drunk‟ Horn asserts that both (16a) and (16b) generate the same proposition in terms of „what is said‟ but they differ in terms of their conventional meanings. I agree that this claim of Horn as speaker may opt for T or V based not on their truth conditions, but rather on assessment of social context (Levinson, 1983). Social indicators, for example, social distance, also contribute to this type of implicatures. It appears that these honorifics give rise to context dependent implicature. Horn also highlighted CIs in relation to the distinction between definites and indefinites. Horn discussed the work of Russell (1905) and Abbot (2003) as support his claim that definites can generate conventional meanings of uniqueness and maximality. Russell (1905) claims that definiteness asserts existence and indefiniteness asserts both existence and uniqueness. Abbot (2003) suggests that the difference between indefinites and definites lies in the ability of the definites to generate the conventional implicature. Horn elaborated his claim using examples Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Haider Nagra, Ph.D. Student Conventional Implicatures

210

which show that definite descriptions cannot be deemed as being true or false based on their uniqueness and maximality. He then discussed how uniqueness is not cancellable, so uniqueness offers strong support for the Gricean traditional conception of CIs. In a nutshell, Horn presented logical evidence that supports conventional implicatures, such as definiteness, which gives rise to an additional meaning. I think that we still need more research to confirm whether or not this additional meaning is part of what is said or part of conventional meaning which is stored in the mental lexicon. In my opinion, the additional meaning of uniqueness and maximality is part of what is said and cannot be considered to be a CI. Conclusion Although the notion of CI traces its roots back to work of Locke and Frege, it was introduced into pragmatic theory by Grice. Various pragmatic theorists ranging from Grice to new Griceans and relevance theorists shed light on this notion. They either support the traditional views of Grice or reject his views. This paper has discussed some of these views about CIs. Bach and Carston is representative of those who categorically reject the existence of CIs whereas Salmon and Horn show support for CIs. Potts provides some support for the notion of CIs, but he created his own analytical framework for examining CIs. This paper‟s discussion examines the controversy about CIs among different groups of theorists. More research is needed before a consensus about this controversial notion of Conventional Implicatures can develop more fully. ==================================================================== References Bach, Kent (1999) The Myth of Conventional Implicature. Linguistics and philosophy 22:4, 327366. Blakemore, D. and Carston, R., (1999) The pragmatics of and-conjunctions: the non-narrative cases. UCL Working Papers in Linguistics 11, pp.1-20. Blakemore, D. (2002). Relevance and Linguistic Meaning: The Semantics and Pragmatics of Discourse Markers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Haider Nagra, Ph.D. Student Conventional Implicatures

211

Carston, R. (2002) Thoughts and utterances: the pragmatics of explicit communication. Oxford: Blackwell. Feng, G. (2010). A Theory of Conventional Implicature and Pragmatic Markers in Chinese. Emerald, Bigley: UK Grice, Paul. (1961) The causal theory of perception. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society. Supplementary Vol. 35: 121-52. Grice, Paul. (1961) Logic and Conversation. In peter Cole and Jerry Morgan, eds., Syntax and Semantics, Volume 3: Speech Acts, 43-58. New York: Academic Press. Hall, A. (2004) The Meaning of But: A Procedural Reanalysis. UCL Working Papers in Linguistics, vol.16. University College London. Horn, L.R. (2004) Implicature. In Horn, L.R. and G.Wards,eds.,The Handbook of Pragmatics. Oxford: Blackwell. Horn, L.R. (2009).WJ-40: Implicature, truth, and meaning. International Review of Pragmatics 1:1, 3-34 Neal, S. (2001). Implicature and coloring. In G. Cosennza, ed., Paul Grice’s Heritag, pp.139184. Bologna: Brepols Turnhout. Potts, C. (2005). The Logic of Conventional Implicatures: Oxford University Press. Potts, C. (2007). Into the Conventional Implicature Dimension. Philosophy Compass 4:2, 665679 Salmon, W (2009) Double Subjects and Conventional Implicatures: International Review of Pragmatics 1:2, 249-292. Sperber, D. and Wilson, D.(1995). Relevance. Communication and Cognition. Oxford: Blackwell ============================================================ Iftikhar Haider Nagra, M.Phil., M.A. TESOL, Ph.D. Student University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign 2101-203 Hazelwood Drive Apartment#203 Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA [emailprotected]

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Haider Nagra, Ph.D. Student Conventional Implicatures

212

A Brief Survey of Indian Nationalism in the Novels of R. K. Narayan Shakeba Jabeen Siddiqui, Ph.D. and Hemant Kumar Shukla, Ph.D. ==================================================================

Courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._K._Narayan

Abstract In the present investigation, Narayan’s views on nation and nationalism are being assessed and a critical appreciation is offered. His novels subtly portrayed the issues raised and faced by the people in India during the Freedom Struggle. Mass movements of the Freedom Struggle along with an empathic writing in favor of Gandhian thoughts are presented. Through his novels, Narayan tried to raise the then major national issues, which Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Shakeba Jabeen Siddiqui, Ph.D. and Hemant Kumar Shukla, Ph.D. A Brief Survey of Indian Nationalism in the Novels of R. K. Narayan

213

are still relevant. He wrote in favour of the Three Language Formula as a national language. The novelist wrote in agreement with Gandhian thoughts in his novels. One can enjoy the fragrance of Indian ethics, values, and culture throughout his novels. The present investigation is an attempt to bring to the surface those ideas which remained deeply-rooted in him throughout his life. Certain constraints Narayan faced in his publishing career are also pointed out at the end.

Keywords: R.K. Narayan, Nationalism, Hindi, Gandhian thoughts, per capita income, annas, sarees

Introduction

R. K. Narayan occupies a pre-eminent place in Indian fiction in English. He is internationally acclaimed as the greatest Indian fiction writer in English and his novels are still popular. Narayan obviously tried to raise a major national issue when he advocated for Hindi as ‘our national language, given to us by Mahatma Gandhi himself (1). Narayan used many commonly used Hindi and Indian words in his novels. This made Hindi and Indian words known to those who did not know Hindi and other Indian languages, but were reading Narayan’s works regularly. His fondness for India and Indian values led him to deliberately and freely use the words of Indian origin, most of them being Hindi words. Susan Nirmala S. in her research paper “Indianness in R. K. Narayan’s novel The Man-Eater of Malgudi published in Language in India (Volume 9 : 5 May 2009) made a very interesting survey of R. K. Narayan’s wide-ranging use of words of Indian origin. Some of the words like Pulav, Melas, Pandal, Lungi, etc. were used more than 100 times by him, and that also in a single novel The Man-Eater of Malgudi (1969). She writes: R.K. Narayan’s “Indianism” includes words some of which have already become part of the vocabulary of the English language like saree, or sari and some other words which are on their way to become a part of the English language like Deepavali, ahimsa, etc.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Shakeba Jabeen Siddiqui, Ph.D. and Hemant Kumar Shukla, Ph.D. A Brief Survey of Indian Nationalism in the Novels of R. K. Narayan

214

Susan Nirmala lists the following words. Page numbers refer to page numbers in the cited novel, The Man-Eater of Malgudi (1969).

Deepavali (7) Sari (7) Paisa (7) Taluk (9) Pyol (12) Dhoti (10) Ramayana (12) Puja (13) Satyanarayana puja (14) Phaelwan (18) Seer (18) Appa (19) Jutka (24) Bhagavat gita (30) Upanishads (30) Beedi (44) Khadi (47) Garuda (53) Kavi (55) Idli (70) Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Shakeba Jabeen Siddiqui, Ph.D. and Hemant Kumar Shukla, Ph.D. A Brief Survey of Indian Nationalism in the Novels of R. K. Narayan

215

Rakshasa (75) Puranas (76) Asura (87) Namaskaram (87) Jibba (88) Ahimsa (92) Radhakalyan (103) Dharma (121) Pulav (123) Pandal (126) Melas (149) Kumba mela (149) Mami (153) Lungi (168) With the increasing popularity of Indian literature in English, saree (the dress of the female), and dhoti (the garment of the male) are progressively used and accepted as such (2).

A National Issue In A Tiger for Malgudi (1983), it is for the first time that Narayan touches upon a national theme and upholds the national policy on language - the three language formula consisting of the regional language, the national language and English:

When the monsoon set in, in October-November, the circus moved out of Malgudi to other centers in along caravan parading the animals, which made the circus known all along the way; the central office at Malgudi worked all through the year. At every show, captain made a speech, sometimes autobiographical and sometimes to boost a speech act such as mine’. He delivered his message in at least three languages as he explained: “….. in Hindi since it is our national language and given to us by Mahatma Gandhi himself; also in English because as our beloved respected leader Nehru put it, it opens a Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Shakeba Jabeen Siddiqui, Ph.D. and Hemant Kumar Shukla, Ph.D. A Brief Survey of Indian Nationalism in the Novels of R. K. Narayan

216

window on the world. In Tamil, because, it is our mother tongue in which our greatest poets like Kamban, Valluvar composed, also the sublime inspiring patriotic songs of Bharathi, who can ever forget things” (3).

Ideas on Nation and Nationalism The glimpses of the idea of nation and nationalism are depicted in Narayan’s novel based on Gandhian thoughts. The values he held high in his characters are Gandhian (Narayan, 1955; Aginhotri, 1982, pp. 13&15). Narayan highlighted not only the traditional ideal of renunciation but also his values included moral uprightness, truthfulness and other issues that cover man’s life in all areas, chiefly social, educational, political and economic (Narayan, 1952, p.14). The following may be cited for Narayan’s insistence on moral values, truthfulness and other issues that cover man’s life: Views on Education In the 8th chapter of The English Teacher (1945), there is a dialogue which is undoubtedly the epitome of his views on education: This education has reduced us to a nation of morons; we were strangers to our own culture and camp followers of another culture, feeding on leavings and garbage . . . What about our own roots? . . . I am up against the system, the whole method and approach of a system of education which makes us morons, cultural morons, but efficient clerks for all your business and administration offices (4). Portrayal of Students It is significant that his novels portray many school children or college going boys or those who have just left college to enter professional life. Invariably, the profession happens to be journalism. Chandran is the first character of Narayan who had given up all other professions in favour of a newspaper agency in Malgudi. Srinivas of the novel Mr. Sampath was himself an editor of the Banner, a protest magazine (Narayan, 1948). Narayan’s concern with the quality of life and education in India is reflected in his novel The English Teacher. His later novels also have many student characters. Sriram of Waiting for the Mahatma (1955) and Mali of The Vendor of Sweets (1967) are among many other examples found in his novels. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Shakeba Jabeen Siddiqui, Ph.D. and Hemant Kumar Shukla, Ph.D. A Brief Survey of Indian Nationalism in the Novels of R. K. Narayan

217

Conflict between the British Rulers and Indian Subjects – Portrait of Nationalism

Very early in the novel, Swami and Friends (1935), Narayan introduced the conflict between the British rulers and the ruled in colonial India. In his characteristic mode of comedy, he viewed this conflict in terms of cultural collision between Christianity and traditional Hinduism. Narayan concentrated on the abnormality of characters of both British and Indians that resulted from this collision. Another event which declared the issue of nation and nationalism in Narayan’s novels is when in a chapter titled Broken Panes in Swami and Friends (1935), Narayan announced very solemnly: On the 15th of August 1930, about two thousand citizens of Malgudi assembled on the right bank of Sarayu to protest against the arrest of Gauri Sankar, a political worker of Bombay … Swami with his band of friends had stumbled into this meeting. English versus Indians - a question of identity is the subject of the speech Swami heard. “We are slaves of slaves, … just think for a while, we are three hundred and thirty six millions, and our land is as big as Europe minus Russia. England is no bigger than our Madras Presidency, and is inhabited by a handful of white rogues and is thousands of miles away. Yet we bow in homage before the Englishman!” Stirred by the speaker’s eloquence, Swaminathan shouted, ‘Gandhi ki Jai’ (5).

Gandhian Thoughts Here R.K. Narayan tries to tell us the impact of Gandhian thoughts on the minds of Swami and Mani, his friend:

With the lecturer they wept over the plight of the Indian peasant; resolved to boycott English goods, especially Lancashire and Manchester cloth, … and Swaminathan was going to meet it out by wearing only khaddar, the rough home spun (6). Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Shakeba Jabeen Siddiqui, Ph.D. and Hemant Kumar Shukla, Ph.D. A Brief Survey of Indian Nationalism in the Novels of R. K. Narayan

218

This is how Narayan tried to tell how Swami, the hero of the novel, got initiated into the Gandhian way of national protest. The evening’s programme, as narrated in the novel, closed with the bonfire of pieces of foreign cloth. Gandhi’s ideas appealed to Swami in a personal way because of his demoralizing experience in the scripture class. Here is one more example:

Next Morning Swami involved in boycotting the class because as he was informed, ‘one of the greatest sons of the Motherland has been sent to jail. Despite of the Headmaster’s warnings, thundering shouts of Bharat Mata ki Jai, Gandhi ki Jai and Gauri Shankar ki Jai resounded through Malgudi streets (7).

Narayan expanded this political scenario further true to the spirit of Gandhi. Narayan’s simple language created a picture that could be corroborated by historic facts of how people’s apathy turned into their involvement with the national cause.

Portraying the Real Picture of India

In The Vendor of Sweets (1967), Narayan tried to portray the real picture of the then India through the person talking to Jagan:

But this is a poor country, sir. Per capita income is three annas. He still stuck to the figure that he got out of a book called “Poverty and un-British rule in India” in his college days, but this figure restrained him from demanding of every parent in town that he spent eight annas a day at his shop. Poor country! Most people cannot afford even rice for two meals a day (8).

This sentence portrayed the high rate of inflation during post-Independence years.

Patriotic Feelings In another event, Narayan makes his hero Jagan felt proud of going to prison during struggle for Independence. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Shakeba Jabeen Siddiqui, Ph.D. and Hemant Kumar Shukla, Ph.D. A Brief Survey of Indian Nationalism in the Novels of R. K. Narayan

219

I had to leave the college, when Gandhi ordered us to non-cooperate. I spent the best of my student years in prison”, said Jagan, feeling heroic (9).

Patriotic feelings are often conveyed through Jagan. He often goes back to past in his memories, when he was an activist in the freedom struggle keeping Gandhi as a role model. When he remembered the word ‘service’ any activity became touched with significance…The first time he heard the word was in 1937 when Mahatma Gandhi visited Malgudi and had addressed a vast gathering on the sands of the river. He spoke of service, explaining how every human action acquired a meaning when it was performed as a service (10). Jagan was so patriotic that he didn’t like the idea of going abroad and study and anything said in favour of America upset him. This is reflected in the sentence below:

Jagan was furious at this notion; it was outrageous and hurt his nation pride … Did Valmiki go to America or Germany in order to learn to write his Ramayana? (11). Waiting for the Mahatma - Gandhian bildungsroman Waiting for the Mahatma (Narayan, 1955, p.13) is a sort of Gandhian bildungsroman that charts its protagonist’s growth from selfish privilege to local, committed activism. Sriram was initially a lazy young man who seeks only a secure middle-class lifestyle. Falling in love with the devout Gandhian Bharati, he serves in the Quit India movement, although he still has no consistent political ideals (at one point he becomes an anti-British terrorist). Gandhian phase of the anti-colonial movement for India's freedom finds frequent expression in literary representations of the period. There was large-scale support among Indians for Gandhi's intervention in the civil disobedience and Quit India movements (12). However, Waiting for the Mahatma reflects certain ambivalence towards the freedom movement. There were many who were impressed by the more benign aspects of the British presence in India and Narayan's own writing came to depend heavily on patronage by British Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Shakeba Jabeen Siddiqui, Ph.D. and Hemant Kumar Shukla, Ph.D. A Brief Survey of Indian Nationalism in the Novels of R. K. Narayan

220

publishers and readers. He was apparently writing for an English audience and could not upset the colonial English system, which supported him. But despite all these factors, he succeeded in upholding the Indian values which were inherent and, as has been mentioned earlier, deeply-rooted in him.

Conclusion It is evident from the present study that the Gandhian thoughts and nationalism occupied an important place in the novels of R. K. Narayan. They also played a role in creating political awareness to some extent. The novels of Narayan brought the concerns of national feeling among the English-reading individuals and groups including those up in administrative hierarchy serving the British Empire. The novels were written on the Indian issues in English language, which was the language of the educated and high ranking officials in India. ================================================================== Notes and References 1

R.K.Narayan, A Tiger for Malgudi ,http://books.google.co.in/books?id, p.66

Susan Nirmala S., Indianness in R.K.Narayan’s novel The Man-Eater of Malgudi,

Language in India (Volume 9 : 5 May 2009), www.languageinindia.com, pp.18-19 3

R.K.Narayan, A Tiger for Malgudi ,http://books.google.co.in/books?id, p.66

R.K.Narayan, The English Teacher, http://blog.gaiam.com/quotes/authors/r-k-

narayan/67110, p. 467 5

R.K.Narayan, Swami and Friends, http://www.scribd.com/doc/3473267/Swami-and-

Friends-R-K-Narayan, p.42 6

ibid, p.43

ibid, p.44

R.K.Narayan, The Vendor of Sweets, http://books.google.co.in/books?id, p.5

ibid, p.23

ibid, p.37

ibid, p.41

R.K.Narayan,The Magic of Malgudi (London: Penguin Book,2000),p.302

R.K. Narayan, (1955, Methuen, London). Waiting for the Mahatma, Indian Thought Publications, Mysore, 1964, repr. 1969.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Shakeba Jabeen Siddiqui, Ph.D. and Hemant Kumar Shukla, Ph.D. A Brief Survey of Indian Nationalism in the Novels of R. K. Narayan

221

R.K. Narayan, (1952, Methuen, London). The Financial Expert, Indian Thought Publications, Mysore, 1958, repr. 1998. 15 Aginhotri, H.L. (1982). "Gandhi and R.K. Narayan" In: Rao, V. ed. "Special Issue on R.K. Narayan" The Literary Endeavour 3.3-4 (January-June 1982).pp. 52-60.

=================================================== Shakeba Jabeen Siddiqui, Ph.D. (Linguistics) Department of English M.P. Garg Degree College Allahabad – 211011 Uttar Pradesh India [emailprotected]

Hemant Kumar Shukla, Ph.D. (Corresponding Author) Assistant Professor in English Govt. Degree College Talwari-Tharali - 246482 District Chamoli Uttarakhand India [emailprotected]

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Shakeba Jabeen Siddiqui, Ph.D. and Hemant Kumar Shukla, Ph.D. A Brief Survey of Indian Nationalism in the Novels of R. K. Narayan

222

A Comparative Study on the Performance of Male versus Female Students in the Subject of Mathematics Muhammad Siddique Saleem, M.Phil. (Education) Ishtiaq Hussain, Ph.D. (Education) Maqsood Ahmed, M.Phil. (Education) Sarfraz Ahmad, M.Phil. (Education) Farzana Sardar, M.Phil. (Education) =============================================================== ABSTRACT The main purpose of this study was to compare the performance of male versus female students of Government Schools at Higher Secondary level in the subject of Mathematics in Rawalpindi division. The main objectives of the study were: (1) To assess the performance of male and female students of government schools at higher secondary level in the subject of Mathematics, (2) To compare the performance of male and female students of government schools at higher secondary level in the subject of Mathematics, (3) To identify the weak areas of male and female students in Mathematics in which they need more attention and (4) To give suggestions for the improvement in the light of their weak areas. All provincial government higher secondary schools (27 male and 24 female) of Rawalpindi Division constituted the population of the study. Six Higher Secondary Schools were taken from each district, comprising 3 male and 3 female Higher Secondary Schools. In this way 24 Higher Secondary Schools were chosen as sample of the study. For collection of the data 10 students were taken randomly from each Higher Secondary School of boys & girls. The study was delimited to the 120 male and 120 female students of 24 Higher Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Muhammad Siddique Saleem, M.Phil. (Education), Ishtiaq Hussain, Ph.D. (Education), Maqsood Ahmed, M.Phil. (Education), Sarfraz Ahmad, M.Phil. (Education) and Farzana Sardar, M.Phil. (Education) A Comparative Study on the Performance of Male versus Female Students in the Subject of Mathematics 223

Secondary Schools. A test was developed and administered to the male and female sample students of Rawalpindi Division. F test in ANOVA table and the co-efficient of variation was used for the comparison on the performance of boys and girls students. Key Words: f-test, co-efficient of variation 1. INTRODUCTION Mathematics is as important to a country as protein is to young ones. For better understanding and to keep them in function of science and technology it works as a vital device, the discipline acts as the vital role of an initiate to the much desired technological development needed for the national development. It has become an essential objective for the education of mathematics to facilitate the students to build up abilities to distinguish the relation between mathematics and the facts of life, and to recognize and realize the character of mathematics performing in the human life. The performances of female and male students in mathematics are different by inequalities in their physiological structures. Even though the majority of the researchers have found the better performance of boys than girls particularly in higher education, a small number of other researchers found that girls performance better than boys and during early education, a number of other researcher found no important difference. An analysis of some gender based studies that were done in the decade between 1985 and 1995 showed that there is a significant discrepancy in the literature in the disparity performance between girls and boys in the subject of mathematics. The researchers noted that by means of the contradictory results and noteworthy procedural flaws observed, further experimental researches are required to explore the reality of gender bias in the classroom (Fennema and Sherman, 1978). Researches of last ten years have revealed that females and males have approached differently in learning and have different classroom experiences, because teachers treat them in different ways. Attainment potential for females in several subjects is generally lower, as they are poor students or they belong to a certain cultural and racial group (Callahan and Clements, 1984). Traditionally, the achievement of females in advanced mathematics is hard to define. In the primary stage the achievement of girls is equal to boys in mathematics but it decreases in the middle standard school. A study of twelfth grade girls in 15 countries on the achievement in mathematics exposed that girls of nine countries showed less performance than the boys. The turn down of female attainment starts at the age of ten because of strong outline of socialization as the differences in gender (Geist and King, 2008). As girls grow during school, they drop and discontinue the subject of mathematics in general. This digests reviews talk to point out the handling of female students that inhibits their capability to effectively learn math, general methods of communication and teaching practices in the classroom. It also identifies some pessimistic attitudes of teachers and parents about female mathematics attainment may discourage girls from ongoing their math education (Pallas and Alexander, 1983). Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Muhammad Siddique Saleem, M.Phil. (Education), Ishtiaq Hussain, Ph.D. (Education), Maqsood Ahmed, M.Phil. (Education), Sarfraz Ahmad, M.Phil. (Education) and Farzana Sardar, M.Phil. (Education) A Comparative Study on the Performance of Male versus Female Students in the Subject of Mathematics 224

As a result, the poor performance of secondary school student in the subject (mathematics) cannot be acceptable to go unattended to. Hence the effort to look into the possible causes of student’s poor performance in the subject and this study will also try to dive into the comparative assessment of performance of male students and female students at higher secondary school level. 2. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Importance of Mathematics "What makes the math in sciences so vital?” this question can be answered by quoting Galileo: "Only those can read the great book of nature who knows the language in which it was written. And that language is mathematics.” adding "Math is the way to understand all sorts of things in the world around us." Mathematics Self-Efficacy By definition, self-efficacy is the perception of individual ability to perform and complete tasks. Therefore, self-efficacy information helps individuals determine how much effort they should expend in order to complete a task Individuals attribute their self-efficacy to past experiences and how those experiences relate to them personally. Self-reflection of exposure to or lack of exposure to, mathematics classes is therefore the primary source of mathematics self-efficacy. If individuals have no basis of the knowledge required to properly assess their ability, then their assessment will in the end be flawed. In essence, it is difficult for students to objectively evaluate themselves on topics for which they have little knowledge. Therefore, exposures to mathematics with positive outcomes increases mathematics self-efficacy while exposure to mathematics with negative outcomes decreases mathematics self-efficacy, provided the positive outcomes are attributed to increases in personal capability. However, continual attempts should be made at enhancing the learning experience for students that have been shown to have low levels of self-efficacy thereby enabling individuals to master the important concepts of mathematics while enabling them to become lifelong, self- regulated learners (Bandura 1993). Using Mathematics in Problem-Solving Numerous researches have been done in the area of teaching and learning during the recent years which have led to the development of plans for problem-solving teaching or what is usually referred to as supreme mental processes; some of the studies done in various countries are as follows: Murphy, Danald (1988) referred to their research as modifying the traditional classroom model to facilitate the development of creative skills. This model shows a considerable increase in creativity grades. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Muhammad Siddique Saleem, M.Phil. (Education), Ishtiaq Hussain, Ph.D. (Education), Maqsood Ahmed, M.Phil. (Education), Sarfraz Ahmad, M.Phil. (Education) and Farzana Sardar, M.Phil. (Education) A Comparative Study on the Performance of Male versus Female Students in the Subject of Mathematics 225

Runco & Okuda (1998) have reviewed the role of problem discovery in divergent thinking and creative process of teenagers and resulted that teenagers obviously had a better response to the discoverable problems; moreover, problem discovery is relevant to the creative process of teenagers. Gender and Mathematical Education Nowadays, the problem field has changed from “women and mathematics” to “gender and mathematics”. This change started with the attention on women exerted by women. In the mid-1990s, the focus was broadened to a gender perspective. The International Organization of Women and Mathematics Education (IOWME) - an international network of individuals and organizations who share a commitment to achieving equity in education and who are interested in the links between gender and mathematics teaching and learning – is a main factor in this change (Fennema & Sherman, 1978). The gender gap in mathematics is not a new unknown fact. There are a lot of researches relating to the difference among genders and the possible causes of the gender gap. Study towards the reason of the gap refers to three main factors that may contribute to the differences. These consist of local biological differences, social influences, and cultural pressures. On the other hand, there are also claims stating there is no long a gender gap (Beaudry & Campbell, 1998). 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1

POPULATION

All male and female students of the Government Higher Secondary schools of Rawalpindi Division constituted the population of the study. 3.2

DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY There are four districts (Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum and Chakwal) in Rawalpindi Division. The study was delimited to six schools (3 male + 3 female) from each district. 3.3

SAMPLE

For choosing the sample from the population the simple random sampling technique was used. For collection of the data 10 students were taken randomly from each selected Higher Secondary School. The sample of this study consisted of 120 male and 120 female students of 24 Higher Secondary Schools (12 male & 12 female). 3.4

RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

After a thorough review of the techniques of test, a test was developed. For determining the reliability of the instrument, Split Half Methods was applied to calculate internal consistency of the items. Consent of the teachers and experts was taken in the Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Muhammad Siddique Saleem, M.Phil. (Education), Ishtiaq Hussain, Ph.D. (Education), Maqsood Ahmed, M.Phil. (Education), Sarfraz Ahmad, M.Phil. (Education) and Farzana Sardar, M.Phil. (Education) A Comparative Study on the Performance of Male versus Female Students in the Subject of Mathematics 226

construction of tests. The test items (MCQs) were prepared from ten chapters of the Text book of Mathematics. 4.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

To check the performance of the male and female students of each district of Rawalpindi Division, the mean and standard deviation of all the ten chapters were calculated separately. F test in ANOVA table and the co-efficient of variation was used for the comparison on the performance of male and female students. In general, the study results revealed that the performance of male and female students was average. Through all the analysis of data the performance of male is better than female students in all the chapters of mathematics. If it is correct that girls are less interested than boys in math. An encouraging answer to the question about gender differences in interest in math might guide to further study of an inspiration that repels many of us, i.e., the question of inherited differences. But the inherited argument does not give the idea particularly helpful to us, as educators and beginning the argument about interest in math would enable us to examine the question of gender differences in a way that might be helpful. Research on gender and mathematics has provided a powerful systematic discussion during the past 3 decades. The whole educational community composed of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers have to continue to engage in this discussion about and to explore ways to get deeper our understanding in gender differences in mathematics. It is in conversation about philosophical questions as well as research questions that our understanding of gender and mathematics will raise. 5. CONCLUSIONS In the light of statistical analysis and the findings of the study, the following conclusions were drawn. 1

2 3

The study results revealed that the performance of male and female students of Government schools at the higher secondary level in the subject of mathematics was average performance. The study results showed that the performance of male students was better than female students. The study results exposed that the areas in which the students were weak are Sets, Functions and Groups, Quadratic Equations, Mathematical Induction and Binomial Theorem. The study results uncovered that the areas in which the students have performed satisfactory are Number System, Matrices and Determinants, Sequences and Series, Permutation, Combination and Probability, Fundamentals of Trigonometry, Trigonometric Identities and Application of Trigonometry.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Muhammad Siddique Saleem, M.Phil. (Education), Ishtiaq Hussain, Ph.D. (Education), Maqsood Ahmed, M.Phil. (Education), Sarfraz Ahmad, M.Phil. (Education) and Farzana Sardar, M.Phil. (Education) A Comparative Study on the Performance of Male versus Female Students in the Subject of Mathematics 227

6. RECOMMENDATIONS In order to improve in the weak areas mentioned above and the quality of students and at higher secondary level in subject of mathematics, following are the major recommendations. 1.

5. 6.

10.

It is recommended that guidance and counselling should be element of school timetable at secondary level. Students should be counselled to opt for Mathematics up to secondary school level. It is recommended that teachers should give more detailed explanations of concepts, provide more opportunity for discussion and more encouragement. Teachers' knowledge of the subject should be matched by knowledge of how to explain it. It is recommended that the girls should be provided more opportunities to interact with their peer group to increase their interest and clear their doubts about the mathematical concepts. It is recommended that the students should be sorted into groups according to ability and taught separately according to whether they were weak, average or good and more tests would be a better form of learning. It is recommended that the need for teaching materials that related to the local situation and that brought out the practical dimensions of mathematics is emphasized. It is recommended that structuring lessons around the thinking processes needed to reach your destination at answers to questions according to the students both male and female need. Math problems can reflect student experiences and can put emphasis on practical, real life applications. Techniques need to be researched and developed to help both males and females select more appropriate subjects at tertiary level. Initiatives are in place to assist females, and these initiatives need to be further developed, particularly to find ways to encourage females to take the more specialized mathematics subjects. Regional trainings initiatives need to be developed to bring teachers and students closer together. It is recommended that mathematics teaching and evaluation strategies should be developed wisely that males and females tend to see themselves as equal, capable of competing and collaborating in classroom activities. It is recommended that the mathematics teachers should be strengthened with refresher courses, orientation workshop and provision of on the job trainings to overcome the difficulties of teaching mathematics. It is recommended that mathematics working teachers, educators and expert need to be involved in the development of new curriculum. REFRENCES

Bandura, Albert. 1993. "Perceived Self-Efficacy in Cognitive Development and Functioning." Educational Psychologist 28:117-148 2. Beaudry and Campbell, 1998. Gender differences into micro-inequities and macroinequities Review of educational Research, (59),185 – 213. 3. Callahan and Clements 1984. Girls' mathematic achievement in the elementary grades Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Muhammad Siddique Saleem, M.Phil. (Education), Ishtiaq Hussain, Ph.D. (Education), Maqsood Ahmed, M.Phil. (Education), Sarfraz Ahmad, M.Phil. (Education) and Farzana Sardar, M.Phil. (Education) A Comparative Study on the Performance of Male versus Female Students in the Subject of Mathematics 228

4. 5. 6.

is equal to boys' but decreases in the middle school, University Tutorial Press. London. UK. p. 137-148. Fennema and Sherman, 1978. Gender differences in mathematics: Journal of research in mathematics education, 14: 15-20. Geist and King, 2008. Different Not Better: Gender Differences in Mathematics Learning and Achievement. International Journal of Education, 25 (4), 50 – 53. Kadiri, S. A. 2004. The Effectiveness of the Personalized System of Instruction in Mathematics among Secondary School Students in Osun State. Freshman press, Osun state, (58) 28-35.

7. 8.

9. 10.

Murphy and Danald 1988. Modifying the traditional classroom model to facilitate the development of creative skills. New York: Teachers College Press.96: 65-78. Pallas and Alexander, 1983. Sex differences in quantitative SAT performance: New evidence on the differential coursework hypothesis. American Educational Review Journal, 20, 165-182. Runco and Okuda, 1998 .Problem discovery, divergent thinking, and the creative process. Journal of youth and Adolescence 480: 260-290. Tyson, 1996. An Analysis of the Differential Performance of Girls on Standardized Multiple-Choice Mathematics Achievement Tests Compared to Constructed Response Texts of Reasoning and Problem Solving. Journal of Education and Technology.18: 15 – 19.

============================================================ Muhammad Siddique Saleem, M.Phil. (Education) [emailprotected] Ishtiaq Hussain, Ph.D. (Education) [emailprotected] Maqsood Ahmed, M.Phil. (Education) [emailprotected] Sarfraz Ahmad, M.Phil. (Education) [emailprotected] Farzana Sardar, M.Phil. (Education) [emailprotected] Institute of Education & Research Kohat University of Science & Technology Kohat Pakistan

The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc. (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) ======================================================== Introduction Although the majority of language development occurs during the preschool years, development persists into the adolescent years too. Adolescence is the period of a child's life as he approaches adulthood and can begin anywhere from 8-14 years of age and continues until 18-21 years of age. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), considers adolescent age range to be between 10-19 years. The hallmark of this period is marked by numerous physical changes as well as certain cognitive, emotional, social, and educational changes. During preadolescent and adolescent years, language develops in a slow and protracted manner. This development includes learning to use more complex language and to communicate differently depending on the situation. Language normally learned when children are in the adolescent years, attending middle and high school, is called later or advanced language development. Linguistic development during this time is subtle but important. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review

230

One apparent measure of linguistic development is in the area of semantics. It is the number of words in an individual’s vocabulary. Miller and Gildea (1987) have estimated that at the time of high school graduation, a typical adolescent will know about 80,000 words. Vocabulary sizes being only a part of the adolescent’s semantic development, other parts involve the type of words they learn and what they do with the words and their meanings. These may include the type of definitions provided for words, the ability to complete verbal analogies (like “if principal is to academics then judge is to: ____?”) and skill in detecting and deciphering statements that are ambiguous. There are several reasons for this semantic growth - educational exposure, life experiences, and cognitive shifts into formal/hypothetical thought levels. Adolescence is also a peak period for the use of a number of areas of figurative language. Among these are verbal humor, idioms, metaphors and similes, and proverbs. Figurative language brings an unclear concept alive, going beyond the literal meaning of words, providing new effects or fresh understandings into an idea or a subject. They materialize a concept and pursue to classify and emphasize meaning by referencing a word or phrase in terms of something familiar to the conversational partner, usually to achieve special meaning or effect (Abkarian, Jones & West, 1992). Adolescents begin to use and understand language that has a figurative, rather than a literal function (Nippold & Haq, 1996; Nippold, Moran, & Swartz, 2001). Burkato & Daehler (1995) suggested that figurative language can be used to establish intimacy between some discourse participants while excluding others (Gerrig and Gibbs, 1988), also providing stimulation for later language development. Though children do not frequently encounter outdoor social situations of the usage of figurative language, they do often come across them in their classrooms and textbooks (Boatner, Gates, & Makkai, 1975; Nippold, 1991, 1993). Nippold (1990), examined students’ literature books, and reported that at Grade 3 (ages 8-9 yrs) an average of 6% of sentences contained atleast one idiom, increasing to 10% by Grade 8. Being competent in the usage of figurative language is generally not thought of as critical to everyday survival. However, figurative language is so much a part of our thinking and Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review

231

learning processes that we may not realize how important it is in our daily lives. Hence they are used for cognitive understanding of language and the world around us. The use of figurative language is not only limited to poetic situations, but rather it can be considered as a universal characteristic of speech (Pollio, Smith & Pollio, 1990). Pollio, Barlow, Fine & Pollio (1977) estimated that four such figures of speech are uttered per speaking minute. The comprehension of proverbs is also considered as a good indicative marker for the achievement of success in school (Nippold, Uhden, & Schwarz, 1997; Nippold, Hegel, Uhden, & Bustamante, 1998). In addition to the mentioned aspects of figurative language, the usage of metaphors, similes, idioms & slangs and jargon, for which adolescents are well-known, is also based primarily on figurative language. This usage of slangs and jargon has been linked to peer acceptance and the ability to establish friendships during adolescence. According to Nippold (1998) “gaining competence with figurative language is an important part of becoming a culturally literate and linguistically superficial person”. Idiomatic Expressions Expressions such as ‘going over the head’, ‘beat around the bush’, ‘to bury the hatchet’, ‘to grow red in the face’ can have both a literal and a figurative interpretation, depending on the linguistic context. Such phrases that are pervasive in all styles of language use have been defined as ‘giant lexical units whose figurative meanings are arbitrary and not easily discerned from analyzing the words composing them’ (Gibbs, 1994 & Speake, 1999). The full meaning and more generally the meaning of any sentence containing an idiomatic phrase is not a compositional function of the meaning of the idioms elementary grammatical parts (Katz & Postal, 1963; Cacciari & Tabossi, 1988; Pulman, 1993); rather they are considered as non-literal phrases whose figurative interpretations cannot be derived from their literal meanings (Loelene & Maureen, 2003) and cannot be easily translated into another language (Rowe, 2004). However, a few idioms can also have a literal meaning. The relation between the literal and non-literal meaning of an idiom can be closely related, somewhat related or not related (Nippold & Rudzinski, 1993). They can be commonly used while others are rarely used. Compared to non-idiomatic expressions of the same Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review

232

length, idioms are more demanding in terms of their processing. According to Romero Lauro et al, (2008), this difficulty in processing may be due to processes of alternative meanings selection and inhibition in the case of idioms. Sometimes idioms are also considered as dead metaphors (Cruse, 1986; Palmer, 1981). According to this view, idioms were once metaphoric but have lost their metaphoricity over time and are now equivalent to simple literal phrases. However, Gibbs (1993) argued that idioms are not dead metaphors with simple figurative interpretations, but instead have complex meanings that are motivated by independently existing conceptual metaphors that are partly constitutive of everyday thought. Idioms have fixed and conventionalized meanings that result from years of repeated use (Ackerman, 1982a). The relationship between the meanings of the words that make up the idioms and the idiom as a whole is at best indirect, if there is any relation at all (Sprenger, Levelt & Kempen, 2006). Idioms are an important part of any language and may be said to be an indicator of one’s fluency in that language (McDevitt, 1993). Johnson-Laird (1993) opines that it is difficult to speak spontaneously without ending up with an idiomatic usage. Along with language, idioms also influence reading and social communication (Secord& Wiig, 1993). Research has shown that students' reading comprehension is sometimes hindered by the presence of idioms in written passages (Edwards, 1975; May, 1979). Such expressions often occur in textbooks for school-age children and adolescents (Hollingsed, 1958; Arter, 1976; Nippold, 1990). Hollingsed (1950) found around 100 to 300 idiomatic expressions per book in elementary based readers. Not only are such idioms commonly found in academic reading materials and in social peer interactions (Donahue & Bryan, 1984), but also in the verbal instructions of classroom teachers (Kerbel & Grunwell, 1997). Lazar, Warr-Leeper, Nicholson & Johnson (1989) evaluated 5400 classroom teacher utterances and found atleast one idiom in 11% of all utterances. However Nippold (1995) found that an idiom occurred in 6.7% of all sentences in three to eighth grade reading programmes, revealing a positive relationship between idiom understanding and academic attainment. Hence, an understanding of idioms is important for attaining literacy. Failure to grasp idiomatic expressions can interrupt an individual’s understanding of language in social, academic and vocational settings. Nippold and Martin Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review

233

(1989) studied idiom comprehension in 475 adolescents, and its implications on academic achievement. Significant correlations were obtained between the idiom interpretation task and certain subtests (English usage, natural sciences reading, and social studies reading) that measure literacy. Edwards (1975) also reported that eighth-grade students (aged 13 through 14), who had obtained high intelligence test scores, showed better comprehension of written passages of text containing idioms than their classmates who had obtained lower intelligence scores.

Type of Idioms Gibbs (1991) distinguished two types of idioms: opaque and transparent. Opaque idioms such as, "beat around the bush," "shoot the breeze," "spill the bean”, conveys little relationship between the literal and the figurative meanings. However, with the transparent idioms such as, "hold your tongues," "skating on thin ice," "keep a straight face", the figurative meaning is actually an extension of the literal meaning. Gibbs therefore assumed that transparent idioms would be easier for children to analyze and interpret than opaque idioms. Inorder to test this hypothesis, he studied eighty children aged 5, 6, 8, and 9 years, comparing the difficulty of opaque and transparent idioms. He also examined the effects of context on the interpretation of these idioms, using two response modes - explanation and multiple-choice, comparing the difficulty of the same. The results showed that 1) idioms in context were easier to understand than idioms in isolation; 2) transparent idioms were easier than opaque, particularly during the explanation task when context was present; and 3) the multiple-choice task was easier than the explanation task. It was also found that performance on both the explanation and multiple-choice tasks steadily improved as age increased; however even the oldest children did not know all of the idioms.

Nippold and Rudzinski (1993) designed an experiment to examine the role of transparency and familiarity on idiom understanding in youth. The task contained 24 different idioms representing three levels of familiarity—high, moderate, and low—with eight expressions for each level. Adolescents rated the expressions as less familiar but more transparent than did the adults. Given these differences between groups, only the ratings of the adolescents were used Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review

234

in selecting idioms for the main experiment in this study. After the 24 idioms had been selected based on their familiarity and transparency ratings, an idiom explanation task was written. This task was presented to additional groups of 150 students who were aged 11, 14, and 17 years. Each idiom occurred in a brief written story. Students read the stories silently and provided written explanations of the idioms. The results showed that performance on the task steadily improved with each successive age group and the results concerning familiarity were consistent with the view that the development of figurative language depends to a large extent upon the amount of meaningful exposure one has to such expressions (Ortony, Turner, & Larson-Shapiro, 1985). Moreover the results concerning transparency were with the consistent view that in addition to exposure, figurative understanding develops as the learner applies a metalinguistic strategy of attempting to infer the nonliteral meaning of an expression from the literal meaning of the words comprising it, contradicting the hypothesis that idioms are leaned as giant lexical units (Strand & Fraser, 1979; Hoffman & Honeck, 1980; Ackerman, 1982b). In a study, Nippold and Taylor (1995) presented the same set of 24 idioms and story contexts that had been used in the Nippold and Rudzinski (1993) study to additional groups of 150 students who were aged 11, 14, and 17 years. However, the students responded through a multiple-choice mode rather than an explanation mode. With respect to this study, it was found that the multiple-choice response mode was easier than the explanation mode at each of the three age levels. This result was consistent with other studies of idiom understanding (e.g., Ackerman, 1982b; Prinz, 1983; Gibbs, 1987, 1991; Nippold & Duthie, 2003). In another study Mola (1993) found out that the idioms which were comprehended and produced most correctly were those which were frequently used, and those whose meanings were transparent. Factors Influencing Idiom Comprehension Cain et al (2005) suggested that there are three factors in idiom comprehension – familiarity, transparency and context. Written text was also considered as an additional factor. Cain and his colleagues stated that idioms that are presented within a context (written text) are easier to understand than those presented in isolation. The context might provide the necessary semantic Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review

235

information from which the reader can extract the nonliteral (figurative) intent appropriate for the situation (Levorato & Cacciari, 1992). This Global Elaboration Hypothesis, proposed by Levorato and Cacciari (1992), predicts that individuals will comprehend idioms and other figures of speech when they are able to go beyond a local, piece-by-piece elaboration of the text to search for a global, coherent meaning. This influence of context on the comprehension of idioms was supported by many researchers (Douglas & Peel, 1979; Ackerman, 1982a; Brinton, Fujiki & Mackey, 1985; Gibbs, 1987; Cacciari & Levorato, 1989; Nippold & Martin, 1989; Qualls et al, 2003). The contexts are important for less common idioms whose meanings are not yet fully known, particularly for unfamiliar opaque idioms whose meanings are not fully derivable through semantic analysis of phrases.

Both the factors - familiarity and transparency play a critical role in the development of idiom understanding. Like many aspects of the lexicon, these factors are constantly undergoing change. Adults, having lived longer and having had more life experiences, generally show greater familiarity with idioms than do adolescents (Nippold & Rudzinski, 1993). Studies of familiarity with specific idioms have produced contradictory results. Keil (1986) claims that frequent exposure to an idiomatic expression do not guarantee that children will comprehend the idiom. Levorato and Cacciari (1992) concluded that familiarity plays only a minor role in idiom comprehension for older children. Studies done by Nippold and Rudzinski (1993) and Nippold and Taylor (1995) found that idioms higher in familiarity were comprehended with greater accuracy by typically developing adolescents. Laval (2003) reported that French 9-year-olds rely on familiarity to a great extent in comprehending idioms. He showed that metapragmatic knowledge varies with both linguistic convention and context. Cain, Towse & Knight (2009) conducted two experiments comparing 7- and 8-year-olds' and 9- and 10-year-olds' ability to use semantic analysis and inference from context to understand idioms. A multiple-choice task was used and manipulations of the idioms, w.r.t its transparency and opaqueness, familiarity and novelty, and its presentation of it with or without a supportive story context was carried out. Their performance was compared with that of adults and 11- and 12-year-olds. Results broadly support Cacciari and Levorato's global elaboration model. However it was also found that the Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review

236

youngest children were able to use semantic analysis to derive the meanings of transparent idioms as well as being sensitive to meaning in context. They also demonstrated that the language processing skills that aid idiom comprehension, as well as idiom knowledge itself, are still not fully developed in 11- and 12-year-olds. Research in idiom comprehension and processing in children (Levorato & Cacciari 2002; Benneli et al, 2006), has further suggested that the ability to work with figurative language (including idioms) correlates with age and years of schooling and is linked to other linguistic abilities, such as meta-linguistic awareness, and the ability to infer from context. The contexts of humorous items such as jokes and riddles also have found to be an influencing factor for the comprehension of idioms. Spector (1996) examined the comprehension of idioms embedded in the context of humor for 90 third, fourth, and fifth grade children (30 children from each grade). The children were asked to detect and explain the idioms. They showed that the detection tasks were significantly easier than explanation tasks for all grades, and significant improvement in understanding occurs with age. The data seem to suggest that idiom comprehension is affected by the level of idiom transparency, the degree of contextual support available in the humor items, and the level of familiarity of the idioms. In another study, Hsieh& Hsu (2010) examined the effect of familiarity, context and linguistic convention on idiom comprehension in Mandarin speaking children. The test participants were of three age groups - 6 and 9-year-olds, and an adult control group. They conducted two experiments - a comprehension task followed by a comprehension task coupled with a metapragmatic task. Finally they concluded that, 1) familiarity first appeared in responses at age 6; 2) context played an important role in idiom comprehension and had different effects on different age groups; 3) linguistic convention starts from age 6 on, and a significant effect took place at the age of 9; and 4) metapragmatic knowledge showed at the age of 6 and could surface even younger. As context and linguistic convention have a substantial effect on the comprehension of idioms, it is necessary to take them into account to explain language functioning and communicative situations. Levorato, Nesi & Cacciari (2004) investigated idiom comprehension in school-age Italian children with different reading comprehension skills. According to their hypothesis, the level of Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review 237

a child's text comprehension skills should predict his/her ability to understand idiomatic meanings. In a preliminary phase, they used a standardized battery of tests (Cornoldi & Colpo, 1998) to assess the ability of second graders and fourth graders to comprehend written texts. After classifying them at different age levels - good, medium, and poor comprehenders, the children were then presented with familiar idiomatic expressions (embedded in short stories) which also have a literal meaning. The results of the experiments showed that the ability to understand a text indeed predicted children's understanding of idioms in context.

Levorato, Roch & Nesi (2007) also investigated the relation between text and idiom comprehension in children with poor text comprehension skills. In the first phase of their

longitudinal

study,

text comprehension were comprehension was

six-year-old

compared

shown

first

graders

an idiom and

closely

with

different

levels

sentence comprehension task. related

of Text

to idiom comprehension than

sentence comprehension. The follow-up study, carried out eight months later on less-skilled text comprehenders, investigated whether an improvement in text comprehension was paralleled by an improvement in idiom comprehension. The development of sentence comprehension was also taken

into

account.

Children

who

improved

text comprehension also

improved

in idiom comprehension. However, this improvement was, instead, weakly related to an improvement in sentence comprehension.

Development of Idiomatic Understanding Understanding idiomatic expressions begins in the early childhood and gradually improves during the middle and late childhood, adolescence and well into adulthood (Lodge & Leach, 1975; Douglas & Peel, 1979; Strand & Fraser, 1979; Thorum, 1980; Ackerman, 1982a; Prinz, 1983; Brinton, Fujiki, & Mackey, 1985; Brasseur & Jimenez, 1989; Gibbs, 1987, 1991; Nippold & Martin, 1989; Cacciari & Levorato, 1989; Levorato & Cacciari, 1992,1995; Nippold & Rudzinski, 1993; Nippold & Taylor, 1995; Nippold, Taylor, & Baker, 1996; Nippold, 2006). Children’s understanding of idioms is an important area for research because these phrases Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review

238

frequently occur in spoken and written language, including classroom language aimed at both typical language learners and language impaired (Kerbel & Grunwell, 1997), thereby, increasing the frequency of idioms as children advance to higher educational levels in school. Researchers have recognized the difficulty of an idiom comprehension task (van Kleeck, 1984; Kamhi, 1987; Roth, 1987), as the metalinguistic skills needed for understanding ambiguities are complex and especially challenging are the skills required for showing comprehension of the ambiguity of idioms. Determining children’s comprehension of idioms is not an easy task. For example, even when idioms appear to be understood on multiple choice tasks, these same idioms often are not appropriately interpreted on explanation tasks (Prinz, 1983; Gibbs, 1987). This could be because explanation tasks place great demands on a child’s metalinguistic skills. As Nippold and Rudzinski (1993) have pointed out that it is not easy “to reflect upon the meaning of a lexical unit and to state explicitly what is known implicitly”. Thus the nature of the task used to assess comprehension appears to affect the results. In addition to the development of metalinguistic skills needed for each task, the decision to compare children’s ability to detect idioms with their ability to explain them was based on the probability that the depth of knowledge needed to fully acquire an idiom is not shown until it can be explained. Although young children provide figurative explanation of some idioms, literal explanations predominate. It was noted that the literal interpretations of idioms starts at 4-5 years. Kempler et al. (1999), however, suggest that age 10-11yrs is the stage when children’s knowledge of idioms starts approximating adult-like knowledge. He also proposed that the understanding of idioms follows a nonlinear path very similar to the vocabulary spurt between the second and the third year (Marchman & Bates 1994, Bates & Goodman 1997). However, with idioms, this process takes approximately 4 times longer with a peak at around 11 years, and its onset is much later. In one of the early investigations, Lodge and Leach (1975) examined the understanding of idioms in eighty students who were aged 6, 9, 12, and 21yrs. The task comprised of 10 idiomatic sentences, each accompanied by four pictures (one literal illustration of the idiom, one Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review

239

figurative illustration of the idiom and two were foils). After each idiom was read aloud by the examiner, the student was asked to point to the pictures that best expressed the two meanings (literal and figurative). All groups understood the literal meanings, but the 6- and 9-year-olds had considerable difficulty with the figurative meanings. Although the 12-year-olds understood some of the figurative meanings, only the 21-year-olds had mastered them, suggesting that younger children lacked a capacity for "semantic duality" and tended to "literalize nearly all inputs". In response to the above study, Strand and Fraser (1979) suggested that the simultaneous presentation of literal and figurative pictures in the earlier study may have been confusing. Therefore, Strand and Fraser designed a task in which comprehension of the literal meanings of idiomatic sentences was assessed separately from comprehension of the figurative meanings. Twenty children aged 5, 7, 9, and 11yrs participated in their study. They listened to 20 idiomatic sentences, each of which was accompanied by two sets of four pictures—one set for the literal meanings and one for the figurative meanings. Each set contained one correct illustration and three foils. Similar to the previous study, the children were asked to choose the one picture that best expressed its meaning. For the figurative task, the child also was asked to explain the meaning of the sentence. In agreement with Lodge and Leach (1975), Strand and Fraser (1979) found that all groups comprehended the literal meanings of the idioms better than the figurative meanings. However, additionally they found that, for the figurative meanings even the youngest children in their study understood some of the figurative meanings and that the oldest children understood most of them. They also suggested that ease of understanding some idioms may be a function of the extent to which children are exposed to various idioms and find them relevant to their own experiences. Twenty children aged 5, 7, 9, and 11 were studied by Brinton, Fujiki, and Mackey (1985), in support to idiom difficulty that varies widely. They administered six different idioms in a short story format accompanied by some pictures. Following the story, the child was asked to select from among four pictures the one that best illustrated the idiom. Here again the choices included one correct figurative interpretation, one literal interpretation, and two additional nonliteral foils. Results showed that performance steadily improved as age increased. They also Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review

240

found that few idioms were difficult while others were easy for the children. Prinz (1983) assessed idiom comprehension in a different manner. He compared the difficulty of idiom comprehension under two conditions— multiple-choice versus explanation. He tested sixty students who were aged 7, 9, 12, and 15yrs. The same procedures and idiomatic sentences that had been used by Lodge and Leach (1975) served as the multiple-choice task in this investigation. For the explanation task, each subject was simply asked to explain the meanings of the idiomatic sentences. Performance on both tasks steadily improved as subject age increased. Multiple-choice was found to be easier than explanation. The usage of picture cues to study idiom comprehension was questionable. With regard to this, Douglas and Peel (1979) tried to test 120 children aged 7, 9, 11, and 13yrs in a more naturalistic procedure for examining idiom understanding. Responses were evaluated for the degree to which literal interpretations versus figurative interpretations were provided. Consistent with other studies (Lodge & Leach, 1975; Strand & Fraser, 1979; Prinz, 1983; Brinton et al., 1985), Douglas and Peel also found that idiom understanding steadily improved with age.

Ackerman (1982b) provided a direct support for the importance of context in interpreting idioms, especially for younger children. In his study, ninety-six children aged 6, 8, and 10 yrs & a group of college students (adults) listened to a series of simple stories, each of which ended in an idiomatic sentence. Like other studies, Ackerman also had a figurative, literal and a neutral version of the story. Following each story, the subject was asked to explain the final sentence. Results showed that the 6-year-olds had difficulty interpreting the sentences, but that the 8-yearolds could interpret them in the presence of idiomatic contexts. In contrast, both the 10-year-olds and the adults could interpret the sentences not only in the presence of idiomatic contexts but also in the presence of neutral and literal contexts. These findings suggested byAckerman convey that, younger children rely on linguistically biasing contexts to a greater extent than older children when interpreting idioms. Nippold and Martin (1989) examined idiom interpretation in 475 adolescents aged 14, 15, 16, and 17yrs, predicting that idioms presented in context would be easier to interpret than Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review 241

idioms presented in isolation. Results showed that idioms in context were easier for adolescents to interpret than idioms in isolation. For all students combined, the mean accuracy score was 60% for idioms in isolation and 69% for idioms in context. The study also showed that performance under both presentation modes improved as subject age increased. Thus, although accuracy of idiom interpretation slowly improved as subject age increased, even the oldest students had not completely mastered the task in either presentation mode. These results were consistent with Prinz (1983) in showing quantitative improvement but non-mastery of idiom interpretation during adolescence. However, they were inconsistent with Douglas and Peel (1979) who reported mastery by the age of 13yrs. This discrepancy could be attributed to the fact that different sets of idioms were employed in the different studies. Brasseur and Jimenez (1989) extended the age group (18 through 21, 22 through 29, and 30 through 43 yrs) inorder to study the idiom comprehension, by presenting the Idioms subtest from the Fullerton Language Test for Adolescents (Thorum, 1980) to 71 participants. Each of the 20 idioms was presented in isolation, and it was noted that the performance improved as the age increased. This makes it apparent that that idiom explanation continues to improve throughout adolescence and well into adulthood. Nippold and Taylor (2002) studied 11 year old children and 16 year old adolescents. The judgment tasks were identical to those used by Nippold and Rudzinski (1993). The comprehension task was written specifically for the present study but was quite similar to the multiple-choice task used by Nippold and Taylor (1995). The participants were asked to perform three tasks in the following order: Familiarity Judgment, Idiom Comprehension, and Transparency Judgment. The results indicated that the children were less familiar with the idioms and had greater difficulty comprehending them than did the adolescents. However, the children’s transparency judgments did not differ from those of the adolescents. For the children, the easiest idioms were also more familiar and transparent than the most difficult expressions. For the adolescents, the easiest idioms were more transparent than the most difficult ones, but the two types did not differ in familiarity. It is often assumed that there is little relationship between the literal and the figurative meanings of an idiom, and that knowing the literal meaning is not very helpful in learning the Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review 242

figurative meaning (Ortony, Schallert, Reynolds, & Antos 1978). This view has led several investigators to hypothesize that people learn idiom as giant lexical units rather than by analyzing their constituents (Strand & Fraser, 1979; Hoffman & Honeck, 1980; Ackerman 1982b). Vulchanova, Vulchanov & Stankova (2011) tested idiomatic knowledge in younger children (preschoolers), and older children (third-graders) with Bulgarian as L1, compared to adults. Their main hypothesis was that around age ten children’s knowledge of idioms starts approximating adult-like knowledge (Kempler et al., 1999). Hence, they theorize that the ability to work with figurative language (including idioms) correlates with age and years of schooling and is linked to other linguistic abilities, e.g., meta-linguistic awareness, and the ability to infer from context (Benneli et al., 2006; Levorato & Cacciari, 2002). Their hypothesis was confirmed, revealing that while the idiom comprehension is scarce among the younger group, the older children display advanced linguistic skills in the comprehension and interpretation of idioms. Therefore, it can be considered that idiom comprehension is a prolonged process in development; and involves a combination of contextual processing and bottom up semantic analysis (Nippold, 2001). The idiom acquisition is a gradual rather than an “all or none” process in which the meaning of a particular phrase is at first exclusively literal, but is gradually broadened to include the figurative meaning as the child grows older. Single lexical items also follow a developmental pattern of gradually increasing complexity and this provides some support for the theory that idioms are giant lexical items.

Conclusion

Language development is an on-going process right from childhood to adolescence. During the adolescence phase of life, this development continues in terms of the understanding and expression of figurative language. Significant correlations have been obtained between comprehension of figurative language and academic attainment, thereby making figurative language a good indicative marker for the achievement of success in school. This usage of figurative language indicates higher level language abilities that exist in the form of idioms, Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review

243

proverbs, metaphors & similes. Idioms occur in different types (literal/non-literal, opaque/transparent), each having a unique effect on comprehension. Studies have been done on determining the developmental pattern of comprehension of idiomatic phrases across childhood to adolescence. Understanding of idiomatic phrases can be assessed using different modes such as - explanation and multiple choice tasks. Many studies found that there was a linear increase in the accurate interpretations of idiomatic phrases with age. Idioms can thus be used as a developmental marker to check for language impairments in the later part of language development. However, research under this aspect is still to be continued. Studies in this area have a broader scope in multilingual populations like India, as there is a dearth of studies in this aspect. ================================================================== References 1. Abkarian, G., Jones, A., & West, G. (1992). Young children’s idiom comprehension: Trying to get the picture. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 35, 580-587. 2. Ackerman, B. P. (1982a). Contextual integration and utterance interpretation: The ability of children and adults to interpret sarcastic utterances. Child Development, 53, 10751083. 3. Ackerman, B. P. (1982b). On comprehending idioms: Do children get the picture? Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 33, 439-454. 4. Arter, J. L. (1976). The effects of metaphor on reading comprehension. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 5. Baldwin, R. S., Luce, T. S., & Readence, J. E. (1982). The impact of subschemata on metaphorical processing. Reading Research Quarterly, 17, 528-543. 6. Boatner, M. T., Gates, J. E., & Makkai, A. (1975). A dictionary of American idioms (rev. ed). Woodbury, NY: Barron’s Educational Series. 7. Brasseur, J., & Jimenez, B. C. (1989). Performance of university students on the Fullerton subtest of idioms. The Journal of Communication Disorders, 22, 351‐359.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review

244

8. Brinton, B., Fujiki, M., & Mackey, T. A. (1985). Elementary school age children’s comprehension of specific idiomatic expressions. Journal of Communication Disorders, 18, 245-257. 9. Burkato, D., & Daehler, M. (1995). Child Development: A thematic approach. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 10. Cacciari, C., & Levorato, M. C. (1989). How children understand idioms in discourse. Journal of Child Language, 16, 387-405. 11. Cacciari, C., & Tabossi, P. (1988). The comprehension of idioms. Journal of Memory and Language, 27, 668–683. 12. Cain, K. & Oakhill, J. & Lemmon, K. (2005). The Relation Between Children’s Reading Comprehension Level and Their Comprehension of Idioms. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 90, 65-87. 13. Cruse, D. Alan (1986): Lexical semantics. Cambridge et al.: Cambridge University Press. 14. Donahue, M., & Bryan, T. (1984). Communicative skills and peer relations of learning disabled adolescents. Topics in Language Disorders, 4 (2), 10-21. 15. Douglas, J. D., & Peel, B. (1979). The development of metaphor and proverb translation in children grades 1 through 7. Journal of Educational Research, 73, 116-119. 16. Edwards, P. (1975). The effect of idioms on children’s reading and understanding of prose. In B. Smith Schulwitz (Ed.), Teachers, tangibles, techniques: Comprehension of content in reading (pp. 37-46). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. 17. Gerrig, R., & Gibbs, R. (1988). Beyond the lexicon: Creativity in language production. Metaphor and Symbolic Activity, 3, 1–19. 18. Gibbs, R. W. (1987). Linguistic factors in children’s understanding of idioms. Journal of Child Language, 14, 569–586. 19. Gibbs, R. W. (1991). Semantic analyzability in children’s understanding of idioms. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 34, 613–620. 20. Gibbs, R. W. (1993). What do idioms really mean? Journal of Memory and Language, 31, 485-506.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review

245

21. Gibbs, R. W. (1994). The poetics of mind: Figurative thought, language, and understanding. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. 22. Hoffman, R. R., & Honeck, R. P. (1980). A peaco*ck looks at its legs: Cognitive science and figurative language. In R. P. Honeck & R. R. Hoffman (Eds.), Cognition and figurative language (pp. 3-24). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. 23. Hollingsed, J. (1950). A study of figures of speech in intermediate grade reading. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins. 24. Hollingsed, J. C. (1958). A study of figures of speech in intermediate grade reading. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Colorado State College. 25. Johnson-Laird, P.N. (1993). Foreword. In Cristiana C. & Patrizia T.(Eds.), Idioms: Processing, Structure, and Interpretation (pp Vii-X). New Jersey: Lwarence Erlbaum Associates (pp VI-IX). www.questia.com. 26. Kamhi, A. G. (1987). Metalinguistic abilities in language-impaired children. Topics in Language Disorders, 7, 1-12. 27. Katz, J. J., & Postal, P. (1963). Semantic interpretation of idioms and sentences containing them (Quarterly Progress Report No. 70, pp. 275-282). Cambridge, MA: MIT Research Laboratory of Electronics. 28. Kerbel, D., & Grunwell, P. (1997). Idioms in the classroom: An investigation of language unit and mainstream teachers’ use of idioms. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 13, 113–124. 29. Lazar, R., Warr-Leeper, G., Nicholson, C., & Johnson, S. (1989). Elementary school teachers' use of multiple meaning expressions. Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 20, 420-430. 30. Levorato, M. C., & Cacciari, C. (1992). Children’s comprehension and production of idioms: The role of context and familiarity. Journal of Child Language, 19, 415-433. 31. Levorato, M. C., & Cacciari, C. (1995). The effects of different tasks on the comprehension and production of idioms in children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 60, 261-283

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review

246

32. Lodge, D. N., & Leach, E. A. (1975). Children’s acquisition of idioms in the English language. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 18, 521-529. 33. Loelene, H. O. & Maureen, D. (2003). Idiom Comprehension in Childhood: An Assessment Tool and Age Norms. Brain and Language, 87, 188-191. 34. May, A. B. (1979). All the angles of idiom instruction. The Reading Teacher, 32, 680682. 35. McDevitt, E. (1993).What does that mean? An introduction to American idioms. Department of Education, Washington, DC. 36. Meadow, S. (1993): The child as thinker. The development and acquisition of cognition in childhood. Florence, KY: Routledge. 37. Miller, G. A., & Gildea, P. M. (1987). How children learn words. Scientific American, 257, 94-99. 38. Mola, A.J. (1993). Teaching Idioms in the Second Language Classroom: A Case Study f for College-Level German. Master’s Research Paper: Georgetown University. 39. Nippold, M. A. (1990). Idioms in textbooks for kindergarten through eighth grade students. Unpublished manuscript. University of Oregon, Eugene. 40. Nippold, M. A. (1991). Evaluating and enhancing idiom comprehension in languagedisordered children. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 22, 100-106. 41. Nippold, M.A. (1993). Developmental markers in adolescent language: Syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 24, 2128. 42. Nippold, M. A. (1995). Language norms in school-age children and adolescents: An introduction. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 26, 307-308. 43. Nippold, M. A. (1998). Later language development: Ages 9 through 19. Boston: Little, Brown. 44. Nippold, M. A. (2001). Adolescents with language disorders: An under-served population. New Zealand Journal of Speech-Language Therapy, 55, 27-32.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review

247

45. Nippold, M. A., & Duthie, J. K. (2003). Mental imagery and idiom comprehension: A comparison of school-age children and adults. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 46, 788–799. 46. Nippold, M.A., & Haq, F.S. (1996). Proverb comprehension in youth: The role of

concreteness and familiarity. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 39, 166-176. 47. Nippold, M. A., Hegel, S. L., Uhden, L. D., & Bustamante, S. (1998). Development of proverb comprehension in adolescents: Implications for instruction. Journal of Children’s Communication Development, 19, 49–55. 48. Nippold, M. A., & Martin, S. T. (1989). Idiom interpretation in isolation versus context: A developmental study with adolescents. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 32, 59–66. 49. Nippold, M. A., Moran, C., & Schwarz, I. E. (2001). Idiom understanding in preadolescents: Synergy in action. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 10, 169–179. 50. Nippold, M. A., & Rudzinski, M. (1993). Familiarity and transparency in idiom explanation: A developmental study of children and adolescents. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 36, 728–737. 51. Nippold, M. A., & Taylor, C. L. (1995). Idiom understanding in youth: Further examination of familiarity and transparency. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 38, 426-433. 52. Nippold, M. A., & Taylor, C. L. (2002). Judgments of Idiom familiarity and Transparency: A Comparison of Children and Adolescents. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 45, 384-391. 53. Nippold, M. A., Taylor, C. L., & Baker, J. M. (1996). Idiom understanding in Australian youth: A cross-cultural comparison. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 39, 442447. 54. Nippold, M. A., Uhden, L. D., & Schwarz, I. E. (1997). Proverb explanation through the lifespan: A developmental study of adolescents and adults. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 40, 245–253. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review

248

55. Ortony, A., Schallert, D., Reynolds, R., & Antos, S. (1978). Interpreting metaphors and idioms: Some effects of context on comprehension. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 17, 465–477. 56. Ortony, A., Turner, T. J., & Larson-Shapiro, N. (1985). Cultural and instructional influences on figurative language comprehension by inner city children. Research in the Teaching of English, 19, 25–36. 57. Palermo, D. S. (1989). Knowledge and the child’s developing theory of the world. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 21, 269-295. 58. Palmer, F. R. (1981). Semantics. Second edition. Cambridge/UK: Cambridge University Press, 1981. 59. Piaget, J., & Inhelder, B. (1973). Memory and intelligence. New York: Basic Books. (Original work published in 1968) 60. Pollio, H. R., Barlow, J., Fine, H., & Pollio, M. R. (1977). Psychology and the poetics of growth. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. 61. Pollio, H. R., Smith, M. K., & Pollio, M. R. (1990). Figurative Language and Cognitive Psychology, Language and Cognitive Processes, 5 (2), 141-167. 62. Prinz, P. M. (1983). The development of idiomatic meaning in children. Language and Speech, 26, 263–272. 63. Pulman, S. (1993). The recognition and interpretation of idioms. In C. Cacciari and P. Tabossi (Eds.), Idioms: Processing, Structure and Interpretation, pp. 249–270. Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates, Inc. 64. Qualls, C. D., O’Brien, R. M., Blood, G. W., & Hammer, C. S. (2003). Contextual variation, familiarity, academic literacy and rural adolescents’ idiom knowledge. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in the Schools, 34, 69-79. 65. Roth, F. P. (1987). Discourse abilities of learning disabled students: Patterns and intervention strategies. Workshop presented at the Language Learning Disabilities Institute. Emerson College, Boston, MA. 66. Rowe, R. C. (2004). Rumor has it- a tale of idioms. DDT Vol.9, No.10, 428-429.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review

249

67. Secord, W. A., & Wiig, E. H. (1993). Interpreting figurative language expressions. Folia Phoniatrica, 45, 1-9. 68. Speake, J. (1999). Oxford dictionary of idioms. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. 69. Spector, C. C. (1996). Children’s comprehension of idioms in the context of humor. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 27, 70. Sprenger, S.A., & Levelt, W.J.M., & Kempen, G. (2006). Lexical access during the production of idiomatic phrases. Journal of Memory and Language, 54, 161-184. 71. Strand, K. E., & Fraser, B. (1979). The comprehension of verbal idioms by young children. Unpublished paper, School of Education, Boston University, Boston, MA. 72. Thorum, A. (1980). The Fullerton Language Test for Adolescents. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press. 73. van Kleek, A. (1984). Metalinguistic skills. In G. Wallach & K. Butler (Eds.), Langauge learning disabilities in school-age children (pp. 128-153). Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins. 74. Vosniadou, S. (1987). Children and metaphors. Child Development, 58, 870-885. 75. Vosniadou, S., Ortony, A., Reynolds, R. E., & Wilson, P. T. (1984). Sources of difficulty in the young child’s understanding of metaphorical language. Child Development, 55, 1588-1606. 76. Winner, E., Engel, M., & Gardner, H. (1980). Misunderstanding metaphor: What’s the problem? Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 30, 22–32. ============================================================== Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc. (Speech Language Pathology) Corresponding Author Assistant Professor Department of Audiology & Speech Language Pathology Kasturba Medical College Manipal University Mangalore – 575 001 Karnataka, India [emailprotected] Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review

250

Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) Professor & Head Department of Audiology & Speech Language Pathology Kasturba Medical College Manipal University Mangalore – 575 001 Karnataka, India [emailprotected]

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Sudhin Karuppali, M.Sc (SLP) & Jayashree. S. Bhat, Ph.D. (Speech and Hearing) The Development of Idiomatic Understanding – A Review

251

Motivation toward Learning English among Undergraduate Students of Pakistan Qaisar Khan, Ph.D. Scholar Nighat Sultana, Ph.D. Arab Naz, Ph.D. Faraz Ali Bughio, Ph.D. Scholar Abstract The determination of motivational factors serves a key to suggest improvements and to enhance the experience of language learning. Various projects and training sessions are held regularly in Pakistan to further refine learning strategies. Theorists emphasize the necessity to identify motivational factors in a learning environment which, according to them, can account for both high level of achievement or can be of value to explain underachievement among the FL or L2 learners. The purpose of this study is to define, describe and examine integrative and instrumental motivation among the undergraduate students of Pakistan towards learning of Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Qaisar Khan, Ph.D. Scholar, Nighat Sultana, Ph.D., Arab Naz, Ph.D. and Faraz Ali Bughio, Ph.D. Scholar Motivation toward Learning English among Undergraduate Students of Pakistan

252

English as a foreign language. The idea was explored through a questionnaire, completed in University of Malakand (UOM), which was designed on the model of Gardner (1985) and Clément, Dörnyei & Noels (1994). For the purpose of the study, a total of 40 students were selected from undergraduate courses including Sociology, Economics, Mathematics and Statistics. Based on findings of the study, students were found to be more instrumentally motivated. Key Words: Motivation;

Integrative

motivation;

instrumental

motivation,

Pakistan,

undergraduate students Introduction Research studies indicate that the role of attitudes and motivation remain vital in the context of foreign language learning (Gardner & Maclntyre, 1991; Oxford & Shearin, 1994; Gonzales, 2010). To Gardner (1985) attitudes are significant as they influence motivation of foreign language learning and this constitutes a major feature of his socio-educational model. This model, according to Dörnyei (1994), is a milestone in the history of foreign/second language motivation research. To him, its distinctive feature is addition of social dimension to the study of motivation. Maclntyre, MacMaster, & Baker (2001) identify four basic sets of variables with reference to Gardner’s model. The first one identifies existence of socio-cultural milieu and intergroup beliefs between language communities. The second set of variables relates to individual differences among learners while the third set delineates the learning context both formal and informal. The fourth set relates to learning output which serves as a feedback to the other sets and render the model more dynamic and useful.

Motivational studies have been of considerable focus to psychologists, and psycholinguists among others after the seminal contribution of Gardner and his associates. They are of theoretical and practical nature and the findings have proved to be appealing as motivation, in the context of the studies, has emerged to be of decisive importance in studying language learning differences on individual level (Maclntyre, MacMaster, & Baker, 2001). Motivation is a concept rooted in the interest one shows in the learning of particular linguistic skills for some specific Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Qaisar Khan, Ph.D. Scholar, Nighat Sultana, Ph.D., Arab Naz, Ph.D. and Faraz Ali Bughio, Ph.D. Scholar Motivation toward Learning English among Undergraduate Students of Pakistan

253

purpose. Its presence is considered as the main factor determining the success of FL learner (Rahman et al, 2010). Nida (1956) argues that desire to communicate and sensitivity to the outgroup are its two fundamental types, the presence of which can considerably influence the level of success in language learning. Gardner (1960) argues that language learning is dependent upon ‘integrative orientation’ and ‘instrumental’ orientation and they in turn differentiate between language learners.

In the subsequent discussion, research questions are set and a hypothetical statement is given which is followed by literature review covering the various theoretical and practical aspects of the topic in the light of previous studies. It is followed by review of the ELT in Pakistan in the light of various research studies. Afterwards, methodology is discussed which is followed by data analysis and discussion. A comprehensive conclusion sums up the study.

Research Questions This study explores the motivation of FL learners in the context of Pakistani undergraduate students. The essential questions addressed in the paper include: 1. Why do Pakistani undergraduate students learn English? 2. What are the major goals of the undergraduate students in learning English? 3. To what extent their motivation is integrative or instrumental as FL learners? Research Hypothesis This study is based on the hypothesis that undergraduate students in Pakistani universities are more instrumentally motivated to English as FL / L2 learners.

Literature Review Many research studies have been conducted to elicit the role of motivation among foreign language learners. Majority of these studies reveal that they have benefited from the theory of motivation by Gardner (1985), which identifies two types of motivation. Firstly, integrative motivation points to learner’s interest in integrating with the target language speakers while the Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Qaisar Khan, Ph.D. Scholar, Nighat Sultana, Ph.D., Arab Naz, Ph.D. and Faraz Ali Bughio, Ph.D. Scholar Motivation toward Learning English among Undergraduate Students of Pakistan

254

presence of instrumental motivation reveals itself when the primary aim of a learner is to acquire sufficient knowledge mainly for its instrumental value e.g. school performance or better job prospects in addition to the desire for retention or improvement of status in his ‘old’ reference group (Gardner, 1960; Obeidat, 2005). In other words, those foreign language learners who display openness in identifying themselves with the target language community and are equally enthusiastic about the language situation are said to be integratively motivated (Masgoret and Gardner, 2003) while the primary pursuit of learners who are instrumentally motivated relate to the practical benefits that they may reap as a result of learning the target language.

Motivation and its manifestations are not static and vary from day to day and task to task in a dynamic manner during the course of learning (Dornyei, 2002). Several factors have been pointed to in the research studies which have their bearings upon the level of motivation of learners including age, aptitude, cognitive style, motivation and personality (Ehrman, Leaver & Oxford, 2003). These factors also relate to learning situation, learning task along with formality and informality of the learning context. It is noted that negative application of either of these factors may adversely affect the motivation level of the learners (Qashoa, 2006). The objectives of research studies in the field of motivation of FL learners include the exploration of ways and means through which learners could be made to have self-confidence and determination in deciding the course of their learning (Conttia, 2007). Similarly, such studies have also contributed in identification and understanding of learners’ goals in FL in addition to providing guidelines to teachers, curriculum planners and education policy makers for related improvements (Qashoa, 2006).

Focusing on integrative and instrumental motivation, researchers debate the importance of either of the two in the context of FL learners. To some, the former is more important and superior for measuring the extent of success in learning as it leads to acceptability of the target language’s culture, literature and life-style (Gass & Selinker, 2001). However, the proponents of instrumental motivation are no less vocal in arguing that in most FL learning situations, the motive to practically benefit from the target language seems more important than integrating into Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Qaisar Khan, Ph.D. Scholar, Nighat Sultana, Ph.D., Arab Naz, Ph.D. and Faraz Ali Bughio, Ph.D. Scholar Motivation toward Learning English among Undergraduate Students of Pakistan

255

the target group. Based on various studies (Gardner, 1985; Qashoa, 2006; Dörnyei, 2002; Ehrman, Leaver & Oxford, 2003), it is said that both types of motivation can be equally effective to encourage FL learners based on the social and cultural setting of the learners.

It is assumed that integrative orientation to FL is long lasting and such motivation survives over ‘extended periods of language study’ (Gardner, 1960, p. 13). According to this hypothesis, individuals aiming at seeking better jobs or scores do not sustain their motivation for longer period of time. Further, instrumentally motivated learners do not necessarily have a personal liking for what they learn while those with integrative motivation enjoy learning process as the speech sounds they hear and the grammatical rules they learn are associated with the ‘valued members of another language group’ (Gardner, 1960, p. 13). It is in this context, that researchers attach more value to integrative motivation than the instrumental one (Ellis, 1997). However, in learning situation, where learners do not find ample opportunity to use and utilize the target language or there is virtual absence of native speakers to interact with, instrumental motivation can prove more appealing and successful. English Language teaching (ELT) in Pakistan

At the dawn of 21st century, globalization, media, and transnational dependencies have rendered an international status to English. It has assumed crucial importance in a nation’s access to modern technology and to meaningfully associate with the world for constructive role in politics, trade and education (Zubairi & Sarudin, 2009). Being an active participant in global issues, there is a growing realization in Pakistan to improve the status of ELT. In the recent years, rapid increase in language learning institutes particularly in the private sector is witness to it. Further, the HEC is also taking practical steps and is focusing on teachers’ training programs for improvements in ELT techniques (Ahmad and Sajjad, 2011). In addition, the HEC has also implemented increase in credit hours of English courses up to 12 for Non-English Majors at undergraduate level. However, more concerted efforts are required to improve the status of EFL at school level.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Qaisar Khan, Ph.D. Scholar, Nighat Sultana, Ph.D., Arab Naz, Ph.D. and Faraz Ali Bughio, Ph.D. Scholar Motivation toward Learning English among Undergraduate Students of Pakistan

256

In Pakistan, public sector schools and colleges rely mainly on translation method for teaching English (Rahman 2001), focus grammatical rules rather than oral use of language (Ghaffor, 1998) and attend to writing and reading at the cost of ignoring listening and speaking skills (Shamim, 2008). The teaching process remains teacher-centred (Zareen, 2000) and learners, for fear of making mistakes, avoid the use of FL. Lack of teachers’ training also reinforce the status quo (Mehdi, 2000). In the backdrop, students entering universities predominantly go though the same process except those students who are schooled in private sector institutions.

Methodology

The population sample was selected from Non-English Majors in the field of social and mathematical sciences. The sample size comprised of 40 (third semester / second academic year) students with 10 each from Sociology, Economics, Mathematics and Statistics out of the total population of 117 students. The respondents presented a variety of approaches to English on two grounds. Firstly, they had entered the university from different familial and educational backgrounds and secondly, their respective departments at the university carried variety in their approaches to learning. The selection of third semester students was based on the ground that they had enough exposure to university education and environment and it was expected that they would envision their future course in a better manner.

Questionnaire for the study was designed on the pattern of Gardner (1985) and Clément, Dörnyei & Noels (1994), which enjoys wide recognition for its reliability and validity, and adapted to a 5-point scale in consonance with the research questions of the study. The scale indicated the probable response options of the respondents and included strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree and strongly agree (left to right). During the course of data collection, the students were asked to fill in the questionnaire to the best of their understanding and to ask their teacher for explanation / clarification if needed. They were further informed about the importance of their information as that would lead to the findings and the consequent validity of

257

the study. In addition, they were briefed about the confidentially of the information they would provide. The scale for integrative orientation of the learners towards the target language contained 6 items (item 1-6, see appendix A) while instrumental motivation for English was measured through a scale containing 8 items (item 7-14, see Appendix A).

The data collected from the undergraduate students from the department of Sociology, Economics, Mathematics and Statistics regarding the measurement of the level of their integrative and instrumental motivation was analysed in tabular form with percentage value against each statement. The tabular data was then analysed and discussed in detail.. In addition, department-wise details of the collected data in tabular form are also included (see appendices B, C, D, E).

Results and Discussion Integrative Motivation Upon analysis of the students’ response to questions related to their integrative motivation towards English language (Table 1), the data indicates that they are more inclined towards question 5 (learning English would allow me to converse more freely with English speakers) to which (40%) of them showed agreement while (27.5%) strongly agreed to it. Response to question 4 (I love learning English) was also favourably perceived as (40%) showed agreement and (7.5%) showed strong agreement. However, in reply to both the questions, (32.5%) students opted not to take sides. The response of the students was indicating comparatively low level of integrative motivation when their reply to question 6 (learning foreign language is an enjoyable experience) was analysed where (32.5%) showed agreement and (10%) strongly agreed to it. Integrative motivation was found to be at its lowest ebb in response to question 3 (English are very friendly and caring people) to which only a tiny (12.5%) students agreed while (35 %) and (30%) showed their disagreement and strong disagreement respectively. The level of disagreement was also found higher for question 1 (I want to understand the art and literature of the English people) and 2 (I have always admired the English Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Qaisar Khan, Ph.D. Scholar, Nighat Sultana, Ph.D., Arab Naz, Ph.D. and Faraz Ali Bughio, Ph.D. Scholar Motivation toward Learning English among Undergraduate Students of Pakistan

258

people) which was found to be (67.5%) and (52.5%) respectively (disagreement and strong disagreement combined). However, some students were also found to be on the agreement side with their respective percentage of (17.5%) and (22.5%). TABLE 1 Statistical description of the 6 items on integrative motivation (n=40) I study English because…

1. I want to understand the art and literature of the English people 2. I have always admired the English people 3. English are very friendly and caring people 4. I love learning English 5. Learning English would allow me to converse more freely with English speakers 6. Learning a foreign language is an enjoyable experience

Strongly disagree No %

Disagree N o 19

Neutral

Agree

(47.5% )

(15 %)

(2.5 %)

(7.5%)

(27.5 %)

(20 %)

(5%)

(47.5% )

(25%)

(15 %)

(30 %)

(35%)

(22.5 %)

(12.5 %)

(20%)

(32.5 %) (32.5 %)

(40 %) (40 %)

(35%)

Strongly agree No %

(22.5 %)

(32.5 %)

(10 )

Instrumental motivation The analysis of instrumental motivation based on the responses of the students reveals high level of motivation for all items (Table 2). To analyse the collected data item-wise, it is indicated that question 8, 11 and 14 ranked the highest on the agreement scale. In response to question 14 (without English I cannot get higher education), majority (82.5%) showed strong agreement while (17.5%) simply agreed to it. With reference to question 11 (it will allow me to understand English books and newspapers), majority (60%) strongly agreed while the agreeing percentage was (40%). Similarly, question 8 was also met with strong agreement of (72.5%) and Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Qaisar Khan, Ph.D. Scholar, Nighat Sultana, Ph.D., Arab Naz, Ph.D. and Faraz Ali Bughio, Ph.D. Scholar Motivation toward Learning English among Undergraduate Students of Pakistan 259

agreement of (22.5%). Responses to question 7 (I will need it in my future career) and 12 (it is the language of knowledge) were no less encouraging. To them, strongly agreeing percentage was (72.5%) and (60%) while agreement was (22.5%) and (35%) respectively. Likewise, the students responded with strong agreement (65%) and agreement (27.5%) to question 13 (it is necessary to know English in different professions). Although the students showed high level of motivation in response to question 9 (people will respect me if I have knowledge of a foreign language) and question 10 (it is an international language and is a sign of success in many fields), but they were found lacking on comparatively analysis with other items on the scale. Among them, the former was strongly agreed to by majority (35%) while the latter received (42.5%) in the same category. Similarly, the agreement percentage for them was (32.5%) and (25%) respectively. TABLE 2- statistical description of the 8 items on instrumental motivation (n=40) I study English because… 7. I will need it in my future career 8. I think it will someday help me in getting a good job 9. People will respect me if I have knowledge of a foreign language 10. It is an international language and is a sign of success in many fields 11. It will allow me to understand English books and newspapers 12. It is the language of knowledge

Strongly disagree No %

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

No % 2 (5%)

No % 9 (22.5 %) 17 (42.5 %)

Strongly agree No % 29 (72.5 %) 23 (57.5 %)

(10 %)

(22.5 %)

(32.5 %)

(35%)

(15 %)

(17.5 %)

(25%)

(42.5 %)

(40 %)

(60 %)

(35%)

(60 %)

(5%)

260

13. It is necessary to know English in different professions 14. Without English I cannot get higher education

(2.5 %)

(5%)

(27.5 %)

(65%)

(17.5 %)

(82.5 %)

Discussion The findings of the study and their subsequent analysis explicitly reveal that the students who participated were highly motivated to learn English. This was more evident in the case of instrumental motivation in comparison to integrative motivation where the motivation level was not encouraging. In the context of the study, it needs to be underlined that the students did not find themselves at ease when they were asked to identify themselves with the English people or their way of life. Similarly, they were also found less enthusiastic about understanding English art and literature. Several suggestions may be offered for this decreased level of motivation. Firstly, from cultural point of view, most of the respondents have a distinct identity and have national or local pride which conflicted with the notion of assuming or at least accepting English identity. Secondly, their educational background was associated with Pakistan and they had not got a chance to interact with English people and were therefore oblivious to English culture and lifestyle. Thirdly, as they were students from non-English major courses, they had less flavour for integrative motivation. Yet, a major part of the students did agree that learning English would allow them to converse more freely with English speakers. It is also possible that the current political situation in the region could have contributed this negative attitude. The students were found highly motivated with reference to the instrumentality of English language which can be conveniently attributed to its global value in politics, trade, commerce, science, information technology and education. More importantly, as the data indicates, higher education in Pakistan is in English and students could not succeed in their education without sufficient grasp of the language. Further, the jobs offered by reputed organisations, at the national level, rely heavily on English language particularly communication skills. Similarly, competitive exams at higher level for entry into army, civil service, judiciary etc Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Qaisar Khan, Ph.D. Scholar, Nighat Sultana, Ph.D., Arab Naz, Ph.D. and Faraz Ali Bughio, Ph.D. Scholar Motivation toward Learning English among Undergraduate Students of Pakistan

261

employ English language to test the intelligence and aptitudes of the aspiring students. In this scenario, it is evident that the instrumentality of English is very high and therefore we can conveniently understand the logic behind students’ responses. The findings of the study are also in line with the research questions and hypothesis of the study. Thus, it can be said that the data corresponds with the hypothetical statement of the study.

Conclusion Motivation is a key component in the analysis and appreciation of the process of FL learning. The data and its analysis clearly indicate that the university students are more instrumentally motivated towards English language in Pakistan as was assumed in the hypothesis of the study. Although, this study was undertaken in University of Malakand, a public sector university located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it shares almost the same amount of teaching resources and faculty as do the other public sector universities in the province. Guided by the research questions for the study, the purpose was to analyse the current motivational trends among students on the one hand and to provide research-based data to teachers, trainers and policy makers on the other for effective planning. The study concludes that in order to improve English language learning, attention should be more focused on the instrumentality of the language during the process. The findings are also an addition to the argument of the proponents of instrumental motivation in FLL in the context of the study. In other words, the data indicates that students are more concerned about their future careers, finding better jobs, increasing their knowledge-base and above all their higher education that drive and motivate them to learn English language. In comparison, they are found less inclined toward assuming English identity or lifestyle.

References Ahmad, A., & Sajjad, P. (2011). Role of local constraints in the failure of Western approaches to ELT. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 15, 1766-1770. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.03.366

262

Clément, R., Dörnyei, Z., & Noels, K. A. (1994). Motivation, self-confidence, and group cohesion in the foreign language classroom. Language Learning, 44(3), 417-448. doi:10.1111/j.1467-1770.1994.tb01113.x Conttia, L. M. W. (2007). The influence of learner motivation on developing autonomous learning in an English-for-specific-purposes course. Master level dissertation, University of Hong Kong. Retrieved from http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/thesis_lai_conttia.pdf Dörnyei, Z. (1994). Understanding L2 motivation: On with the challenge! Modern Language Journal, 78, 515-523. Dörnyei, Z. (2002). The motivational basis of language learning tasks. In P. Robinson (Ed.) Individual differences and instructed language learning (pp. 137-158). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Ehrman, M. E., Leaver, B. L., & Oxford, R. L. (2003). A brief overview of individual differences in second language learning. System, 31(3), 313-330. doi:10.1016/S0346-251X(03)00045-9 Ellis, R. (1997). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Gardner, R. C. (1960). Motivational variables in second-language acquisition. PhD dissertation. McGill University. Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social Psychology and second language learning: the role of attitudes and motivation. London: Edward Arnold Gardner, R. C., & Maclntyre, P. D. (1991). An instrumental motivation in language study: who says it isn't effective? Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 13, 57-72. Gass, S., & Selinker, L. (2001). Second language acquisition: An introductory course. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Ghaffor, A. (1998). Promoting oral communication in a Pakistnai (EFL) primary classroom. Unpublished Master thesis, Karachi, Pak: The Aga Khan University Institute for Education Development. Gonzales, R. DLC. (2010). Motivational orientation in foreign language learning: The case of Filipino foreign language learners. TESOL 3, 3-28. Maclntyre, P. D., MacMaster, K., & Baker, S. C. (2001). The convergence of multiple models of motivation for second language learning: Gardner, Pintrich, Kuhl, & McCroskey. In Z. Dörnyei & R. Schmidt (Eds.), Motivation and Second Language Acquisition (pp. 461-492). Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press.

263

Masgoret, A. -M., & Gardner, R. C. (2003). Attitudes, motivation, and second language learning: A meta-analysis of studies conducted by Gardner and associates. Language Learning, 53 (1), 123-163. Mehdi, S. (2000) Promoting student-student interaction in large ESL government school classes of Pakistan. Unpublished Master thesis, Karachi, Pak: The Agha Khan University Institute of Educational Development.

Nida, E. A. (1956). Motivation in second language learning. Language Learning 7 (3-4), 11-16. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-1770.1956.tb01198.x Obeidat, M. M. (2005). Attitudes and motivation in second language learning. Journal of Faculty of Education 18 (22), 1-17. Oxford, R., & Shearin, J. (1994). Language learning motivation : Expanding the theoretical framework. The Modern Language Journal, 78(1), 12-28. Qashoa, S. H. H. (2006). Motivation among learners of English I the secondary schools in the eastern coast of UAE. A Master level dissertation. British university in Dubai, UAE. Retrieved from http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/thesis_Sulaiman_Hasan_Qashoa.pdf Rahman, T. (2001). English teaching institutions in Pakistan. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 22(3), 242-261. doi:10.1080/01434630108666435.

Rahman, F., Jumani, N. B., & Basit, A. (2010). Motivating and de-motivating factors among learners. International Journal of Academic Research, 2 (1), 206-212. Shamim, F. (2008) Trends, issues and challenges in English language education in Pakistan. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 28 (3), 235-249.

Zareen, S. (2000). Impact of the ADELT programme on two government school teachers’ classroom practices. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Karachi, Pak: The Agha Khan University Institute for Educational Development. Zubairi, A. M., & Sarudin, I. H. (2009). Motivation to learn a foreign language in Malaysia. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, 9 (2), 73-87. ==================================================================== Appendices (A, B, C, D, & E) Appendix A Survey Questionnaire (FL / L2 Motivation Scale)

264

Below is a questionnaire consisting of statements to which you can answer by a tick mark (✔) in the relevant column. You are free to mark anyone of the categories. However, you are requested to be true, accurate and honest in your responses as this study shall derive its value from your responses. In case of any confusion, you can ask your teacher for necessary guidance / clarification. Name:

Age:

Class / Semester:

Department:

Question / Statement

Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Disagree Agree

1. I study English because I want to understand the art and literature of the English people 2. I study English because I have always admired the English people 3. I study English because English are very friendly and caring people 4. I study English because I love learning English 5. I study English because learning English would allow me to converse more freely with English people 6. I study English because learning a foreign language is an enjoyable experience 7. I study English because I will need it in my future career 8. I study English because I think it will someday help me in getting a good job 9. I study English because people will respect me if I have knowledge of a foreign language 10. I study English because it is an international language and is a sign of success in many fields 11. I study English because it will allow me to understand English books and newspapers 12. I study English because it is the language of knowledge Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Qaisar Khan, Ph.D. Scholar, Nighat Sultana, Ph.D., Arab Naz, Ph.D. and Faraz Ali Bughio, Ph.D. Scholar Motivation toward Learning English among Undergraduate Students of Pakistan

265

13. I study English because it is necessary to know English in different professions 14. I study English because without English I cannot get education higher education Appendix B Statistical description of data on Integrative and Instrumental motivation (item 1-14) collected from department of sociology, University of Malakand. I study English because…

Strongly disagree 1. I want to understand the art and 1 literature of the English people 2. I have always admired the English people 3. English are very friendly and caring 6 people 4. I love learning English 5. learning English would allow me to converse more freely with English speakers 6. learning a foreign language is an enjoyable experience 7. I will need it in my future career 8. I think it will someday help me in getting a good job 9. people will respect me if I have knowledge of a foreign language 10. it is an international language and is a sign of success in many fields 11. it will allow me to understand English books and newspapers 12. it is the language of knowledge 13. it is necessary to know English in different professions 14. without English I cannot get higher education

Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree 4 1 3 1 5

4 3

4 4

1 3

1 4

9 6

4 2

5 7

1 1

Appendix C Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Qaisar Khan, Ph.D. Scholar, Nighat Sultana, Ph.D., Arab Naz, Ph.D. and Faraz Ali Bughio, Ph.D. Scholar Motivation toward Learning English among Undergraduate Students of Pakistan

266

Statistical description of data on Integrative and Instrumental motivation (item 1-14) collected from department of Economics, University of Malakand. I study English because…

Strongl Disagree y disagree 1. I want to understand the art and 1 5 literature of the English people 2. I have always admired the English 2 4 people 3. English are very friendly and caring 5 3 people 4. I love learning English 2 5. learning English would allow me to converse more freely with English speakers 6. learning a foreign language is an 2 enjoyable experience 7. I will need it in my future career 8. I think it will someday help me in getting a good job 9. people will respect me if I have knowledge of a foreign language 10. it is an international language and is a 1 sign of success in many fields 11. it will allow me to understand English books and newspapers 12. it is the language of knowledge 13. it is necessary to know English in 1 different professions 14. without English I cannot get education higher education

Neutra l

Agre e

2 3

3 1

5 7

Strongl y agree

2 5

8 5

4 3

6 6

Appendix D Statistical description of data on Integrative and Instrumental motivation (item 1-14) collected from department of Mathematics, University of Malakand. I study English because…

Strongl Disagree y disagree 1. I want to understand the art and 3 5

Neutra l

Agre e

Strongl y agree

267

literature of the English people 2. I have always admired the English people 3. English are very friendly and caring 1 people 4. I love learning English 5. learning English would allow me to converse more freely with English speakers 6. learning a foreign language is an enjoyable experience 7. I will need it in my future career 8. I think it will someday help me in getting a good job 9. people will respect me if I have knowledge of a foreign language 10. it is an international language and is a sign of success in many fields 11. it will allow me to understand English books and newspapers 12. it is the language of knowledge 13. it is necessary to know English in different professions 14. without English I cannot get education higher education

3 6

4 3

1 1

4 3

6 7

2 1

7 8 10

Appendix E Statistical description of data on Integrative and Instrumental motivation (item 1-14) collected from department of Statistics, University of Malakand I study English because… Strongl Disagree Neutra Agre Strongl y l e y agree disagree 1. I want to understand the art and 3 5 2 literature of the English people 2. I have always admired the English 3 7 people 3. English are very friendly and caring 6 2 2 people 4. I love learning English 2 3 3 2 5. learning English would allow me to 3 2 5 converse more freely with English Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Qaisar Khan, Ph.D. Scholar, Nighat Sultana, Ph.D., Arab Naz, Ph.D. and Faraz Ali Bughio, Ph.D. Scholar Motivation toward Learning English among Undergraduate Students of Pakistan

268

speakers 6. learning a foreign language is an enjoyable experience 7. I will need it in my future career 8. I think it will someday help me in getting a good job 9. people will respect me if I have knowledge of a foreign language 10. it is an international language and is a sign of success in many fields 11. it will allow me to understand English books and newspapers 12. it is the language of knowledge 13. it is necessary to know English in different professions 14. without English I cannot get education higher education

2 5

6 5

4 5

6 5

===============================================================

First/Corresponding Author Qaisar Khan, Ph.D. Scholar Faculty of Advanced Integrated Studies & Research National University of Modern Languages (NUML) Islamabad Pakistan [emailprotected] Co-Authors: Nighat Sultana, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Faculty of Advanced Integrated Studies & Research National University of Modern Languages (NUML) Islamabad Pakistan [emailprotected] Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Qaisar Khan, Ph.D. Scholar, Nighat Sultana, Ph.D., Arab Naz, Ph.D. and Faraz Ali Bughio, Ph.D. Scholar Motivation toward Learning English among Undergraduate Students of Pakistan

269

Arab Naz, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Sociology University of Malakand Pakistan [emailprotected] Faraz Ali Bughio, Ph.D. Scholar University of Sussex, UK [emailprotected]

270

Parsis Moving Beyond Custom and Tradition Bapsi Sidhwa -A Voice to the Voiceless Iftikhar Hussain Lone, M.Phil. ==============================================

Courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bapsi_Sidhwa “Feroza slipped under her quilt fully dressed, her eyes wide open, her mind throbbing with elation. She was going to America! She found it difficult to believe. She repeated to herself “I’m going to America, I’m going to America!” until her doubts slowly ebbed and her certainty too, caught the rhythm of her happiness to the land of glossy magazines, of “Bewitched” and “Star Trek,” of rock-stars and Jeans…” (An American Brat 27) Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Hussain Lone, M.Phil. Parsis Moving Beyond Custom and Tradition - Bapsi Sidhwa -A Voice to the Voiceless

271

Presenting Parsi Ethos in Double Diaspora Rooted in displaced or double Diaspora conditions, the characters in Sidhwa’s novels are initiated into a self-awakening or self-realization or at other times an acute awareness of one’s own culture. Instigation, self-awakening, and voyage into oneself are a few of the major characteristics of Sidhwa’s novels. These characters undergo an awakening into a political consciousness, and a consciousness of their own bodies and their indigenousness; and these result in a general outward growth, and development into the sub-continental human psyche. Thus, Sidhwa’s characters are all strong reflections of the people of the subcontinent who have attained awakening and have come to terms with the time-tested ruthlessness of the culture they are living in. Ice-Candy-Man

In Ice-Candy-Man Lenny displays a self-realization and acceptance of her polio, and her sexuality, of her indigenousness as a Parsi which provides her the advantage of being a detached observer during the partition, and with this she comes to terms with a new identity, of being a Pakistani, ‘in a snap.’ (40) The Parsis shun their community restraints to help universal peace and progress. Sidhwa’s characters show invincible courage in breaking loose from the customary and traditional practices of their community. She releases herself from such practices occasionally. She writes: There are those who don’t like to mix with me anymore, because I am so talked about and written about, and that is looked down upon, frowned upon slightly; someone’s husband would feel this girl is a bad influence on everybody. (Zaman 174) Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Hussain Lone, M.Phil. Parsis Moving Beyond Custom and Tradition - Bapsi Sidhwa -A Voice to the Voiceless

272

The novel Ice-Candy-Man plays a key role in Bapsi’s oeuvre intertwining her Pakistani identity, with her Parsi roots, giving voice to the guiding preoccupations of her work: the fate of the dispossessed and the demand of the East; the onslaught of revenge and violence to which the women of the other communities are subjected to in the name of faith and nation. It also brings forth the Parsis’ moral position when faced with the religious and ethnic dilemmas of their Muslim, Sikh and Hindu neighbours. Bapsi shows Parsis act beyond their religion as they are found involved in many tasks of helping the refugees from India and those leaving Lahore; they provide them petrol, drinks, comfort and other basic amenities. The rescued kidnapped women are sent back to their families by Parsis. Explaining their secretive and seemingly suspicious outings, Lenny’s mother says: “I wish I’d told you. We were only smuggling the rationed petrol to help our Hindu and Sikh friends to run away. And also for the convoys to send kidnapped women, like your Ayah, to their families across the border.” (242) The motivation behind such selfless and noble actions by Lenny’s mother is neither individual heroism nor political fanaticism, it is the desire to do the right thing, to help the helpless, to see justice done. Zoroastrian ethics of “good deeds” could also play a big part in their energetic involvement in such charitable acts. A remarkable energy of rescuing Ayah from the “Kotha” is shown by Rodabai, Lenny’s Godmother. She takes Ayah to a rescued women’s camp and then arranges to send her to her relatives in Amritsar. The Crow Eaters

The Crow Eaters narrates the journey to establish superiority, to Westernization and hybridity, and a subsequent journey back to reassert inactiveness. Freddy, Putli and Jerbanoo embark on the much awaited trip to England, “…. the England of their imaginings was burnished to an antiseptic gloss that had no relation Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Hussain Lone, M.Phil. Parsis Moving Beyond Custom and Tradition - Bapsi Sidhwa -A Voice to the Voiceless

273

to human menial toil.” (The Crow Eaters 252) But moments after their arrival in the enchanted land of their dreams, their excitement turns into disillusionment, as they see Englishmen sweeping streets and working as clerks, sales girls equally. They also find houses with no servants where people had to scrub their own toilet bowls. Thus a disgruntled Jerbanoo cries: “I want to go back to my Lahore. I don’t want to die in a foreign land.” (258) The Crow Eaters is full of Charm and exhuberance, imparting in its excellence the magic and colour of India. In the novel, Freddy’s traditional views are rejected by his own son and thus elements of tradition and innovation get amalgamated in some sections of the novel. A succinct account of the success of a Parsi businessman, from rags to riches, Sidhwa brings into it a strongly attractive prospect of doing business in British India. An extraordinary tale of very ordinary people, the story takes twists and turns and goes from one generation to another with ease and flow. The descriptions are vital, while the pace and humour make a perfect combination to transform the story into a magical tale. Portraits of Independent Thinking and Acting Parsis There is very little that Sidhwa’s pen misses as she creates an array of delightful, independent thinking and acting Parsis. The result is a gallery of pictures, and the prose remains boisterous and baroque. The Parsis have always been a flamboyantly prominent community in public life. What goes on behind this façade had been remote and mysterious. They have been described as smart and talkative; they are innovative and imaginative entrepreneurs, with business in their genes. Best of all they are ribald, something comparable to Galsworthy’s fore-sites. Sidhwa opens all doors and windows of their world’s innermost recess. Far from ridiculing the Parsis, the novel celebrates their community, and in turn, celebrates the all`encompassing idea of community. Bapsi Sidhwa shows the Parsis extremely preoccupied with their Westernization and the following of British ways, one of the reasons for it being the long-standing policy of the community of continued proximity towards the state, a close relationship between state and community based on mutual support. In consideration with their limited status of a minority community, the Parsis demanded religious autonomy and protection, in return to their consistent loyalty. This is why Freddy took every opportunity to show his undying support and loyalty towards the British Raj by taking care to wear his most splendid clothes whenever he visited the Government House and sign his name in the visitor’s Book, to ascertain his testimony and loyalty towards “Queen and Crown”. An American Brat

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Hussain Lone, M.Phil. Parsis Moving Beyond Custom and Tradition - Bapsi Sidhwa -A Voice to the Voiceless

274

Feroza undergoes the initiation into the indigenousness of her country and culture and the need to bind her identity to it in An American Brat. She undertakes a Journey into the depths of the alien culture in an effort to adapt and assimilate an independence and strength of character, and decision-making which was denied to her. But in the journey of the novel, she gets disillusioned by the Westernization, the foreignness and the borrowed identity. She is consoled by her Indian friend and his ghazals, in the essence of being a Parsi, in the ‘Sudra’ and ‘Kusti’ and the Security and power which it gave her in a time of desolation, having been rejected by her Jewish boyfriend who refuses her country, religion and customs; and finally, the incompatibility of an intercommunity marriage having dawned on her. The changing prospects and freedom from conventions mixed with dreams of flying to the land of rock stars and Jeans make Feroza in An American Brat feel the tremendous joy of freedom in her life. A trunk call to America puts Feroza face to face with the infirmities she would have taken with her culture and position to a much upgraded society. As she screams in delight to her uncle Manek, over the phone, he says: “Why do you third world Pakis shout too much?” (26).Amid the excitement of transporting herself to her dream land, this touches a chord somewhere and she asks her parents: “…. Why am I a Paki third worlder?”(27) As the flight halts at Dubai, Paris and London, people who had boarded the plane with her, had almost all left, and new passengers joined her for the rest of the journey substituting cultures for cultures, preparing Feroza for the foreign atmosphere awaiting her in New York, where she would step down into a totally new world. The cultural bias that comes along with third world tag, awaits her no farther than the passport counter where she is quizzed on different things by cold, and unsmiling officers who seemed to doubt anything she said. Feroza was quite new to such unfriendly dispositions: “It was Feroza’s first moment of realization – she was in a strange country amidst strangers…” (54) The humiliating mistrust that meets her at the immigration shocks her solid sheath of dignity, and pushes her down the threshold of third world prejudice and Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Hussain Lone, M.Phil. Parsis Moving Beyond Custom and Tradition - Bapsi Sidhwa -A Voice to the Voiceless

275

abject demoralization. Grilled by the officers, tears smarting, unable to withhold anymore tormenting, she screams in a yellow blaze of fury and fierce dignity: “To hell with you and your damn country. I’ll go back.” (58) It shows the contrast between two opposite cultures - a thought that would just cross her mind, now and then, years later. Freed from the embarrassment at the airport, Feroza gets in to the excitement of discovering America - the bright city lights, the sky scrapers, the museums, the lavish display of pearls and designer accessories in the windows: The sheer bliss of telephones that worked, come cloud or drizzle, the force of the water in the YMCA showers, electricity that never fluctuated or broke down or required daily hours of ‘Load shedding’ were joys Feroza was discovering for herself. (102) The novel An American Brat is a sensitive portrait of how America appears to a new arrival, and an exploration of the impact it has on her. She is caught in the strange beauty of beautiful America and things take her by surprise. America is within the hearts of millions of others, as a land of dreams of liberty and of freedom from age-long conventionalities. Feroza also discovers that there is another side to America’s alluring magic “… an ‘alien filth’. So you’ve seen now, America is not all Saks and skyscrapers.” (156) Out at the airport and away from the insults and dehumanising behaviours of the officers, Feroza forgets her first disturbing impressions of having left her culture for the alluring attractions of an alien soil as she indulges in a tour of New York. She shouts at the sight of the incredible lighting of the city in Punjabi "Vekh! Vekh! Sherdi-batiaan" (Look, Look, the lights of the city) The sky-high buildings with its shimmering glass and steel embankments reflecting the sunlight are all wondrous sights to her. She marvels at the quick service at the restaurants, the quantities of fries, ketchup and co*ke. The opulence in the city mesmerizes a gaping Feroza: It was like entering a surreal world of hushed opulence festooned by all manner of hats propped up on stands and scarves and belts draped here and there like fabulous confetti. The subtle lighting enhanced the plush shimmer of wool and leather and the glowing colours of the silk. Feroza felt she had never seen such luxuriant textures or known the vibrant gloss of true colours. (73) Refuse to Return to Pakistan Though initially depressed and saddened at her change of fortune, Feroza refuses to return to Pakistan or marry any one of the three eligible boys chosen for her. While she still turns to her religion, culture and civilization, the music, ghazals and memories to connect her to a well ordained identity, Feroza is a changed girl, very different from the one that had left Pakistan. “Their preoccupation with children and servants and their concern with clothes and furnishings did not interest her. Neither did the endless round of parties that followed their parents' mode of Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Hussain Lone, M.Phil. Parsis Moving Beyond Custom and Tradition - Bapsi Sidhwa -A Voice to the Voiceless

276

hospitality.” (312) She had experienced freedom from the restraining traditions, the disturbing ordinances, the sight of poverty, the insecure social ties, the oppression and discrimination against women, and refused to let it go. The sense of dislocation and of not belonging though might be part of her existence throughout; it seemed more tolerable than a fateful return to all that she had left behind for the better. Shashi, her friend at the university, tries to comfort a dejected Feroza, after her break-up with David, by dramatically uttering a ghazal by Iqbal Banoo, “Ulfat Ki Naee Manzil Ko Chalay... (To reach new destinations of love), Embarked on a new mission of love, You who have broken my heart, look where you're going I, too, lie in your path.” (311) Feroza, being brought up in the midst of conventional Parsis and Muslim environments, stands confused trying to accommodate as much as possible of both and runs herself to the extremities called forth by either community. She is quick to adapt to the traditions of a Muslim nation by natural effect of her peers and the school she attended in Pakistan, giving birth to her mother's growing concern towards her retreat into her shell and considerable backwardness. Moulded in American culture and style, Feroza again feels left out when she goes to Pakistan on a holiday and sees for herself the measure of things changed. “Time had wrought alterations she could not have foreseen - while her memory had preserved the people and places she knew, and their relationships with her, as if in an airtight jar.”(235) In confrontation with age-old practices and unquestionable rituals, love and passion stand bleak, leaving an imminent option between the two. The very thing that had attracted him to Feroza, her exoticism, now frightened David. Zareen had made him feel that he and Feroza had been too cavalier and callow in dismissing the dissimilarities in their backgrounds. He felt inadequate, wondering if he could cope with some of the rituals and behaviour that, despite his tolerant and accepting liberality, seemed bizarre." (309) Feroza once again feels alone in her world, after her experiment with company, and after her choice to drift away into a region of bliss and liberation, she settles down to heartbreak. “Feroza wept, yearning for the land of poets and ghazals she had left behind, for her friends from the Convent of the Sacred Heart, and for her own broken heart - when it occurred to her that she had thought of everything in past time.” (311) Feroza’s heart leaps up for what she had very consciously left. She is aware of the fact that world which had changed beyond recognition alienated her. "For even in her bereft condition, she knew there was no going back for her, despite the poets and her friends.” (311) Parsi Inclination to Move Beyond the Customary Boundaries So, Sidhwa, throughout her novels, presents Parsi inclination to move beyond the customary boundaries and their longing for the Parsi tradition they leave behind. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Hussain Lone, M.Phil. Parsis Moving Beyond Custom and Tradition - Bapsi Sidhwa -A Voice to the Voiceless

277

The pain over the lost tradition proves too heavy for her characters and nothing seems to be compensation enough for it in the end. =========================================================== Works Cited Sidhwa, Bapsi. An American Brat. USA: Milkweed,1993. - - - - - - Ice-Candy- Man. England: Penguin,1991 - - - - - - The Crow Eaters. England: Penguin,1980. Beauvoir, Simone de. The Second Sex, 1949. Translated by H.M. Parshley. New Delhi: Penguin,1972. Bharucha, Niluten.E. From Behind a Fine Veil: A Feminist Reading of Three Parsi Novels. Indian Literature, 39.5, 1996. Dhawan, R.K. and Novey Kapadia. The Novels of Bapsi Sidhwa. New Delhi: Prestige, 1996. Gaur, Rashmi ed. “The Child Narrator in Ice-Candy-Man.” Bapsi Sidhwa’s Ice-Candy Man: A Reader’s Companion. New Delhi: Asia Book Club,2004. Hai, Ambree. “Border Work, Border Trouble: Postcolonial Feminism and The Ayah in Bapsi Sidhwa’s Cracking India.” Modern Fiction Studies. 46.2, 2000.p 379426. Niruparani, K.. “Gender and Imagination in Bapsi Sidhwa’s Fiction”. Fiction of Nineties. Noble Dass, Veena & R.K. Dhawan eds. New Delhi: Prestige, 1994. 155-161. Menon, Ritu. “Do Women Have a Country.” Gender to Nation. Eds. Rada Ivekovic & Julie Mostov. 2008, (404), 3. Moi, Toril. “Feminist Literary Criticism.” In Modern Literary Theory: A Comparative Introduction. Ann Jafferson and David Robey eds. London: Batsford, 1982. Paranjape, Makarand. “The Early Novels of Bapsi Sidhwa.” The Novels of Bapsi Sidhwa. New Delhi: Prestige Books, 1996. 24 Pennebaker, Mattie Katherine. “The Will Ok Men.” Victimization of Women During India’s Partition’s. Agora No. 1, Issue I, Summer 2000.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Hussain Lone, M.Phil. Parsis Moving Beyond Custom and Tradition - Bapsi Sidhwa -A Voice to the Voiceless

278

Sharma, Bhawna. “Bapsi Sidhwa: Giving Voice to Silence.” JELL. Vol. II, No.1, June 2008. Sidhwa, Bapsi. Post-Colonial Studies: The Essential Glossary. London: Arnold, 2003. Zaman, Niaz. “Images of Purdah in Bapsi Sidhwa’s Novels”. Margins of Erasure: Purdah in Subcontinental Novel in English. Jain, Jasbir & Amina Amin. eds. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd., ============================================================= Iftikhar Hussain Lone S/O Mohd Anwer Lone M.Phil. English C/O Axis English Academy Kadoo Building Near Bus Stand Anantnag 192101 Jammu and Kashmir India [emailprotected]

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Hussain Lone, M.Phil. Parsis Moving Beyond Custom and Tradition - Bapsi Sidhwa -A Voice to the Voiceless

279

The Role of Process and Product Approaches to the Teaching of Writing Ali Akbar Khansir =================================================================== Abstract The aim of the paper is to compare and examines product and process approaches to the teaching of writing. Myles (2002, p.1) argues that “academic writing requires conscious effort and much practice in composing, developing, and analyzing ideas. Writing is a combination of process and product” (Sokolik, 2003). Product approach to the teaching of writing emphasizes mechanical aspects of writing such as focusing on grammatical and syntactical structures and imitating models and this approach is primarily concerned with correctness and form of the final product, whereas, Process approach emphasizes that writing itself is a developmental process that creates self-discovery and meaning. It is concerned with the process of how ideas are developed and formulated in writing. The approach focuses on how clearly and efficiently a Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ali Akbar Khansir The Role of Process and Product Approaches to the Teaching of Writing

280

learner can express and organize his/ her ideas clearly. In this approach, students are given opportunity to write what they have in their mind on paper, writing without worrying about form, grammar and correct spelling. (Khansir, 2010).

Key words: Writing, Process and Product approaches, Genre approach.

Introduction

The aim of the paper is to investigate the role of process and product approaches to the teaching of writing and compare the approaches have dominated much of the teaching of writing that happen in ELT classroom. Writing plays an essential role in language learning. Writing is defined as art of a writer. Hyland (2003) mentions the value of writing “the ability to communicate ideas and information affectively through the global digital network is crucially dependent on good writing skills." It implies the fact that the mental representation by means of lexical manipulation is given in the form of script or marks in the process of writing. Thus writing defined as a term refers both to an act and the result of that act. This immediately sets up two possible perspectives on acquiring writing: Learning the process of composing and learning the form and organization of the product. But writing also has a social dimension and purpose, which can lead to other perspectives focusing on genre, voice and audience (Swalles 1990, Cope and Kalantzis 1993, Fairclough 2001, Ivanic 1998). Writing being one of the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing has always formed part of the syllabus in the teaching of English language. However, it has been used for a variety of purposes, ranging from being

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ali Akbar Khansir The Role of Process and Product Approaches to the Teaching of Writing

281

merely a ‘backup’ for grammar teaching to a major syllabus strand in its own right, where mastering the ability to write effectively is seen as a key objective for learners (Harmer 2004). The learning of writing is one of the most important skills that second language learners need to develop their ability to communicate ideas and information effectively in target language. Writing can be recognized as an integral part of language learning process in ELT classroom. However, writing is a practical representation of unit of a language expression. Drawing pictures or letters is not writing. A sign painter might paint ‘Persian characters’ but he/she is not writing unless he/she knows how to write Persian, i.e. unless he/she understands Persian and the characters. Throughout the history of language teaching, linguists, teachers, and experts have stressed the different features of writing and this has given birth to a number of approaches to writing such as process, product, integrative, genre approaches, but in this study, process and product approaches are compared. Kroll (1996) mentions that process approach calls for providing a positive, encouraging and collaborative workshop environment within which students, with ample time and minimal interference, can work through their composing processes. He adds that in this process, the teacher's role is to help students develop variable strategies for getting started (finding topics, generating ideas and information, focusing and planning structure and procedures), for drafting (encouraging multiple drafts), for revising (adding, deleting, modifying and rearranging ideas); and for editing (attending to vocabulary, sentence structure, grammar and mechanics). Pincas (1982, p. 22) argues that in the product approach, “learning to write has four stages: familiarization; controlled writing; guided writing; and free writing. The familiarization stage aims to make learners aware of certain features of a particular text. In controlled and guided writing sections, the learners practice the skills with Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ali Akbar Khansir The Role of Process and Product Approaches to the Teaching of Writing

282

increasing freedom until they are ready for the free writing section, when the use the writing skill as part of a genuine activity such as a letter, story or essay” (cited in Badger and White 2000, p. 153). Nunan (1999) clearly states how very different this process approach is from the traditional product oriented approach. Whereas the Product approach focuses on writing tasks in which the learner imitates, copies and transforms, teacher supplied models, the Process approach focuses on the steps involved in creating a piece of work. Bright and McGregor (1970) define product approach as a goal to prevent errors in students’ writing and he added that the pupil does not learn from his mistakes. If he did, the more mistakes he made, the more he would learn. Common experience, however, proves the pupil who makes the most mistakes is the one who has learnt and will learn least. In theory no mistake should ever appear in writing, though it must be admitted that this ideal is unattainable in practice (p. 130). Jordan (2000) acknowledges that process writing evolved as a reaction to the product approach, in that it met the need to match the writing process inherent in writing in one’s mother tongue and consequently allow learners to express themselves better as individuals. This is not to say, however, that product approach no longer exists, nor that it has no practical applications. Indeed, the process approach can still contain elements of product based writing. Process approach The view of writing as thinking discovery and as more than recording is termed as process approach to writing. This approach to writing is learner - originated approach. Therefore, learners are free to write whatever ideas come into their minds. This exempts the student from the burden of skill acquisition and enables them to explore the culmination and variety of written language. This is generally called the process approach. This new paradigm is not actually new Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ali Akbar Khansir The Role of Process and Product Approaches to the Teaching of Writing

283

of course. One can look back into history and find teachers from almost every age employing methods that sound much like our modern process approach. But an established approach seems to have been motivated by dissatisfaction with controlled composition and the current traditional approach. Flower and Hayes (1981) provides a detailed description of writing process, which leads to a well-known cognitive model of writing. This model consists of three aspects of writer’s world such as: a) the task environment - this phase consists of writing assignment, the topics, the intended audience, the writer’s motivation and purpose; b) the writer’s long-term memory - it is also called the encyclopedia of world knowledge i.e. what the writer knows about – topic, audience, and the possible plans (writing); c) writing process - this phase consists of planning, writing, reviewing, and editing. The process approach reflects a shift in thinking away from the product of writing, towards the process of writing and from text to the writer. The focus is on how we can help children understand and engage in the act of writing how they use writing in different ways and how well they can discuss how writing differs according to its use and relationship. The emphasis of this approach is on writing as a set of behaviors, which can be learned, talked about and developed, in different situations. The focus in this approach is on the writer and the types of methodology used during the process of composing. Taylor (1981) feels that as an advocate of this approach, writing is not the straight forward plan - outline writing process that many believe it to be. Zamel (1982) says that ESL writers who are ready to compose and express their ideas use strategies similar to those of native speakers of English. Raimes (1983, p. 10) argues that “teachers who use the process approach give their students two crucial supports: time for the students to try out ideas and feedback on the content of what they write in their drafts. They find that then the writing process becomes a Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ali Akbar Khansir The Role of Process and Product Approaches to the Teaching of Writing

284

process of discovery for the students: discovery of new ideas and new language forms to express those ideas”. Linse (2005, p.101) acknowledges that “process writing helps native English – speaking children as well as EFL or ESL young learners develop English - language writing skills. Process writing is especially appropriate for ESL or EFL young learners because one of the prominent features is an emphasis on fluency”. Cameron (2001) determines that ESL and EFL learners just as young children learn to speak fluently; they also need to learn how to write fluently. The process view of writing is how students use their cognitive power to manage the composing process and how they explore, as they gradually develop organization. The process is not linear, but recursive and generative. It means that writers discover and reformulate their ideas as they want to approximate meaning. The process of writing involves setting goals, generating ideas, organizing information, selecting appropriate language, drafting, reviewing, revising, and editing, and that is why it is a very complex activity. Therefore, many ESL or EFL writers feel it may be difficult. This approach provides a positive, encouraging, and collaborative workshop environment to the learners. The primary aim of the process approach is to help learners understand their own composing processes and to build their repertories of strategies for pre-writing, drafting, and rewriting. The exact nature of help or support depends on the nature of learners, their reason for writing, and type of writing. In this approach, students are given sufficient time to write, and rewrite, to discover what they want to say and to consider intervening feedback from instructor as peer as they attempt to bring expression closer and closer to intention in successive drafts. The instructor in this approach to writing intervenes throughout the composing process, rather than reacting only to the final draft. The writer is the center of attention throughout the process and Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ali Akbar Khansir The Role of Process and Product Approaches to the Teaching of Writing

285

what’s why this approach is also called learner-centered approach. Finally, Seow (1995) argues that the process approach to teaching writing comprises four basic stages such as planning, drafting, revising, and editing. Three other stages could be inserted after the drafting stage; these are responding, evaluating, and post-writing. For each stage, suggestions are provided as to the kinds of classroom activities that support the learning of specific writing skills. For example, at the planning stage, teachers can help students generate ideas through such activities as brainstorming, clustering, and rapid free writing. Criticism of Process Approach Although process approach has been generally well and widely received in ESL and EFL composition, a number of criticisms have emerged from English for academic purpose. One major part of this criticism is that process approach does not adequately address some central issues in ESL or EFL writing. Reid (2000 ) suggests that process approach neglects seriously considering variation in writing processes due to differences in individuals, writing tasks, and situations, the development of schemata for academic discourse, language proficiency and insights from the study of contrastive rhetoric. Horowitz (1986) argues that the process approach creates a classroom situation that bears little attention to the situation in which students’ writing will eventually be exercised. He believes that the process also ignores certain type of important academic writing tasks, and the approach gives students a false impression of how university writing will be evaluated; and the approach focuses on the individual’s psychological functioning and neglects the social-cultural context, that is, the realities of academics that in effect, the process approach operates in a socio-cultural vacuum.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ali Akbar Khansir The Role of Process and Product Approaches to the Teaching of Writing

286

Product approach Product approach to writing is a well-known, familiar and mostly popular approach to writing. It seems to be as old as the art of writing itself and is still being popular in spite of its various shortcomings and criticism. With the passage of time, this approach to writing has been called by a variety of names such as controlled composition, guided composition, accuracy centered writing etc. This approach was popular in the 1950s and 60s. An advocate of this approach, Charles Fries (1945) argues that writing is secondary and is concerned with and acquired through the oral habit of language. And of course, since it seemed necessary to write things down as an aid of memory, many teachers still ask their students to write in order to reinforce something that they have just learned to understand or say, in order to reinforce a grammatical concept that has just been introduced. In this approach, students are given sentences and paragraphs to copy or manipulate grammatically, for example, change statements, into questions, changing words or classes or combining sentences. Since the vocabulary is highly controlled, errors are avoided. It also evaluates students’ progress or achievement by grading their productions. In this approach, there are a number of writing activities such as copying; gap filling, the controlled composition frame, writing down, picture reading, and current traditional rhetoric are described. For example, copying as one of the activities of controlled writing which, in this activity, the teacher provides sentences or short passage to the students. Then they are invited to copy it or assign sentences, exercises to drill grammatical concept. This type of composition or exercise exposes the student to acceptable sentence and paragraph structure. After the students have done the copying, and the teacher try to correct error of his students, this kind of practice trains the Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ali Akbar Khansir The Role of Process and Product Approaches to the Teaching of Writing

287

students to be careful when they write. Second activity is gap filling. In this activity, teacher can begin by allowing students to see and read through the passage once or twice. The passage should then be replaced by a passage with a gap to be filled in by the students. For each gap filling exercise, emphasis should be on a particular grammatical element such as subject, verb, object, etc. Third activity in this approach is the controlled composition frame. It is an exercise designed to give students practice in putting various segments together to from complete sentences, a number of sentences could be put together from the given frames to frames from paragraphs. Another activity (fourth activity) is writing down. It is a controlled composition method which requires teacher to read a short story or passage to students. The students are required to write down the short story during reading. This kind of activity provides opportunity for the students to listen to good sentence structures and match letter with sounds. Thus, this method provides the students with practice in anticipating syntactic elements as well as in spelling correctly. The fifth activity is picture reading which requires original sentence construction by the students. The subject matter of the composition is provided by the picture given by the teacher. To be able to interpret the scene in a coherent manner, students have to fall back on their visual perception, their experience based on familiarity with the scene presented and their power of imagination. Newspapers and magazines provide good material for picture reading exercise. It challenges and so prepares them for independent composition assignments. The last activity (sixth in order) is current traditional rhetoric. By the mid-sixties the current traditional rhetoric was introduced as a bridge between controlled composition and free composition. In this activity, students are trained to produce extended written discourse, to organize syntactic units into larger patterns, i.e., beyond the sentence, but they are bound by the Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ali Akbar Khansir The Role of Process and Product Approaches to the Teaching of Writing

288

parameters strictly prescribed by the teacher or textbook. The emphasis of this approach is the logical construction and arrangement of discourse forms i.e., cohesion and coherence. Here importance is not given only to its elements (i.e. topic sentences, supporting sentences. concluding sentences and transitions), but also to various options for its development (illustration, comparison, contrast, partition, classification, definition, casual analysis and so on). The approach is prescriptive in nature; it means that writing is basically how we can arrange the fitting of sentences and paragraph into prescribed patterns i.e. (introduction body and conclusion). As far as the classroom activity of writing is concerned, the emphasis is on form and students may, for example, be asked to change a general statement like, ‘Thermometers’ measure temperature into definition.’ Thermometers are instruments which measure temperature. Another popular type of exercise that asks for transformation is sentences combining, which aims to train students to vary their sentence length, to use compound and complex sentences and to exercise stylistic options. Students are given the sentences of a paragraph and have to find sentences that do not belong, or they are given sentences in random order and have to put them in the best order in a paragraph or essay. Criticism of Product Approach In spite of the fact that the product approach is well known as familiar and mostly popular approach to writing, it has its weaknesses. “The weaknesses of product approaches are that process skills, such as planning a text, are given a relatively small role, and that the knowledge and skills that learners bring to the classroom are undervalued. Their strengths are that they recognize the need for learners to be given linguistic knowledge about texts, and they understand that imitation is one way in which people learn.” (Badger and White, 2000, p. 157) Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ali Akbar Khansir The Role of Process and Product Approaches to the Teaching of Writing

289

Difference between Product and Process Approaches The traditional product – oriented approach and the process approach differ in the assumption about writing as well as the methodology each employs. The process approach emphasis on the writing process dictates a different view of the writing product and closer examination of the writing process. Freedman and Pringle (1980) argued that “the changes are fundamental: this shift implies different sets of values, different epistemologies. It requires as well as new and explicit theoretic constructs, and large scale revisions of research methodology and pedagogy” (p.177). They added that the process approach requires us to view a piece of writing within a total rhetorical context which includes writer, audience, and world as well. There are many differences between process and product approaches as follows: •

In product approach, writing is a product to be evaluated, whereas in process approach, writing is a process to be experienced.

•

In product approach, there is one correct procedure for writing, whereas in process approach, there are many processes for different situations, subjects, audiences, and authors.

•

In product approach, writing is taught rather than learned, whereas in process approach, writing is predominantly learned rather than them taught.

•

In product approach, process of writing is essentially linear; planning proceeds writing and reversion follows drafting etc, whereas in process approach, writing processes are varied and recursive.

•

In product approach, the process of writing is largely conscious, whereas in process approach, writing often engages unconscious processes.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ali Akbar Khansir The Role of Process and Product Approaches to the Teaching of Writing

290

•

In product approach, writer must be taught atomistically, mastering small parts and sub skills, before attempting whole pieces of writing, whereas, in process approach, writing is learned best from attempting the whole text.

•

In product approach, writing can be done swiftly and in order, whereas in process approach, the rhythms and pace of writing can be quite slow, since the writer’s actual task is to create meaning.

•

In product approach, writing is a silent and solitary activity, whereas in process approach, writing is essentially a social collaborative activity.

•

In product approach, accuracy gets more emphasis, whereas in process approach, fluency gets more emphasis.

Genre approach Product and process approaches cannot be studied properly without touching upon the notion of genre approach, in this paper. Genre approach is one of the new approaches to ELT. There are some similarities between genre and product approaches, according to Badger and White, in some ways, genre approaches can be regarded as an extension of product approaches (2000, p. 155.). They add that genre approaches like product approaches regard writing as pre-dominantly linguistic but, unlike product approaches, genre approaches emphasize that writing varies with the social context in which it is produced. Flowerdew (1993, p. 307) acknowledges that “so, we have a range of kinds of writing - such as sales letters, research articles, and reports—linked with different situations.” Swalles (1990, p.58) argues that “a genre as a class of communicative events, the members of which share some set of communicative purposes.”

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ali Akbar Khansir The Role of Process and Product Approaches to the Teaching of Writing

291

Reppen (1995) describes a genre –based approach as providing students with ample opportunities to become aware of the different purposes of written communication and the different ways information is organized in written texts. Unless students are exposed to these different text types and are given sufficient practice in these types of writing, their written products will leave much to be desired. Conclusion Writing is the one of the four essential skills of language needed for a combination of process and product to develop learner’s skills to write well in second language classroom. Richards and Renandya (2000) address that there is no doubt that writing is the most difficult skill for L2 learners to master. The difficulty lies not only in generating and organizing ideas, but also in translating these ideas into readable text. Myles (2002, p. 1) argues that “the ability to write well is not a naturally acquired skill; it is usually learned or culturally transmitted as a set of practices in formal instructional settings or other environments. Writing skills must be practiced and learned through experience.” In product approach, Badger and White (2000) offer writing as mainly concerned with knowledge about

the structure of language, and writing

development as mainly the result of the imitation of input, in the form of texts provided by the teacher. “Product approach only emphasizes linguistic aspects, but ignores the content part, writing freedom, and cognitive approaches. It shows low surrender value in creative writing, it says nothing about “the process of composition and it cares for only accuracy, but not for fluency.” Tribble (1996, p 33) suggests that “process approaches stress writing activities which move learners from the generation of ideas and the collection of data through to the publication Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ali Akbar Khansir The Role of Process and Product Approaches to the Teaching of Writing

292

of a finished text.” Implementing process and product approaches to writing can easily be done in both ESL and EFL classrooms with learners if the several techniques, activities and the amount of time that teachers devote to the development of writing skills will depend upon the objectives of their program. However, applying both product and process approaches to teaching writing in second or foreign language classrooms are necessary to help the learners to improve their capability in writing further. ================================================================= References Badger, R. & White, B. (2000). A process genre approach to teaching writing. ELT Journal, 54, 153-160. Bright, J.A. and McGregor, G.P. (1970). Teaching English as Second Language. London: Longman. Cameron, L. ( 2001). Teaching Language to Young Learners. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Cope, B. and Kalantzis, M. (1993). The powers of literacy: A Genre approach to teaching writing. London: Falmer Press. Fairclough, N. (2001). Language and Power. London: Longman. Flower, L., and Hayes, J. ( 1981 ). A cognitive process theory of writing. College Composition and Communication, 32,365-87. Flowerdew, J. ( 1993 ). ‘An educational or process approach to the teaching of professional genres.’ ELT Journal ,47,4, 305-16.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ali Akbar Khansir The Role of Process and Product Approaches to the Teaching of Writing

293

Freedman ,A. and Pringle , I. ( Eds). ( 1980 ). Reinventing the rhetorical tradition. Ottawa: The Candian Council of Teachers of English. Fries, C.C. (1945).Teaching and learning of English as a foreign language. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan press. Harmer, J. (2004). how to teach writing. Longman: Pearson Education Limited. Horowitz, D.H. (1986). What professors actually require:Academic tasks for the ESL classroom. TESOL Quarterly, 20, PPP. Hyland, K. (2003). Second Language Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ivanic, R. (1998). Writing and Identity: The Discoursal Construction of Identity in Academic Writing.Amsterdam: John Benjamints. I am how I sound: voice as self-representation in L2 writing. Journal of Second Language writing, 10, 3-33. Jordan, R.R. (2000). English for Academic Purposes .New York: Cambridge University Press. Khansir,A.A. ( 2010 ). A COMPARATIVE LINGUISTIC STUDY of ERRORS.Germany: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing. Kroll, B. (1996). Second Language Writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Linse,T.C. ( 2005 ). Practical English Language Teaching: Young Learners.New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Myles, J. (2002). Second Language Writing and Research: The Writing Process and Error Analysis in Student Texts. TESL-EJ, Vol,6, 1-19. Nunan, D. (1999). Second Language Teaching and Learning. Massachusetts: Heinle andHeinle Publishers. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ali Akbar Khansir The Role of Process and Product Approaches to the Teaching of Writing

294

Pincas, A. (1982). Writing in English 1. London: Macmillan. Raimes, A. ( 1983 ). TECHNIQUES IN TEACHING WRITING.OXFORD AMERICAN ENGLISH : OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS. Reppen, R. ( 1995 ). A genre-based approach to content writing instruction. TESOL Journal,4 (2), 32-35. Reid, J.M. ( 2000 ). The process of composition (3rded.). New York: Longman. Richards,J.C and Renandya, W.A. ( 2000 ). METHODOLOGY IN LANGUAGE TEACHING.An Anthology of Current Practice.. Cambridge: Cambridge University . Seow, A. (1995). The writing process and process writing. TELL, 11(1), 60-63. Sokolik, M. ( 2003 ). Writing. In D.Nunan(ed.), Practical English Language Teaching. NewYork, NY: McGraw-Hill, 87-107. Swalles, J.M. (1990). Genre Analysis. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press. Taylor, B,P. ( 1981 ). Content and Written form: A two-way street. TESOL Quarterly,15,5-13. Tribble, C. 1996. Writing. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Zamel, V. ( 1982 ). The process of discovering meaning. TESOL Quarterly, 16,195-209. ================================================================== Ali Akbar Khansir Bushehr University of Medical Sciences and Health Services Iran [emailprotected]

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Ali Akbar Khansir The Role of Process and Product Approaches to the Teaching of Writing

295

Women in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar Iftikhar Hussain Lone

==============================================

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Caesar

Nature herself was proud of his designs, And joyed to wear the dressing of his lines, Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Hussain Lone Women in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

296

Which were richly spun and woven so fit And, since, she will vouchsafe no other wit. (On Shakespeare –Ben Jonson) Vividness and Spontaneity in Characterization William Shakespeare’s capital gift was to depict characters, both historical and imaginary, with a surpassing vividness and spontaneity. His characters differ in sex, age, state of life, virtues and vices but are all alike in being ‘alive’. Whether good ‘or’ bad, moving among the realities of history ‘or’ among the most romantic happenings, his characters possess an unfailing humanity, and striking realism: Rosalind, Portia, Juliet, Cleopatra, Caesar, Brutus, Orlando, Shylock, Touchstone, not to mention the great tragic heroes – indeed the catalogue is endless. Shakespeare – A Feminist?

William Shakespeare

Shakespeare, it is claimed by many modern critics, was a feminist. Shapiro, for example goes on to claim that Shakespeare was “the noblest feminist of them all”. Though historically untrue, it can be put forth that ‘patriarchy’ is more at the centre of his tragedies. Msluskie believes: “Shakespeare wrote for male entertainment”.

William Shakespeare,

because of his extraordinary genius for portraying human behavior, deftly depicted the Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Hussain Lone Women in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

297

condition of women within a patriarchal system, creating women characters, who, in their richness, transcend the limitations of his time. Portia and Calphurnia in Julius Caesar Though Elizabethan era was no exception to the tradition of looking at women as objects and chattels, Shakespeare however, portrays the characters of part Portia and Calphurnia in Julius Caesar in positive light, ignoring the common stereo types often associated with female characters. Both female characters are portrayed as the logical voice of reason, whose intellect and intuition are able to foreshadow Caesar’s death. Their loyalty and devotion to their husbands and their ability to influence the most powerful men in Rome, demonstrate that Shakespeare intended to portray Portia and Calphurnia as women of great strength who supported their men. They themselves are strong women, but the men are unwilling to accept the reality and in the end become pathetic figures, and die tragic deaths. Vital Female Characters In Julius Caesar, the female characters of Calphurnia and Portia are vital to the play for their personal relationships with their husbands, Julius Caesar and Brutus. Despite their concern about their respective husbands' political careers, their opinions a re ignored or pushed aside, because they represent feminine values and are grounded in the domestic sphere. Although they are used to emphasize the gender differences, these women are also needed in order to provide further insight into the characters of Caesar and Brutus. Their interactions serve to emphasize the "feminine" traits of the men and the ability of women to display "masculine" traits. Brutus' interaction with Portia Brutus' interaction with Portia, in Act 2, Scene 1, illustrates that women are isolated from politics. Although Portia proves that she is perceptive and intelligent, Brutus is reluctant to confide in her about his deep -rooted fears. This is based on the widespread belief that women were 'untrained in reason' and had no control over their Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Hussain Lone Women in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

298

affections. Portia is portrayed as the traditional nagging wife who worries about her husband, asking 'Is Brutus sick?' Initially Brutus insists that he is ‘not well in health, and that is all.' However, Portia uses a convincing argument to persuade Brutus that she is worthy of his confidence. Portia uses emotional blackmailing, begging Brutus to 'unfold to [her]' his secret because of his 'vows of love’, saying that if he refuses then “Portia is Brutus' harlot, not his wife." Once Portia begins to sway Brutus, she uses a rational argument, pointing to her father, Cato, and her husband as proof of her strength and reputation. Portia challenges Brutus, asking him 'Think you I am no stronger than my sex. / Being so fathered, and so husbanded?" However, she is merely defined in each instance by her relationship to a man. Strong Proof of Constancy Finally, Portia provides 'strong proof of her constancy', a typical masculine trait, in the 'voluntary wound' in her thigh. The self-inflicted wound 'destabilizes the gendered concept of virtue' — that Portia can perform such an act proves that it is learned behavior, not a particular masculine trait. In response, Brutus promises that ‘by and by thy bosom shall partake / the secrets of my heart.' Brutus and Cassius In comparison, Brutus' meeting with Cassius, in Act 1, Scene 2, takes place in the public domain, 'within earshot of a huge crowd, preceded and followed by a public procession.' Since it is a secretive conversation, this meeting lies on the 'border between public and private.' Whereas Cassius encourages Brutus to act upon male values in order to achieve political action, or a 'show / Of fire'. Portia represents Brutus' doubts or 'the "feminine" Other within him.' In particular, it is Brutus' reluctance to murder Caesar that is evidence of his feminine side. In these two separate scenes, Shakespeare overtly contrasts male and female values. Women and Political Concerns Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Hussain Lone Women in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

299

If Act two, Scene one, provides evidence of Portia's constancy, this is reversed in Act two, Scene four: O constancy, be strong upon my side, Set a huge mountain `tween my heart and tongue! I have a man's mind, but a woman's might. How hard it is for women to keep counsel! (Julius Caesar, II, IV, 11.6-9) This scene proves that the women in Rome cannot cope with political concerns. Shakespeare portrays Portia as weak and vulnerable. Unlike Brutus' heroic suicide, Shakespeare plays down Portia's death by attributing it to female inconstancy. In Shakespeare's account, Brutus states that “she fell distract / And her attendants absent, swallowed fire.'’ thus depriving Portia of some dignity. Anyway, ‘distract’ only connotes deep distress and not insanity like some critics seem to think. We can compare Plutarch's account, in his Life of Marcus Brutus, where he describes Portia's death as an honorable act. Contradictions and Conflicts in the Male World The male world of Rome, defined by Brutus and Caesar, is not as clear-cut as it appears. Brutus is defined by 'the contradictions embedded in his culture [which] are set at war.' Brutus is divided in terms of political alliances and gender definitions. Politically, he acts for the 'common good' as well as out of emulation of his hero, or rivalry. Similarly, Brutus' gender contradictions are highlighted - although his motives for murdering Caesar are ‘masculinized’, his doubts and fears are `feminized'. Julius Caesar and Calphurnia Julius Caesar's interaction with Calphurnia follows Brutus' scene of interaction with Portia. Again, a wife's role is as one concerned about the safety of her husband, as Calphurnia exclaims, 'You shall not stir out of your house today.' Calphurnia's belief in her dreams about Caesar's death portrays women as being superstitious, and we hear her claim that she 'never stood on ceremonies / Yet now they fright [her].' But, we do know that the Rome of those days was steeped in superstitions and Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Hussain Lone Women in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar 300

fears of ‘portends foretold.’ Her dream images recall the theme of wife as a concerned lifepartner, as she imagines herself to be 'A lioness [that] hath whelped in the streets'. In comparison, Caesar has boldly asserted that he does not fear 'death, a necessary end.' However, Calphurnia's fears about 'blood upon the Capitol' exist to emphasize the doubts that men hide under their assertions about constancy. Although Caesar agrees to remain at home to please Calphurnia, as he states 'for thy humour I will stay at home', he would not have agreed unless he shared Calphurnia's fears. Caesar uses his wife as a convenient excuse when he tells Decius: Calphurnia here, my wife, stays me at home. She dreamt tonight she saw my statue, Which like a fountain with a hundred spouts Did run pure blood; and many lusty Romans Came smiling, and did bathe their hands in it.

(Julius Caesar, II, ii, 11.75-79)

Have More Faith in Intuitive Warnings When Decius mocks Caesar's obedience to his wife's whims, saying 'Break up the Senate till another time, / When Caesar's wife shall meet with better dreams', Caesar changes his mind. When his reputation is at stake Caesar exclaims 'How foolish do your fears seem now, Calphurnia!'. However, the fulfillment of Calphurnia's prediction suggests that men should put more faith in the intuitive warnings of women. Ambiguity in Caesar’s Power Throughout the play, Caesar's power has been ambiguous. Cassius feminizes Caesar in his description about the swimming contest, telling Brutus that Caesar cried “Help me, Cassius, or I sink!.” Cassius also describes Caesar's fever in Spain, calling him 'a sick girl.' However, Cassius demonstrates that he fears the power Caesar would claim if crowned, comparing Caesar, to a 'Colossus' with everyone else as ‘petty men'. Likewise, Calphurnia's dream of Caesar's wounded statue emphasizes the `contradictory images of Caesar as both Colossus and sick girl, mighty in his triumph over Pompey, yet childless and deaf.' Caesar is Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Hussain Lone Women in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

301

ultimately brought down in his assassination – he is rendered powerless and silent, just like the women in the Roman political arena. Through his representation of womanhood, especially in the character of Portia and Calphurnia, Shakespeare indeed does transcend the stereotypes of his own time. Shakespeare’s Brilliant Characterisation Shakespeare has created in his genius, exquisitely charming, scintillatingly sensible, smart and excellent women like Portia in Merchant of Venice, clever and strong women like Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, beautiful and bold women like Rosalind in As You Like It, loving and sweet women like Cordelia in King Lear, romantic and deeply in love, as well as venturesome and courageous like Viola in Twelfth Night, magnificently royal, ruling a nation with a strong will, dynamic and determined like Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra, and other colourful heroines in his many plays. There are a few in Shakespeare’s comedies that do not shine as much, but majority of his women characters are well and brilliantly drawn. You can witness his sympathy, his immense care, and creative talents in all the women characters – in his words they take shape and in his imagination they blossom and glow. Many like Portia and Calphurnia in Julius Ceasar do show feminine as well as masculine characteristics, and are none the worse for it. That only adds to their infinite charm, and the world admires them in spite of their weaknesses and faults. We can surely agree with Ben Jonson, ‘They are richly spun and woven so fit’. ================================================================== Works Cited Primacy Sources Shakespeare, William, Julius Caesar (Penguin London, first published, 1967). Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Hussain Lone Women in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

302

Secondary Sources Bowden, William R. “The Mind of Brutus”. Shakespeare Quarterly. 17 (1966): 57 Holderness, Loughrey and Murphy, Shakespeare: The Roman Plays (Longman, London and New York, 1996) Hunter, G.K.

“Shakespeare and the Traditions of Tragedy”

Wells, Stanley, ed. The

Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare Studies, Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1994 Kahn, Coppelia, Roman Shakespeare (Rutledge, London and New York, 1997. Paimer, D.J. “Tragic Error in Julius Caesar” Shakespeare Quarterly. 21-22 (1970): 299. Paolucci, Anne. “Female Characters in Julius Caesar”

Shakespeare Quarterly. 11 (1990):

329 Schanzer. Ernest. “The Problem of Julius Caesar” Shakespeare Quarterly. 6 (1955): 297 Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar and Elements of Literature. Edwina McMahon et al. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Inc. 1997. Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. Elements of Literature.

Ed. Edwina McMahan. New

York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. =========================================================== Iftikhar Hussain Lone S/O Mohd Anwer Lone Teaching Assistant (Boys College Ang.) C/O Axis English Academy, Kadoo Building Anantnag 192101 Jammu and Kashmir India [emailprotected]

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Iftikhar Hussain Lone Women in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

303

Using Literature to Foster Competence in Speaking Jaspreet Gandhi, M.Phil. =============================================================== Abstract The purpose of this paper is twofold. The first part focuses on the difficulties and challenges that the students face in communicating efficiently. The second part of the paper emphasises how literature can be an effective tool in developing speaking skills. The use of literature evokes a personal response in the reader or listener. The material used in literature is authentic. It provides exposure to real language; it can relate to the learners’ need more closely with a more creative approach and have a positive effect on the learners’ motivation. Literature also provides interesting language practice materials in the form of drama, poetry and prose. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how these three areas: Poetry, Prose and Drama expand and encourage the learners in acquiring speaking skills. The emphasis has been laid on how these areas assist learners to comprehend the language effortlessly. When a teacher narrates a story, his aim should be to make the students interact by giving his opinions, feelings and personal experiences. Similarly teaching poetry will also motivate the students to discuss the characters and theme, or debate the moral issues. Furthermore, my Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Jaspreet Gandhi, M.Phil. Using Literature to Foster Competence in Speaking

304

focus will also be on drama which is again a very valuable tool to work on the speaking skills, especially pronunciation. Drama bridges the gap between the course book dialogue and its natural usage and when the learners play, move and act at the same time with drama, they become more confident in communicating and it elevates their learning process. Key words: literature, authentic, prose, poetry, drama, natural usage Introduction We generally speak more than we write. So, as teachers, it is our responsibility to practice speaking and listening skills more than the reading and writing skills. Language teaching, especially second language teaching, has always been a matter of debate and discussion. It has constantly compelled teachers to evolve and adopt newer strategies and techniques of teaching. The research reported in this paper has focussed on the premise that the goal of our language course should be truly to enable our students to communicate in English. They should learn how to speak the language efficiently. Nunan (1991) argues, “Success is measured in terms of the ability to carry out a conversation in the (target) language”. Sara Holbrook and Michael Salinger suggest: The sheer number of communication skills students need is indeed formidable. Stacked on a three legged stool- reading, writing, and speakingthat pile of requirements is growing exponentially with the information age. In fact, a weakness in any one of those three legs may cause a collapse in a student’s ability to succeed in a world that does not run on multiple choice answers but on essay responses delivered clearly and, very often orally. Hence, it is necessary that the students should become confident enough to speak the language or else they will be de-motivated. It has always been a daunting task for learners of English to master the language. They face a lot of difficulties and challenges while acquiring the language. The Focus of This Paper This paper points out these problems which hinder the students in the process of speaking the language fluently. Solving these problems are not easy but solutions can certainly be worked out through diligent observation and practice. We need to remember, however, what Albert Einstein once wrote, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them”. Possible Source of Solution For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple and neat. The solution to this problem of developing fluent speaking is Literature. Literature is the supremely civilizing Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Jaspreet Gandhi, M.Phil. Using Literature to Foster Competence in Speaking

305

pursuit. The present paper suggests teaching speaking skills through literature as a possible and effective solution. Literature always stimulates the emotions of the students. Literature is also associated with intellectual activity. Through the different tools of literature, the students comprehend and learn the lexical items, semantics, vocabulary, phrases, idioms, use of tenses and various parts of speech which, undoubtedly, enhance their speaking skills. Difficulties Faced by the Students to Speak English Fluently It is generally noted that the learners acquiring English as a second language in India are shy about speaking the language in front of other students. There could be various reasons for such behaviour. Either they are from such a cultural background where they cannot talk loud in the class, or they lack the confidence in speaking in front of others. But then they should always remember that the more they practice, the more they will improve their speaking skills. We need to realize that we learn to speak only by speaking. It has also been seen that the learners are apprehensive about speaking English because they find the language difficult to cope with if the way of teaching is above their current skills and their standards and interest. If the tasks done in the class are too difficult or too easy, they will certainly revert to their first language either for their comfort or for some emotional support. This is the greatest hindrance in their acquiring the language since they translate word for word to check if they have understood the task before attempting to speak. Learning and Communicating Learning a language and communicating in a language are two different things. As Paul Simpson states: Perhaps the greatest challenge in the study of English language is how to understand its most prosaic day to day functions. It is hard to develop a conscious awareness of what we routinely take for granted about language. (2003, after word: p- 180). As we know that English is a complex language and English grammar is again too vast to memorize and use logically. With many rules to master, it is indeed an intimidating task for students to use the correct ones. Students are always obsessed with correctness and in order to be perfect they end up in committing numerous errors. These errors continue in the use of pronunciation, verbs, tenses or maybe the correct use of vocabulary. All these complexities make it complex for the students to speak the language effectively and effortlessly. We need to recognize that teachers who have inadequate competence in English may also help perpetuate the problems faced by the students. Use of Literature to Impart Speaking Skills

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Jaspreet Gandhi, M.Phil. Using Literature to Foster Competence in Speaking

306

We as teachers should assist the students to overcome these difficulties. An effective way to do this is to use literary tools to impart speaking skills. Literature involves a special or unusual use of language and provides the students with tools for their own creative activity. These tools are prose, poetry and drama. The students are able to explore the linguistic and conceptual aspects of the written text and use it to improve their speaking skills as well as diction. Good literature is always capable of teaching grammar through correct usage, subconsciously. Michael W. and Jeffery D. Wilhelm write: Literature provides a unique and powerful way of knowing- and therefore offers us new ways of becoming and being. Reading literature allows us to explore both what is and what could be. Teaching literature, therefore, can open door that nothing else can open, at least not in the same way.” (2010, p. 7). We see literature assists the students to unravel the many meanings in a text. Furthermore, literary texts have a powerful function in raising moral and ethical concerns in the classroom and encourage our students to explore these concerns and connect them with the struggle for a better society. Note what Gillian Lazar declares: Literature provides wonderful source material for eliciting strong emotional responses from our students. Using literature in the classroom is a fruitful way of involving the learner as a whole person, and provides excellent opportunities for the learners to express their personal opinion, reactions and feelings. (1993, p. 3). The Result So, when the students share their opinions, reactions, and feelings in the class, subconsciously they are working on their speaking skills. As they are aware of the fact that they have to speak in front of the entire class, so they are careful to use the correct pronunciation and appropriate vocabulary. They are also particular about the use of tense and verb. Literary Tools Used for Enhancing Speaking Skills When I talk about literature, I keep in mind all the tools, namely Prose, Poetry and Drama. Teaching through Prose – Use of Stories Stories are a part of prose, and storytelling is the oldest form of education. People around the world have always told tales as a way of passing down their cultural beliefs, traditions and history to future generations. Cultures and societies have preserved and celebrated their memories through stories. Teaching speaking skills through stories is very effective as it is very interactive. Students have fun; they enjoy themselves and are enthusiastic. Stories enrich their visual imagination Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Jaspreet Gandhi, M.Phil. Using Literature to Foster Competence in Speaking

307

and creativity. Students are introduced to literature and the beauty of the language. We will easily agree with Sherry Norfolk, Jane Stenson and Dianne William when they write: Storytelling and literacy comprehension go hand in hand. Students learn to construct meaning from an increased engagement in storytelling, and language skills improve. (2006 Foreword: xv) Stories can organize, retain and assist students to access information. Stories help them store information in the brain. So, when students are taught speaking skills through story based activities, activities not only enrich their active and passive vocabulary but they also concentrate on the stress, intonation, pause and articulation of voice. When students get an opportunity to narrate a story in their own language, they can put the information stored in their brain into a meaningful text. This helps them to bring out the emotions, which provokes learning. Once the initial hitch of speaking in front of others is removed, the students become more comfortable in sharing their thoughts. Furthermore, when they see that their stories are valued, recognized and heard with interest, it gives them a confident stand. As substantiated by Sherry Norfolk, Jane Stenson and Diane William: Once students see that their stories are valued and recognize how their own tales connect to the stories of others, a metamorphosis takes place when that happens, the classroom no longer contains a teacher merely feeding students facts. It becomes a group of people communicating on a real level. You can be yourself; they can be themselves; and together you can take an amazing journey of self-discovery. (2006 Foreword: xii). Therefore, stories can help students develop a positive attitude towards learning process. They become more active, experience things directly and are able to express themselves in the way that best suits them. Stories not only improve their vocabulary, sentence formation, the use of tenses and verbs but also work positively on their fluency when they speak. Stories assist them to build up an overall personality of students as they are connected to the society directly, improving their communication. Enhancing Speaking Skills through Poetry Sara Holbrook and Michael Salinger writes the following to focus upon poetry as aid in learning language: Poetry is precise, visual language, action verbs, and sensory details. It’s of tremendous benefit to second language learners, even crucial to their full integration into the community. Poetry performance is learning to move to the rhythm of language. (2006: p-xiv). Poetry has always been very beneficial to enhance the language of the students. When I talk about language here, I would like to emphasize on the speaking skills. When students hear Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Jaspreet Gandhi, M.Phil. Using Literature to Foster Competence in Speaking

308

poetry in the class, they compare and contrast different point of views and develop understanding of significance of figurative language. In poetry words are chosen for their beauty and sound and then arranged in such a manner that they rhyme. Poetry is such a sophisticated literacy tool that it works on the moods and emotions of the students. They are able to express ideas that are meaningful to them without the constraints of grammatical accuracy. When they listen to poetry, it facilitates awareness of pronunciation, intonation and sentence flow. They practice specific language structures such as phrases, idioms, work order and verb tense. Teachers can have activity-based poetry classes to enrich the speaking skills. They can create an atmosphere for the students to be wholly involved in the activity by showing pictures to introduce the topic. Instead of reciting the poetry simply, teachers can have some kind of dramatization of the poetry. When students dramatize poetry, they will automatically be involved in it completely. Furthermore, they will talk about their response, share ideas and discuss the theme. This will enrich their confidence in speaking fluently. Poetry is indeed very effective. Sara Holbrook and Michael Salinger state: Using poetry to teach active listening strategies, clear expression, and the power of inflection, articulation, and gesture in effective communication is not only a convenient strategy, it is highly effective. (2006 preface: ix). Enhancing Speaking Skills through Drama Drama assists the students to concretely explore the mysteries of human communication. It offers ways for students to respond to and express their individual and shared understanding of a text. Students develop an active, interactive and reflective relationship with the text and they can respond to the text socially, emotionally, morally, physically, spiritually and culturally. Patrice Balbwin and Kate Fleming states: Drama as a multi-sensory medium can provide an experiential structure for exploiting text visually, auditory and kinaesthetically. Its participatory nature motivates and promotes effective emotional learning, which is the most easily remembered learning whilst at the same time providing intellectual stimulus. (2003: p- 5). When students work in dramatic contexts, they are offered the opportunity to use language as it is used in real life. Undoubtedly, drama enriches the spoken language. Through drama, students enhance the speaking skills and gain confidence as when they act and assume roles and interact in improvisation. They are more likely to remember the context they are learning because they are able to create and actively express the deeper meanings of that context through dramatization. They are also able to analyse and explain personal preference and construct meanings. It has been observed that in acquiring speaking skills through art forms, like drama, the students are also offered opportunities to learn more about themselves, others

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Jaspreet Gandhi, M.Phil. Using Literature to Foster Competence in Speaking

309

and the worlds in which they live and grow. As stated by Nan L. McDonald and Douglas Fisher: Simply put, learning with and through art enlivens instruction, increases student involvement and deepens both the meaning and memory of the learning at hand. (2006: p-2). Hence, when the students want to acquire proficient speaking skills, drama has always been of great help. When students enact a drama, they play certain roles, which might be close to what they see in the world around them or in history. It brings out their inner potential to think deeply and express their ideas. They are able to express themselves explicitly as they can relate to the characters; they try to give their best performance. Unconsciously, they are working on their imagination, vocabulary, sentence structure, stress, intonation and rhythm. The modulation of the tone is extremely important during dramatization. When students work on this, it automatically enhances their speaking skills. Furthermore, drama may bridge the gap between the text and real life. They are able to express their understanding of texts through drama involving the use and creation of images, movement and sound.: Drama activities creates a sense of shared ownership through which children can investigate and develop characters, fill the gaps left in the text, reveal the subtext, and use their imagination to bridge the divide between writer and reader, integrating and encompassing all aspects of literacy. (Patrice Baldwin and Kate Fleming 2003: p-5). Some Common Class Activities We, as teachers, can introduce some common activities based on prose, poetry and drama to enrich the speaking skills of the students. Some of these activities are listed below: Activity 1 To create an atmosphere of enthusiastic learning, teachers can ask the students to narrate stories which they might have heard earlier. In this manner students share their thoughts in an exhilarating manner. It enables them to form sentences, use good and appropriate vocabulary, share ideas and work on their speaking the language fluently. Activity 2 Teachers can ask any student to recite any poetry and ask the other students to observe the speaker and pick out the figurative phrases in the poetry. Figurative language always enriches the spoken language. When students recognize figurative devices and know where and how to use them, it will undoubtedly enhance their speaking skills. Activity 3

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Jaspreet Gandhi, M.Phil. Using Literature to Foster Competence in Speaking

310

Teachers can ask the students to enact any story, poetry or drama being taught in the class. Dramatization always bridges the gap between the course book dialogue and its natural usage. So, when students enact any particular story, poetry or drama, they speak out confidently with the correct usage of tense and verb. Activity 4 While enacting any drama, teachers can ask the students who are not enacting in the drama to pick out the grammatical errors made by the performers while performing their respective roles. This will help the participants as well as the non-participants to know their mistakes and correct them so that while speaking the same thing again, they are more vigilant. Activity 5 Teachers can conduct some kind of a quiz based on the story, poetry or drama. These questions should be asked orally. While answering the questions, the students are not only giving the answers but also checking their spoken language, as it gets those marks. Thus, we see that if we have an activity-based curriculum to teach language through literature, it can do wonders to the learning of speaking skills of the students. Conclusion Thus, my hypothesis in this paper is that literature is indeed a very authentic tool to impart speaking skills. If we look at every poem, story or drama as a mini-lesson, we as language teachers can use these little jewels to teach the spoken language to the students effectively so that they can communicate with a variety of audience and use it for different purposes. Nonetheless, it should be kept in mind that “the raft is not the shore” (Just a proverb). Literary tools should not be taken as ends in themselves ========================================================== References Baldwin, Patrice and Fleming, Kate. 2003. Teaching Literacy through Drama: Creative approaches. Routledge Falmer. London and New York. Web. Holbrook, Sara and Salinger, Michael. 2006. Outspoken: How to Improve Writing and Speaking Skills through Poetry Performance. Heinemann. Portsmouth. United States of America. Lazar, Gillian. 1993. Literature and Language Teaching: A Guide for Teachers and Trainers. Cambridge University press. Cambridge. Norfolk, Sherry and Stenson, Jane. William Diane. 2006. The Classroom: Applications across the Curriculum. Libraries Unlimited. Westport. U.S.A. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Jaspreet Gandhi, M.Phil. Using Literature to Foster Competence in Speaking

311

Nunan, D. 1991. Language Teaching Methodology. (Chapter 2 & 3). Patrice Hall International. U.K. McDonald Nan L., and Fisher, Douglas. 2006. Teaching Literacy through the Arts: Tools for Teaching Literacy. The Guildford Press. New York. Simpson, Paul. 2003. Language through Literature: An Introduction. Routledge. London. Smith, Michael W. and Wilhelm, Jeffery D.2010. Literary Elements- How to Teach What Really Matters about Character, Setting, Point of View and Theme. Scholastic Inc. U.S.A. ====================================================== Miss Jaspreet Gandhi, M.Phil. Graphic Era University Dehradun. 248001 Uttarakhand India [emailprotected]

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Jaspreet Gandhi, M.Phil. Using Literature to Foster Competence in Speaking

312

To Correct or Not to Correct Usual and Unusual Errors among Telugu Speakers of English S. Jayasrinivasa Rao, Ph.D. Abstract It is inevitable that learners make mistakes in the process of second language learning. However, what is questioned by English teachers is why students go on making the same mistakes even when such mistakes have been repeatedly pointed out to them. Not all mistakes are the same: some are too deeply ingrained to be corrected, others get corrected with ease. Teachers have come to realize that the mistakes learners make in the process of constructing a new system of language need to be analyzed carefully. In this respect, this article aims to classify errors committed by Telugu speakers of English so that these help us diagnose the learning problems at any stage of development. The errors can be categorized as omission, addition, selection and ordering errors in the domain of phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Some errors are largely global and hinder communication while others are local which do not prevent the message from being understood because of a minimal violation in a segment of a sentence. In this article, I also try to categorize errors according to their psycholinguistic sources of error, whether they stem from a first language transfer (interlingual) or from an inconsistent rule in the target language (intralingual). A close analysis of errors will thus help us (i) identify strategies learners use in learning English, (ii) identify sources of learner errors, and (iii) think of appropriate ways and activities to aid learning.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Jayasrinivasa Rao, Ph. D. To Correct or Not to Correct - Usual and Unusual Errors among Telugu Speakers of English

313

Teaching Engineering Graduates: My Experience I have been teaching in Aurora’s Scientific and Technological Institute since August 2004. Before joining the teaching stream, I worked as an editor for close to two and a half years and before that I was at CIEFL (now known as The EFL University), Hyderabad, completing my various research degrees. It was after I joined this college that I came into contact with the ‘real world,’ so to say. English is one of the subjects that is ‘taught’ in the first year B.Tech. course of the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Hyderabad. It is a ‘subject’ that is grudgingly ‘learnt’ by the students; a subject that is to be somehow tackled and passed. The arrival of liberalization and globalization in India has resulted in unprecedented changes in how people work and how work is done. It was realized that the existence of a large pool of English knowing/speaking population in India was one of the factors that had resulted in India becoming the world’s back office. Suddenly, English was in the limelight. MNCs and corporate houses insisted that fresh graduates had their English in its proper place. Learning ‘communication skills’ and ‘soft skills’ became the ‘in’ thing. JNTU then decided to revamp its English syllabus and included a ‘lab’ subject called ‘English Language Communication Skills’ in the first year of B. Tech. This included learning the sounds of English, stress, intonation, and ‘communication skills’ like group discussion, interview skills, presentation skills, telephonic conversation, information transfer, role play, prepared/unplanned speech, JAM sessions, etc. All these were supposed to equip engineering students with skills that would help them sail through the campus placement tests and interviews and sustain them through their professional life as software engineers (in most cases) or technical experts. The teaching of these skills presupposes the fact that the engineering students are able to read, speak, and write English, whether correctly or not. I was in a dilemma. My training and research in ‘cultural studies’ at CIEFL made me realize that ‘correct’ is a loaded and relative term. As a teacher of English, I had to make sure that my students learnt English – to speak, write and read ‘correctly.’ I decided to honour my professional duties and went about my job in as diligent a manner as possible. It was and continues to be a tough task – to make students understand that they have to learn to speak, write, and read English in an ‘acceptable’ manner. During this period, my ears picked up many variations and multiple usages of English as it was spoken by my students and colleagues. It was an unconscious exercise and I randomly jotted down the many departures, appearances, coinages, influences, etc., in their English. And I would try and correct these in my students’ speech and writing after informing them why a particular phrase or sentence would be termed ‘unacceptable.’ Some of my colleagues too bore the brunt of my ‘corrections.’ But old habits die hard. The difficult part was when I realized that this ‘speech’ gets endorsed from similar usage in popular culture, especially films, advertisem*nt hoardings, etc.; and from the speech of senior and experienced colleagues. Pedagogical Implications of Error Analysis I was a reluctant ELT student, even for the brief while that I had to ‘endure’ the subject and whatever was taught enthusiastically and learnt unwillingly, was soon carefully and successfully forgotten. So, in a sense, I hadn’t learnt how to ‘do ELT,’ and therefore, I would Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Jayasrinivasa Rao, Ph. D. To Correct or Not to Correct - Usual and Unusual Errors among Telugu Speakers of English 314

mostly be looking at this ‘English’ that I encountered, continue to live with, and most amusingly, slowly becoming part of, from a perspective which doesn’t have any fixed theoretical location. I could bring in some ELT or Applied Linguistics concepts to explain (mostly to myself) a particular aspect of this exercise; and I could also lean back to gain some support from my readings in Post-Colonial literature/theory, Cultural Studies, among other things. Most of the English teachers that I have encountered have a very negative attitude towards error and do not tolerate even a single one in their students’ writing or speech. All errors should be and are instantly corrected, with little thought about the students’ feelings or the need to communicate. Errors are corrected in red; as many as teachers can find. This is a rather futile exercise! Although teachers think they have been working hard enough trying to stamp the errors out of their students’ repertoire, spending much time and energy on error correction, their efforts rarely bear fruit and surprisingly the students also do not feel they have benefited from this exercise. On the contrary, students feel upset and demoralized. What is therefore required of the teachers is a deeper understanding of errors, their causes and their severity in communication. As language teachers, we need to be armed with some theoretical understanding of errors and be aware of what we are doing in the classroom. The questions we need to ask are:    

What do we learn from student errors? What kinds of errors should be corrected? Do all errors need to be corrected? When and how should we correct errors?

What do we learn from student errors? Interlingual Errors From the classification of errors that follows, we know now that all errors are not transfer errors, though such errors form a major part of the learner’s speech. The transfer errors in technical parlance are called interlingual errors and are signs that the learner is internalizing and is investigating the system of the new language. They occur at different levels, though most reflections of such errors are in the domain of phonology and syntax. For instance, pronouncing the sound /Ʒ/ as /ʤ/ or /z/ as in measure is an evidence of a feature of English which is absent in the mother tongue and therefore substituted with a known sound in the language. In the domain of syntax, word order poses a major problem, for instance, ‘why he came?’ which is a direct translation from enduku vochchadu (Telugu) or kyon aaya (Hindi). At the morphology, reduplicated forms are used in English for emphasis, like, big-big, heavyheavy, etc. Rather than treating them as bad irreversible habits, teachers need to know that many of these errors are community-based and do not seem to pose a major problem in communication, as long as they are speaking to people within the community. A purist would say, an error is after all an error, and errors should have no place in the student’s tongue. Mother Tongue Influence (MTI) that the entire enterprise of BPO is trying to find solutions for, is the most difficult to overcome. This is because perception of the sound has to precede articulation. In most situations students do not hear the difference and in such Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Jayasrinivasa Rao, Ph. D. To Correct or Not to Correct - Usual and Unusual Errors among Telugu Speakers of English

315

cases no attempt to remove MTI would work. It is almost like teaching somebody, who has absolutely no sense of rhythm to play the drums. Also, to bring it back to our discussion of what we know of errors, we need to mention here that rather than wasting precious class-time on accent neutralization, a lot could be done to improve students’ speaking and writing skills, skills that would be required in their future careers. Intralingual Errors We also now know that some errors are universal, and reflect learners’ attempts to make the task of learning and using English simpler. Such intralingual errors are common in the speech of second language learners, irrespective of their mother tongue. Most of these errors result from a faulty or incomplete learning of a target language rule, and when a fairly consistent rule in the language is applied to a new word or construction. In Type II errors, we present many such intralingual errors. For instance, in the use of words like conveniency and intelligency, what we find is the wrong use of the noun-making suffix ‘y,’ which is applicable to a whole set of words like efficiency, democracy, diplomacy, contingency, etc. What these intralingual errors show us is that learners know the noun making morpheme, and what they do not know is when it cannot be applied. Code Switching The third kind of error is when a target form is used in a first language structure or vice versa. One of the major contentions against code switching as legitimate language phenomena is that it is only those people who have a weak knowledge of a language who code switch. A good user of a language knows how to keep the two languages apart. Research in code switching has shown that it is good users who code switch, because what is necessary for a person to code switch is to know what part of speech, the code switched element or the construction belongs to, and then embed it in another language in the same space reserved for that construction in a sentence. Code switching is largely discoursal and fulfils a certain specific communicative function, and need not be treated as errors. Error Classification Presented below is a classification of ‘errors’ or ‘departures’ that I had heard, encountered, and collected during my continuing stint as a teacher. This three-way classification is on the basis of the source of error: (I have transcribed words and phrases from the Telugu language into English and I have indicated this with an uppercase T within brackets (T) after the word/phrase; similarly, in some places, I have also transcribed words/phrases from Hindi into English and have indicated this with an uppercase H within brackets (H) after the word/phrase.) Type I: Interlingual errors where the language used is a direct translation of the Telugu phrases or grammar. In second language learners this LI transfer is seen quite often. These errors have a tendency to get fossilized, if adequate corrective feedback or good language exposure is not available.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Jayasrinivasa Rao, Ph. D. To Correct or Not to Correct - Usual and Unusual Errors among Telugu Speakers of English

316

L 1 influence 1. Morphology influence  Wanta (from ‘kaavalaa’(T); aa – a question marker in L1 which is overgeneralized) 2.

Reduplication  Small-small (from chinna-chinna (T)); big-big (from pedda-pedda (T)); difficult-difficult; heavy-heavy

Grammar  Angry on me (for ‘angry with me;’ from ‘naa meeda kopanga unnadu(T),’ mere pe gussa hai (H); meeda and pe meaning on in T & H respectively) – phrase level error  What you want is near me (for ‘with me;’ from ‘naa deggara vundi (T),’ mere paas hai (H); deggara and paas meaning near in T & H respectively)  Why because (from ‘endukante’ (T), ‘kyon ki’ (H))  Now only (from ‘ippude’ (T), ‘abhi’ (H))  I am agree (from mein raazi hoon (H)) – verb/adjective confusion  He can able to (treating ‘can’ as a modal only ignoring the meaning – capacity, so a repetition of info) (from vaadu cheyyagaladu (T); woh kar sakta hai (H))  Come 8.30, 9.00 like that (translation into English of a typical usage in Indian languages referring to a non-fixed time frame) (from enimidinnara, tommidiki atla raa (T); saade aath, nau aise aao (H))

Type II: Intralingual errors are those which have nothing to do with overgeneralization from an LI form, but are those which are developmental and arise from an irregular pattern in the L2 (English). In English, we have ample evidence for a consistent/regular rule not applying to certain segments of the language. In such cases, learners identify the productive regular rule quickly and early and use it with any unfamiliar or new word they come across. The rule in effect is over-generalized. L2 irregular rule 1. Lexical errors  Backside (to mean ‘behind’ or ‘back of’; used widely across the country oblivious to the actual meaning of the word – e.g., write on the backside of this sheet)  Glamorous (for being stylish or dressing in a ‘modern’ ‘sophisticated’ manner – partial knowledge of the word)  Posh (for ‘rich and/or luxurious’ – partial knowledge of the word)  Serious (for ‘quiet and/or strict’ – partial knowledge of the word – The teacher is somewhat serious today)  Say/tell; fall/drop (I will say you later; transitive/intransitive equivalents)

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Jayasrinivasa Rao, Ph. D. To Correct or Not to Correct - Usual and Unusual Errors among Telugu Speakers of English

317

2.  3.             

Phonological hurry-burry (reduplication; like helter-skelter) Grammar errors Did not came (irregular morph) Proudy (overgeneralization of ‘–y’ – adverb marker) Hurted (‘I hurted’ instead of ‘I am hurt’ – over-generalized ‘–ed’ marker) Faculties (for ‘faculty members’; plural of ‘faculty,’ which is widely used as a term to mean ‘lecturer’ in a college) (over-generalized –ies plural marker) Commenting (for ‘passing comments’; in sentences like ‘He is commenting on me’) (over-generalized –ing form) He is feeling (for ‘he is feeling bad’; this looks all right in Telugu when it is said ‘vaadu ‘feel’ avuthunaadu’) (adjective drop; gives rise to tricky situations if not understood in context in sentences like – ‘please don’t feel’) Feeses (plural for ‘fees’(!); over-generalized ‘–es’ marker) Wantedly (for ‘deliberately’, ‘on purpose’; from Telugu ‘kaavalani’ [kaavali=want]) (over-generalized ‘–ly’ marker) Conveniency; intelligency (over-generalised ‘–y’ marker) I scared (for got scared/was scared) – detransitivitzing error Why are you afraiding? (for why are you scared/frightened [of approaching someone]) I don’t have that much dare (for I don’t have that much courage) They will catch me (from nannu pattukuntaaru (T); they will hold me responsible)

Type III: code switching errors, are those where an L1 word is embedded in the L2, most often consciously, for emphasis and effect, and are accepted by the L2 community in the region. 1.        

Code switching errors Self dabba (colloquial phrase for ‘blowing one’s own trumpet’ or in this case ‘tin drum’ – would have been ‘created’ for use in Telugu, but is extensively used while speaking English too) ‘Keep’ signature (to sign; from ‘sandakam pettali’ – pettu= keep/put) ‘Keep’ leave (to apply for leave; from ‘selavu pettali’ – pettu = keep/put) Show put up (colloquial phrase for ‘putting on a show,’ ‘outward show’) Mind absent (for ‘absent mindedness’) Waste fellow (for ‘good for nothing’) Jump (for ‘to elope,’ ‘to leave without informing anyone’ – the boy and girl jumped without telling anyone) Over-action (for ‘to do something with unnecessary exaggeration’ – the senior actor indulged in some over-action at the airport when he learnt that his flight was cancelled [taken from a Telugu news website report in English about a senior actor])

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Jayasrinivasa Rao, Ph. D. To Correct or Not to Correct - Usual and Unusual Errors among Telugu Speakers of English

318

What kinds of errors should be corrected? Learners, as we have mentioned earlier, are usually classified as ‘global’ and ‘local’ (Burt & Kiparsky, 1974), where the global errors are those which hinder communication, and local errors affect a single element in a sentence, and do not create problems in understanding the message. Since no teacher has time to deal with all the errors of all students, a hierarchy should be established for the correction of errors on the basis of the nature and the significance of errors. In such a hierarchy, priority should be given to errors that affect communication and affect understanding. If a teacher is able to classify errors as global and local, half the teaching burden would be reduced, and the teacher would have less error correction on hand. For instance, pluralization errors of the following type do not need to be corrected since the message is clear (* refers to an ungrammatical sentence, and the error is highlighted in bold. The correct sentence is given below.) (1)

a. *He gave me many useful advices. b. He gave me many pieces of useful advice.

Errors in pluralization and articles are less damaging than wrong use of tenses, word order, placement of appropriate connectors, and morphological errors in terms of the comprehensibility of the sentence. Here are some errors which hinder communication. (2)

a. *I was obligated to do the work. b. I was obliged to do the work.

In sentence (2a) the word obliged is replaced a back formed verb ‘obligated’ from the noun ‘obligation.’ This is a morphology driven error. In example (3a), we find the wrong use of a verb ‘confuse’ which is wrongly used in an intransitive construction. As a result, this sentence could be seen to mean ‘the boy confused somebody’ rather than ‘he got confused.’ (3)

a. *The text was difficult. The boy confused. b. The text was difficult. The boy got confused.

As teachers of English, it is therefore important that we prioritize the correction of global errors in order to develop the students’ communication skills. When and how should we correct errors? One of the questions language acquisition researchers have debated about is when and how errors should be corrected. Let us address ‘when’ first. It is now a commonplace understanding that in oral tasks, student mistakes during a fluent speech should not be corrected. Usually, the student gets a feedback about the error instantly in form of a giggle from the other students or a frown from the teacher. In most cases, that is sufficient feedback for the student to go back and revise what s/he has said. In other cases, it is important that we do not interrupt the line of thought and let the student complete what s/he has to say before trying to make him/her notice the mistakes. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Jayasrinivasa Rao, Ph. D. To Correct or Not to Correct - Usual and Unusual Errors among Telugu Speakers of English

319

It is also true, that any teacher, who corrects students often and interrupts them, makes them over-conscious and this hampers their flow of thought. The overcorrection on the part of the teacher has two consequences. One extreme is that learners over-emphasize the importance of grammar, so that the only thing they notice is the isolated sentences but not the whole unit of discourse; and the other extreme is that they focus too much on their ideas and leave the task of correcting errors to the teacher (Raimes, 1987). Nevertheless, whatever the results might be, the feedback from teachers always relates to the negative aspects of language: ‘Inaccurate!’ ‘Misleading!’ or ‘Inappropriate!’ Let us move on to the ‘how’ part of the question now. It is accepted now that student errors should not be corrected directly. Students should be told that they have made an error and be allowed to figure out the error they have made. One thing that we know from information processing models of language learning is that the more deeply and closely an item is looked at, the better are the chances of its becoming part of long term memory. Let me explain this in a simpler way. We have always told our students that ‘understanding’ is a better form of learning than ‘memorizing.’ Why? This is because, a deeper processing of information and a repeated endeavour to ‘figure out’ a problem leads to the item to be stored better in the brain. What also gets stored is the procedure or strategy that was followed. In language learning, when this theory is applied, it translates as the learners figuring out on their own what is wrong, and how it can be corrected. Pointing to the learner, the zone of error is enough as a stimulus to trigger thought processes. Teachers’ overwriting of student errors is of no use. We also know from research now that content correction is better than form correction, unless the lesson is on the teaching of grammatical form. Students expect feedback on their speech and writing but teachers often manage to confuse them with arbitrary corrections, over-emphasis on accuracy and pointing out hordes of spelling, punctuation, and article errors. What would be useful is to give feedback on the content, than the form. Teaching is not only about imparting skills but also inculcating right attitudes about speaking and writing. Correction and feedback should not create a lack of motivation and/or interest in writing. A Sort of Conclusion From what I have seen, the outlook of the teachers of technical subjects towards English is amusing, to say the least. They believe that English is not necessary for teaching technical subjects. Though this is true when we think of countries like Russia or Germany or China, where the medium of instruction is not English, we cannot escape English in India, be it for Technical Education or for any other modern formal professional education. In the initial days of joining this college, I was intrigued by the fact that most of the teachers of technical subjects ‘taught’ in English, but would switch over to Telugu while speaking to students or clarifying their doubts in class and interacting with them outside. I wondered how they ‘taught’ in English. It was much later that I realized that the ‘teaching’ part came directly from the textbooks of the respective subjects and was therefore in English and any ‘independent’ ‘outside’ explanation was in Telugu. It was as if the ‘textbook’ was being transmitted. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Jayasrinivasa Rao, Ph. D. To Correct or Not to Correct - Usual and Unusual Errors among Telugu Speakers of English 320

This phenomenon resulted in some interesting ‘views’ that most of the teachers of technical subjects held. One was that teachers of technical subjects need not be ‘good’ in English; they need only that much English to be able to teach in the class, and this English need not be grammatically correct. This view gets unconsciously transmitted to the students and most of them tend to follow this view. Therefore, more than making the students ‘learn,’ the English teacher has to make them ‘unlearn’ the ‘English’ that they unconsciously imbibe from what they hear in most of their other classes. An out of the box idea would be to conduct brief workshops for all the faculty members of the college and make them aware that they too are partners in this process of making students ‘industry ready’ (if not for any other reason!) and that ‘correct’ English will only add polish and style to their teaching skills, and a skill worth investing some time and energy in. The words, phrases, and sentences that I jotted down were not part of any research nor were the people who uttered them, my students and colleagues, respondents in any way. I don’t know who spoke what and when. So, the structure of this exercise is loose. Many English teachers in India would have encountered the deviations and variations that I have given here in some manner in their languages and would have more examples. And many more would encounter these for the first time here. The intention here is to give some kind of structure to analyse these errors and to try and see if some kind of ‘out of the way’ solution can be devised to make students understand that these are errors. An expanded and collaborative version can also serve as a kind of reference for students and teachers. This is an open ended project. ================================================================= Acknowledgements I wish to thank Brig. N P Sambhi, Director, Aurora’s Scientific and Technological Institute, for carefully reading the earlier draft of this paper and offering valuable comments. I also wish to thank Dr. Shruti Sircar, Reader, Department of Linguistics and Contemporary English, The EFL University, Hyderabad, for academic help during the writing of this paper and for teaching me some ELT-ish. I thank my colleagues and students at ASTI who provided most of the examples that I have used in this paper, and without whom this paper would have remained incomplete. The idea for and shape of this paper is entirely mine, and therefore, the credit for any gaps, misinterpretations, and other glitches that readers may encounter should also be given to me. ================================================================= References Burt, M, & Kiparsky, C. 1974. Global and local mistakes. In Schumann, J. H., and Stenson, N., (Eds.), New Frontiers in Second Language Learning. Rowley, MA: Newbury House. Raimes, A. 1987. Language proficiency, writing ability, and composing strategies: A study of ESL college student writers. Language Learning, 37(3): 539-567. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Jayasrinivasa Rao, Ph. D. To Correct or Not to Correct - Usual and Unusual Errors among Telugu Speakers of English

321

================================================================== S. Jayasrinivasa Rao, Ph.D. Professor of English Department of Humanities and Sciences Aurora's Scientific and Technological Institute Aushapur, Ghatkesar Hyderabad 501301 Andhra Pradesh India [emailprotected]

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Jayasrinivasa Rao, Ph. D. To Correct or Not to Correct - Usual and Unusual Errors among Telugu Speakers of English

322

Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M. Phil. (Pakistan) ============================================

Abstract The article starts with the introduction to the basic terms and phonetic correlates of nasalization. The second part is about the level of nasality in segments of Saraiki. Part three is a discussion about nasalization in Saraiki in which various phonotactics of Saraiki to manipulate the co-occurrence of nasalization with voicing & implosives have been explained. Part four is about the nature of word-medial nasals and the final part presents the analysis of the relation between contextual and independent nasalization. The article ends with the summary of the discussion in part 6. 1. Introduction & Background Nasals are segments specified as such according to their manner of articulation. If the air passes through the nasal cavity while a segment is uttered, such a segment will be called nasal. Nasality is the quality of nasal segments. It is the quality of being nasal or nasalized. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

Nasalization is a process in which segments spread and/or receive nasality. Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996) have defined the two terms in the following words: (1) “Only when a lowered velum is combined with a forward oral occlusion are members of the class of consonants we call nasals produced. Accompanying any other articulation a lowered velum produces a nasalized sound.” (p.135) The term ‘nasalization’ is used to mean ‘spread of nasality’. Independent, Contextual and Syntactic Nasalization are various types of Nasalization. Independent Nasalization is a term used with different meanings. (The term ‘Spontaneous Nasalization’ is also used as synonym of Independent Nasalization (Botma 2004:287)). Grierson (1922) used the term ‘Spontaneous Nasalization’ for the nasal vowels which perform phonemic function i.e. which make minimal pairs with oral vowels. The following pair illustrates Independent/Spontaneous Nasalization: (2) a. [cha:] ‘butter milk’ b. [cha:] ‘shade’ In (2b), the vowel is nasalized. But the origin of nasalization is not apparent on the surface. Grierson (1922) calls it ‘Spontaneous Nasalization.’ Bahri (1963, 1962), Varma (1936) and Shackle (1976), use the term ‘Independent Nasalization’ for it. Simply, it is a term used for nasalization found in nasal vowels. Contextual Nasalization is a kind of spread of nasality which is triggered by some nasalitybearer. The nasality-bearer in the context is normally a segment having nasality as its inherent property. As result of such spreading, oral segment(s) become(s) the target of nasality although nasality is not their inherent property. Such nasalization is called Contextual Nasalization as it only emerges out of context. The following example illustrates it better. (3) Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

‘insert’

a. [pa] b. Pa:+ υʌɳ >

p :υʌɳ] ‘insertion’

In (b) above, neither semivowel nor vowels have nasality as inherent property. They are oral segments. But due to [ɳ] (See appendix A for chart of Saraiki phonemes and symbols.), all the segments except [p] become nasalized. Thus nasalization of the vowels in the above case is contextual. Various terms have been used in literature for contextual nasalization like nasal spreading, anticipatory and carry-over nasalization, dependent nasalization, mechanical nasalization and phonetic nasalization etc. Contextual Nasalization normally does not change the meanings of words but the Independent Nasalization does as illustrated in the examples in (2) above. The nasality-bearer spreads nasality towards the edges of the word. This spread of nasality may be forwards or backwards or bidirectional. Backward spread of nasality is called Regressive Nasalization and forward spread is called ‘Progressive Nasalization.’ As regards the nature of spread of nasality, it may be segmental, syllabic and/or morphemic. Sometimes the spreading of nasality is blocked by some segments. The segments which get nasalized under the influence of spreading are called the ‘target’ of nasality and those which don’t nasalize are called ‘unaffected’ or ‘neutral’. The ‘unaffected’ segments are of two types; those which allow nasality to spread (skip over) are called ‘transparent’ and those which don’t allow nasality to spread or skip over them are called ‘opaque’. The behaviour of the segments to nasalization is language-specific. Possibly, a segment may be transparent to nasalization in one language and opaque in the other. However, the behaviour of the segments is determined on the basis of their articulation and sonority. The following is the scale of compatibility of segments with nasality/nasalization. (4) From minimum to maximum compatibility Obstruents →

Liquids

→

Glides →

Vowels

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

Obstruent stops are the most resistant and vowels are the most compatible to nasality. This is a relative scale of nasality. It means if a class of segments in a language is transparent for nasalization, then all groups of phonemes more compatible with nasalization must be transparent in the language (Walker 2000). Similarly, “if a segment blocks nasalization, all segments less compatible by the nasalization hierarchy will also block nasal spreading” (ibid:32). In phrases or continuous speech, sometimes nasality spreads from one word to the other. Such nasalization is called ‘Syntactic Nasalization.’ Among these various types, Contextual Nasalization is the most common phenomenon cross-linguistically. The following are the perceptual correlates of nasal/nasalized vowels. It is not necessary that all of the following correlates appear on the spectrogram of a nasalized vowel. The study of nasalization on spectrogram is considered to be a complicated exercise because all of the correlates of nasalization are not commonly apparent on the spectrogram. Thus just some of the following correlates are enough to verify nasalization in a vowel. 1. The formants of the nasal/nasalized vowels are comparatively lower than their oral counterparts (Johnson 2003:165, Ladefoged 2003:137, Pickett 1999:70-72) 2. The bandwidth of the formants of the nasal/nasalized vowels increases due to nasalization (Johnson 2003:165, Ladefoged 2003:137) 3. The formants of oral vowels are comparatively clearer than nasal/nasalized vowels (Johnson 2003:165). 4. The F1 of the nasalized/nasal vowels ‘tends to disappear’ or be fainter than that of the oral vowels (Ladefoged 2003:135-6) 5. Extra energy is noticed on the spectrogram of nasalized/nasal vowels (Ladefoged 2003:137) which sometimes distorts the formants. 6. Most of the modifications of nasalization are seen in the F1 region (Haywood 2000:162). 7. “Sharp dip in the spectrum of nasalized vowels” is another indication of nasalization (Haywood 2000:162). Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

8. Besides oral formants (F1o), more than one formants (anti-formants (A1) and nasal formants (Fn1)) are seen on the spectrograms of the nasal/nasalized vowels (Johnson 2003:164). 2. Levels of Nasality in Saraiki We can study a nasal segment from two angles; first, how much nasality it carries and second, to what degree it is receptive to nasality. We shall discuss nasality in consonants and vowels from these angles respectively. 2.1.

Vowels

In Saraiki, [i, a, u] are easy targets for nasality. It is observed on the basis of acoustic analysis of nasalized vowels that [a] is most receptive and the biggest carrier of nasality among all vowels in Saraiki and schwa on the other hand, is resistant and unaffected by nasality. The following example shows the opacity of schwa. (5) kʌm

‘work’

kʌm+a > [ kəma]

‘earn’

The case of [o] is a little different. It is transparent to regressive nasalization. But in progressive nasalization where other vowels become nasalized, it does not. Examples are given below: (6) a. si:n : ‘headcushion’ b. ka:n : ‘reed’ c. ɓʌn : ‘ridge’ d. a:no

‘bring’

The reason for such incompatible behaviour of vowels is the way they are uttered. Airflow, tongue position (Botma 2004:2 , Cohn 1990) and velic opening (Botma 2004:287, Walker & Pullum 1999) determine the level of nasality in a vowel. High vowels involve more pressure in nasal cavity (Clark, & Mackiewicz-Krassowska 1977) and low vowels involve more velic Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

opening. So normally both the high and low vowels are more nasalized than mid vowels 1. Various studies found that high vowels require far less velum opening for acoustic reflection of nasal coupling than the low vowels to acoustically reflect the equivalent amount of nasality (Hajek & Maeda 2000:60). Besides velum, tongue is another important organ which plays a significant role in the utterance of nasal vowels. The raised position of the tongue gives less margin to the velum to create a nasal opening, while the lowered position of the tongue provides more space to the velum for opening. That is why lower vowels have more nasalization (Hajek & Maeda 2000:57) and this is the reason for the low vowel [a] carrying maximum nasality in Saraiki. Thus we conclude that Quantum2 vowels (u:, i:, a) are more liable to nasalization in Saraiki. It means that receptivity to nasalization and vowel length are proportional to each other. Cross-linguistic studies (Hajek & Maeda 2000:57) particularly those on Indo-Aryan languages (for example Prasad 2008:136) also confirm the proportional relation between vowel length (duration) and nasalization. This is further reinforced by the fact that in Saraiki, while the long vowels receive maximum nasality and short (mid) vowels receive lesser amount of nasality, the shortest of the vowels i.e. schwa never nasalizes. Stress is also opaque to nasalization in Saraiki. The behaviour of Saraiki vowels in terms of nasalization is quite compatible with the standard trends in other languages of the world. Quantum vowels [i:, u:, a] are considered most nasalized crosslinguistically (Ladefoged & Maddieson 1996:298, 2001:18) and the vowels like [i,o,ə] are not as easy targets of nasalization (Piggott 2003, Capo 1983) as other vowels are. The opacity of stress is also verified in other languages like Guarani (Lunt 1973:132) and Brazilian Portuguese (Wetzels 1997) etc. 2.2.

Consonants

Within the class of nasal consonants, there is a difference of level of nasality. To determine the scale of nasality in the nasal consonants of Saraiki, we measured the amount of nasality

However, some cross-linguistic studies have also shown results contradictory to this claim (Hajek & Maeda 2000). 2 A term adopted from Roca & Johnson (1999:129)

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

transferred to a preceding vowel by nasals. For this purpose, we recorded and analysed 25 tokens of five words of CV1NV2 structure with [ʌ] in V1 place while we changed the N (nasal consonant) putting all nasals [m,n, ɲ, ŋ, ɳ] one by one in the word (See Appendix B for list of words.) On the basis of the level of nasality in V1, we found how much nasality a particular nasal spreads. The nasality of the vowel was determined on the basis of the study of F2. One of the acoustic expressions of nasality is that the F2 of a vowel lowers in the case of nasalization (Ladefoged 2003:137, Pickett 1999:70-72). So, the height of the F2 is in inverse proportion to the level of nasalization. We noted the frequency of the F2 of the same vowel [ʌ] preceding various nasals. The ANOVA verified the significance and reliability of the data. As per finding, the following is the scale of nasality in Saraiki based on the amount of nasality transferred by the nasal consonants to the preceding vowel: (7) From minimum to maximum m→ ɲ→

n→

ŋ→

This means [m] spreads the minimum amount of nasality to the adjacent vowel and [ɳ] spreads maximum nasality. In the first four nasals we see a harmonious pattern with reference to the place of articulation. The nasality increases as the point of articulation moves closer to the opening of the nasal cavity. However, retroflex seems incompatible to this pattern by spreading more nasality than velar nasal ŋ] which is rather closer to the opening of the nasal cavity. The behaviour of [ɳ] in this regards is distinctive. This distinctive behaviour of [ɳ] is due to manner of articulation. All the other nasal phonemes given in (7) are stops [ɳ] is retroflex. Thus we conclude that the manner of articulation plays a major role in increasing the nasality of the retroflex. If the manner of articulation is similar among segments (as in the case of first four segments in the scale in (7)), the distance of the point of articulation to the opening of nasal cavity determines the level of nasality. In that case, the segment with a point of articulation closer to the opening of nasal cavity carries more nasality. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

3. Behaviour of Nasals in Saraiki In Saraiki, nasalization plays a very important role. Eight of its ten vowels have oral/nasal contrast at phonemic level. Besides causing oral/nasal contrast at phonemic and morphemic level, nasalization also spreads in the context originating from a nasal phoneme. In such cases nasalization becomes a secondary articulation spreading backwards and (sometimes) forwards. We have gone through the phonological inventories of 31 Indo-Aryan languages described in Cardona & Jain (2007) and found that Saraiki is one of those rare languages of the family which has the maximum number of nasal phonemes. Retroflexion is an important feature in the Indo-Aryan family of languages. In Saraiki there are retroflex consonants which have oral/nasal contrast. [ɳ] and [ɳh] are nasal counterparts of ț] and țh]. [ɳ] has got special status among the nasals. It is voiced retroflex nasal which occurs in both aspirated (breathy voiced) and un-aspirated forms. With vowels and with voiced retroflex phonemes nasalization creates minimal pairs. In Saraiki, oral retroflex [ț, țh] and nasal retroflex [ɳ, ɳh] are similar in all respects except the oral/nasal contrast. This results in the formation of a minimal pair as illustrated below: (8) [ʌɳ]

‘prefix for antonyms’

[ʌț ]

‘cover’

[υa:țha:]

‘young ox’

[υa:ɳh :]

‘plough’

3.1.

Voicing and Nasality in Saraiki

In Saraiki, nasals normally precede voiced segments because voiced stops show a ‘discontinuity, lowering of amplitude during disclosure and termination into a sudden burst’ (Ohala and Ohala 1991). All these physiological gestures are compatible with nasal leakage. But they are not compatible with a voiceless segment. Thus the examples of occurrence of nasal with voiceless segments are less frequent cross-linguistically (Peng 2000:78). However, Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

nasals followed by voiceless consonants are found in Hindi/Urdu languages which are the languages of the same family as Saraiki. This means that the distribution of nasal followed by voiceless consonants is language specific. Saraiki manages to denasalize segments in such a context, as illustrated in the following examples3: (9) Urdu/Hindi

Saraiki

Meaning

[ʌkh]

‘eye’

[pʌkha]

‘fan’

s p]

[sʌp]

‘snake’

u:c]

[uc]

‘height’

s c]

[sʌc]

‘truth’

kh] [pʌkha]

The above examples are words of the same origin. Urdu and Hindi accept a nasal followed by a voiceless consonant which is apparent from the set of words in first column. Saraiki normally avoids such combinations, so a process of denasalization occurred in the words in column 2 above.4 Interestingly, Saraiki also has a tendency to nasalize the oral phonemes. Sometimes Saraiki uses another phonotactic to manipulate such situations. It nasalizes oral vowels and adds voicing in the segments to satisfy the constraint against co-occurrence of voiceless segments and nasality. The tendency of co-occurrence of nasalization and voicing in Saraiki is also apparent from the treatment of loanwords in Saraiki. Saraiki uses nasalization as a phonotactic to indigenize loanwords. Many English, Hindi, Arabic and Persian words have been adopted by Saraiki with an additional nasalization which does not exist in these words 3

Most of the Indian linguists claim that the origin of almost all Indo-Aryan languages is Sanskrit. But many researchers (Mehr 1967, Dil 1969 etc) disagree to this idea. They use the term ‘Proto-Indo-Aryan’ for the language which gave birth to most of the languages of the Subcontinent. 4 Another important difference in this set of data is that whereas Urdu/Hindi uses long vowels, Saraiki is inclined to use short vowels in monosyllabic words. This is because long vowels are universally more compatible with nasalization (see section 2.1)

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

in the donor languages. Along with nasalization, voicing is also sometimes added to the adjacent voiceless segments. 3.2.

Implosives and Nasals in Saraiki

Saraiki has implosive segments at the point of articulation of stops. These implosives are voiced. We have already determined that nasalization is compatible with voicing. Implosives are not as much resistant to nasality as obstruents are (Clements & Osu 2003:70). Despite all this, nasals don’t occur with implosives in Saraiki. Nasals denasalize if an implosive is added to them as a suffix. This is illustrated below: (10) a. [k ] ‘who’ k +ɗa > [k ɗa] ‘whose’ b. [m ] ‘I’ m + ɖa> [m ɖa] ‘mine’ c. [ʈ ] ‘you’ ʈ + ɖa> [ʈ ɖa] ‘your’

[ɗa] and [ɖa] which mean ‘of’ are suffixes. ɗ] is plosive and [ɖ] implosive. The vowel

] at

the end of the stem is inherently nasal. In (a), the addition of [ɗ] (a voiced plosive) does not have any effect on the nasality of the vowel. But in (b-c), when an implosive is added, the preceding nasal vowel is denasalized. It shows the incompatibility of nasalization with implosives. The idea is further reinforced when we study the dialectal differences in such words.

(11) Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

Northern Dialect(Jhang District)

Southern Dialect (Muzaffar Garh District) [m ɖa]

[m da]

[ʈ ɖa]

[ʈ da]

The above data show the dialectal variation between northern and southern varieties of Saraiki. In the northern dialects, these words are uttered with [d] a plosive stop while in southern dialects these are uttered with [ɖ] an implosive stop. In northern variety, word-final nasal vowels in the stem retain nasality after a suffix (plosive stop) is added. But the same nasal vowels in column 2 are denasalized as they are followed by an implosive. This shows the incompatibility of implosives with nasalization. The reason for this incompatibility of implosives with nasals may be found in the articulation of implosives. As implosives are uttered as a result of ‘greater than average amount of lowering of larynx’ (Ladefoged & Maddieson 1996:82), the whole process of airstream is reversed from the larynx, while eggressive airstream is required for nasalization (Piggott 1992:40).

Physiologically,

simultaneous

airflow

opposite

directions

seems

unnatural/impossible. Consequently, the nasal vowels adjacent to implosives are denasalized. Perhaps this is why ‘nasal implosives’ are ‘not known to occur in human languages’ (Ladefoged & Maddieson 1996: 102). The phonological inventory of Saraiki shows that it has implosive, plosive and nasals at the same point of articulation. Saraiki has these three types of segments at different points of articulation. Nasals make natural clusters with hom*organic plosive voiced stops but not with implosives. Although implosives are voiced as well as hom*organic with the nasals, no hom*organic nasal+implosive clusters exist in Saraiki at all due to the reasons discussed above. 3.3.

Word- medial Nasalization in Saraiki

In Saraiki, word-medial inherently nasalized vowels are normally followed by a stop. Following are examples

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

(12) [υʌd] ‘division’ [kʌd] ‘back’ According to the traditional point of view the underlying structure of the words of C C structure is CVNC and that the surface structure which is C C is the result of regressive assimilation occurring in two stages simultaneously, namely the spread of nasality and that of place node. In NC clusters occurring in coda position, N takes its place from the following C. Thus in the CVNC structure, the word-final C spreads the place node to the preceding N which spreads nasality to its preceding vowel because regressive nasalization is mandatory in Saraiki. Saraiki has hom*organic nasals with stops in place of articulation. Every stop in the language has a corresponding nasal at the same point of articulation. So it is easier to get NC clusters of the nasals and stops with the same place of articulation. The following figure by Goldsmith reflects such assimilation according to Autosegmental phonology: (13) Place Assimilation (+Nasal) X

(α P of A) (Goldsmith 1990: 285) (P of A= Place of Articulation) Thus all the nasalized vowels in such contexts are followed by stops. A question arises whether the nasalization of the vowels in such context is inherent or a result of spreading of the nasal feature. On the basis of the underlying structure, it seems to be a secondary articulation, but surface representation shows that it is an inherent feature of the vowels, as Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

vowels in such context make minimal pairs on the basis of oral/nasal contrast. On the basis of synchronic surface representation these vowels are considered inherently nasal in Saraiki. Following examples illustrate the phonemic contrast in such cases; (14) g ɗi:] ‘duet’ s ɗh]

[giɗi:]

‘name of a river/province’

s ɗh]

‘take’ ‘straightness’

4. Contextual and Independent Nasalization Traditionally, it is considered that Independent Nasalization is the result of N deletion. A nasal in VN context deletes but it leaves its nasality behind to the preceding vowel (Hajek 1997). The process occurs predictably as shown below: (15) VN → Some linguists (See Hajek 1997) are of the opinion that this process occurs in stages as illustrated below: (16) VN → N → These are stages of change from Contextual to Independent Nasalization. The first stage is that of Contextual Nasalization. The nasality spreads from N to V in VN context due to phonetic reasons. The process of such Contextual Nasalization is considered ‘mechanical’ and ‘unintended’ (Sole 1992). Later on, as a result of historical process, the N disappears but nasality remains on the surface. Thus in a sense Independent Nasalization is the next phase of a historical process the earlier phase of which is Contextual Nasalization as discussed above. Next is the stage of lexicalization of nasalization. After the origin of nasality i.e. the nasal segment disappears (VN changes into

), the nasalization is realised as an independent

feature of the language. Now it becomes lexicalized, a process also called ‘phonologization’. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

The phonologization now gives nasality a distinctive independent status. It becomes a particular feature with its distribution like other features such as voicing or aspiration. Using the language of Sole (2007:308), when vowel nasalization is dissociated from the conditioning environment (VN), it becomes part of the ‘programming instructions’ for the vowel. At this stage the nasalization of the vowel becomes intrinsic. The same diachronic process presumably happened in Saraiki. After the nasalization became part of inventory of the language, (after it was phonologized), it started playing a phonemic as well as morphemic role. The process must have initially triggered in the phonetically conditioned context but later as a result of phonologization, when it had lexicalized, it did not need a particular phonetically conditioned environment. The following list of words reproduced from Bahri (1962) indicates the diachronic process of N-deletion and vowel nasalization in Saraiki5: (17) Saraiki words

Sanskritic Forms

bh ]

‘earth’

‘bhome’

m dh]

‘base, trunk’

‘bundhna’

‘division’

‘vʌɳʈaʈi’

s giț]

‘shrink’

‘sʌŋkutaʈi’

[sʌgh]

‘throat’

‘∫ʌŋkha’

[sʌ :]

‘master’

‘svamin’

[ɗhu:]

‘smoke’

‘dhuma’

‘itching disease’

‘pama’

[υʌd]

p ]

We find lot of difference between the behaviour of Independent and Contextual Nasalization. 5

This does not necessarily mean that Saraiki language originated from Sanskrit. It is only an illustration of how Saraiki and Sanskrit treated the vocabulary taken from the Pro-Indo-Aryan language.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

Phonologically, the most significant difference between the two is that Contextual Nasalization does not change the meanings of words while Independent Nasalization does. For the purpose of further confirmation of the difference between two types of nasalization, we studied the difference on phonetic level. Thus for comparative analysis of the acoustic properties of the two types of nasalization, we got 40 spectrograms of 8 words (5 spectrograms per word) carrying oral vowels and vowels with Contextual and Independent Nasalization (See list of words in Appendix C). Significant differences between the two types of nasalization were noted in this analysis which substantiated our view about the solid difference between Contextual and Independent nasalization in a word-medial nasalized vowels. The following pair of spectrograms is presented as a specimen.

a. Spectrogram of [ɖ g] ‘heavy stick’ Nasalization

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

b. Spectrogram of p n] Nasalization

A very significant difference between the spectrograms of p n] and ɖ g] is that the nasalization in the vowel in the word p n] which is contextual is apparent in the right end of the formant of the vowel in the shape of distortion (pointed out by an arrow). On the other hand, in the formant of the spectrogram of

] in the word ɖ g], the nasalization reflected

through lowering of the formant (pointed out by an arrow), seems to start in the beginning of the formant. It shows that nasality in the word p n] is spreading backwards (regressive nasalization) from the following adjacent [n]. But in case of nasalization seems an inherent feature of

] in the word ɖ g], the

]. According to the prediction of (16-17) above,

the underlying structure of the word [ɖ g] is CVNC. If it were only Contextual Nasalization spreading regressively from the following N to the preceding V, there would have been no difference between the spectrograms of the two vowels given above. Hence, the acoustic difference in the two types of vowels gives a clue that the acoustic nature of Contextual Nasalization is different from that of Independent Nasalization and that the nasalization found in the vowel in the word [ɖ g]. When Contextual Nasalization changes into Independent Nasalization, it transforms from a secondary to a primary feature. The difference in spectrograms further supports this and indicates that the acoustic nature of the segments is also changed with the categorical change in the nature of the feature of segments. The following words of Ploch (2003) reinforce our point of view: Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

(18) “…as long as the source of a nasalization process, the nasal stop, can be detected (perceptually), the nasalization in the target following nasalized vowel can be weak. However, if the source is undetectable, nasalization in the target is strong.” (p.91) These words have been used to explain Kawasaki’s (1986) point of view about nasalization. However, the same is true about regressive nasalization in Saraiki. In the above spectrograms when the source of nasality is known, (the [n] in the word [pan] exists on the surface) the nasality is weak. But in case of [ɖ g] when the apparent source of nasality is not apparent on the surface, the nasality becomes stronger, which is apparent in the spectrograms given above. Traditionally, it is considered (See Hajek 1997) that inherently nasalized vowels are result of a diachronic process of N-deletion. Vowel lengthening called ‘Compensatory Lengthening’ (Hajek 1997) is also considered the ultimate result of N-deletion. But we find short inherently nasalized vowels in Saraiki as well as in Urdu and Hindi. In the cases of word-medial position, it is difficult to comment as the nature of structure is controversial. Ohala and Ohala (1991) consider there is an epenthetic nasal in such structures, Goldsmith (1990) calls it placeless nasal licensed by the following obstruent and Piggott (2003) claims that Nasals in such context have their own place and they license the place of the following obstruent. Thus, in word-word medial nasalization, a unanimous point of view may not be developed with reference to the theory of ‘N-deletion’ and ‘Compensatory Lengthening.’ But there is absolute unanimity among the linguists about the nature of nasalized vowels word-finally that they are the result of N-deletion and that Compensatory Lengthening is the ultimate result of this process. In the light of this theory, there does not seem to be any sound justification for the presence of short nasal vowels word-finally as given below: (19) [p ]

‘you are lying’

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

Why could the word-final nasal vowel not lengthen after N-deletion in such cases? Ohala & Ohala (1991) think that once such vowels were lengthened and later on, they were shortened. They support their view by quoting examples of free variation between such Hindi/Urdu words as: (20) c ɗ] ~ [cʌɗa] However, similar examples may not be found in all such cases. There are lots of Saraiki words with short nasal vowels which may not be justified any way. Thus the short nasal vowels in Saraiki are a phenomenon which conflicts with the general prediction of the theory of N-deletion and Compensatory Lengthening. Another important point is the contrast between nasal consonants and nasal vowels illustrated below: (23) a. [ch ]

‘shade’

b. [ch ɳ]

‘upper layer of wheat grains’

How can we account for this contrast? If the nasalized vowel in (a) above is the result of Ndeletion, why could the nasal consonant in the word in (b) not delete? If the nasal consonant in the end of the word in (b) is the result of later epenthesis (as Ohala and Ohala (1991) claim), why did the same process of N-epenthesis not happen with the word in (a)? A detailed study of the diachronic process of transformation the nature of nasalization from Contextual to Independent nasalization may provide the answer to these questions. But that is the job of historical linguists. However we can assume that the process of nasalization of vowels must have been triggered by some N which deleted, lengthening the preceding vowel. But after the nasalized vowels became part of phonological inventory, they started behaving as independent segments. They were no longer context dependent.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

It is at this stage that nasalization does not remain secondary articulation only. It becomes an independent phonological feature of the language. Its status in the language becomes like voicing or aspiration creating contrast in vowels (short and long). Now ‘nasality is viewed as one of the underlying feature of the vowels on a par with round] or back]’ (Paradis & Prunet 2000:340). It is analogous to the process which predictably triggered the emergence of ŋ] sound. ŋ] came into existence as a result of synthesis of [ng] but after it had come into being it started functioning as a separate sound and not merely an orthographic representation of [n+g] sounds. Though it has limited occurrence as compared to the [n] or [g] it is an independent member of phonological inventories of languages. Similarly nasality has become an independent feature of the inventory of the languages having oral/nasal contrast providing justification for including the spontaneously/ independently nasalized vowels among the class of nasal phonemes in Saraiki. Thus we conclude that the diachronic process of N-deletion and Compensatory lengthening does not alone account for or determine the behavior of nasal vowels. It is rather more helpful to determine the overall behavior of nasal segments in Saraiki, taking nasalization as a synchronic feature in the phonological inventory of a language. The acoustic difference between Contextual and Independent Nasalization also supports this idea that although Independent Nasalization is diachronically, a result of the process of Contextual Nasalization, synchronically it has its own independent status. In other words the nasal vowels make part of the phonological inventory of Saraiki language. However, the issue needs further research6. 5. Summary In this article we tried to determine the behavior of vowels and consonants of Saraiki towards Nasality. We saw that vowel length is proportional to nasality. Thus long vowels are more receptive to nasality than the short ones. In case of nasal consonants, [m] is the least and [ɳ] is the biggest carrier of nasality. According to our finding, it is the manner of articulation that determines the level of nasality in a phoneme. And retroflex sounds carry more nasality than obstruents. If the manner of articulation is same, then it is place of articulation which determines the level of nasality. In such a case, the closer the point of articulation of the 6

Also see Ploch (2003).

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

consonant to the velo-pharyngeal opening, the more nasality it will carry. We also discussed the relations of nasality with voicing and implosives by quoting examples of compatibility of voicing and incompatibility of implosives with nasality. Assimilation is one of the major phonotactics used by Saraiki language to deal with the word-medial nasalization. Finally, we discussed the relation between Contextual and Independent nasalization synchronically and concluded by forwarding a hypothesis about the diachronic process of nasalization in Saraiki.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

Appendix A: Consonants of Saraiki MOA/POA

Voiced Aspiration

Plosive

Velar

Palatal

Retroflex

Dental

Labial

ʈh

ɟh

ɗh

Implsosive

Fricative

∫

Nasal

Glottal

Laterals

Semivowels

z ɲ

ɲh

ɳh

țh

Flaps

ɣ ŋ

υh

Appendix B To compare the levels of nasality of various consonants the following five words were recorded. Each of the following words was recorded five times. In this way 25 tokens were Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

taken in all. [ ʈʌm ] for m] [kʌn ] for n] [ υʌ ɲ ] for ɲ] [kʌɳ ] for ɳ] [cʌŋ ] for ŋ] Appendix C To compare Contextual and Independent Nasalization 40 tokens of the following words (each word five times) were recorded and compared: [lu:]

l :]

[l :ɳ]

[pa]

p ]

p υ ɳ]

[ɖ g]

p n]

Bibliography Bahri, H. (1963) Lahndi Phonetics :with special reference to Awanki, Allahabad (India), Bharati Press Prakashan Bahri, H. (1962) Lahndi Phonology :with special reference to Awanki. Allahabad (India), Bharati Press Prakashan. Botma, B. (2004). Phonological Aspects of Nasality: An Element-Based Dependency Approach, Utrecht, The Netherlands, LOT Trans 10 3512 JK. Cardona, G. & Jain, D. Editors (2007) The Indo-Aryan Languages, London & New York, Routledge.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

Clark, W.M. & H. Mackiewicz-Krassowska (1977) ‘Variation in Oral and Nasal Pressure Levels of Vowels in Changing Phonetic Contexts’ Journal of Phonetics 5:195-203 Clements, G.N. & Osu, S. (2003) ‘Ikwere Nasal Harmony in Typological Perspective’ In Patrick Sauzet & Anne Zribi-Hertz (eds.), Typologie des langues d'Afrique et universaux de la grammaire. Vol. II. Paris: L'Harmattan. 2003. pp. 70-95 Dil, A.S. (1969) ‘Linguistic Studies in Pakistan’ in Currents in Linguistics 5:679-735 Goldsmith, J.A. (1990) Autosegmental and Metrical Phonology, New York, Blackwell. Grierson, G. (1922) ‘Spontaneous Nasalization: Indo Aryan Languages’. Journal of Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, pp 381-388 Hajek, J. (1997) Universals of Sound Change in Nasalization, Oxford, Blackwell. Hajek, J. & Maeda, S. (2000) ‘Investigating Universals of Sound Change: The Effect of Vowel Height and Duration on the Development of Distinctive Nasalization’ in Broe & Pierehumbert (editors) Papers in Laboratory Phonology V: Acquisition and the Lexicon, CUP Haywood, K. (2000) Experimental Phonetics, London, Longman. Johnson, K. (2003) Acoustic and Auditory Phonetics, Oxford, Blackwell Kawasaki, H. (1986) ‘Phonetic Explanation for Phonological Universals: The Case of Distinctive Vowel Nasalization’ in J. J. Ohala & J. J. Jaeger (editors), Experimental Phonology, Orlando, FL: Academic Press, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Ladefoged, P. (2003) Phonetic Data Analysis: An Introduction to Fieldwork and Instrumental Techniques, Oxford, Blackwell. Ladefoged, P. & Maddison, I. (2001) ‘Vowels of the World’s Languages’ in Kriedler, (editor), Phonology: Critical Concepts, London, Routledge. Ladefoged, P. & Maddieson, I. (1996), The Sounds of the World’s Language, Oxford, Balckwell. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

Mehr, Abdul Huq (1967). Siraiki zaban aur us ka Urdu say taaluq. (Urdu).(Multani Language and its Relation with Urdu), Bahawalpur (Pakistan), Urdu Academy. Ohala, J. (1990) ‘There is no interface between phonetics and phonology: A personal view.’ Journal of phonetics 18:153-171 Ohala, J.J. & Ohala, M. (1993). ‘The Phonetics of Nasal Phonology: Theorems and Data’ In Huffman, M. & Krakow, R.A. editors, Phonetics and Phonology: Nasals, Nasalization and the Velum volume 5, London, Academic Press, pp225-250 Ohala, J.J. & Ohala, M. (1991) ‘Nasal Epenthesis in Hindi’ in Phonetica 48: 207-220 Paradis, C.S. & Prunet (2000) ‘Nasal Vowels as Two Segments: Evidence form Borrowings’ in Language 76 (2):324-357 Pickett, J.M. (1999) The Acoustics of Speech Communication: Fundamentals, Speech Perception Theory and Technology. Boston : Allyn and Bacon. Peng, L. (2000) ‘Nasal Harmony in Three South American Languages’ in International Journal of American Linguistics 66:76-97 Piggot, G.L. (2003) ‘Theoretical Implication of Segmental Neutrality in Nasal Harmony’ in Phonology 20:3 pp 375-424 Piggot,G.L.(1992) ‘Variability in Feature Dependency’ in Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 10 (1):33-77 Ploch, S. (2003) ‘Can ‘phonological’ nasality be derived from phonetic nasality?’ in Jeroen van Weijer, Vincent J. van Heuven & Harry van der Hulst (editors) The Phonological Spectrum Volume:1 Segmental Structure, Amsterdam/Philadelphia, John Benjamins Publishing Company, pp 73-118 Prasad,S. (2008) Magahi Phonology: A Descriptive Study, New Delhi (India), Concept Publishing Company. Roca, I. & Johnson, W. (1999) A Course in Phonology, Oxford, Blackwell Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

Shackle, C. (1976) The Siraiki Language of Central Pakistan: A Reference Grammar, London, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Sole, Maria-Josep Editor, (2007) Experimental Approaches to Phonology, Oxford, OUP. Sole, Maria-Josep. (1992) ‘Phonetic and Phonological Process. The Case of Nasalization’ in Language and Speech 35:29-43 Varma, S. (1936) ‘The Phonetics of Lahnda’. Journal of Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, letters, ii, pp. 47-118. Walker, R. (2000) Nasalization, neutral segments, and opacity effects, New York, Garland. Walker, R. & Pullum,G. (1999) ‘Impossible Segments’. Language 75:764-780. Wetzels, W.L. (1997) ‘The Lexical Representation of Nasality in Brazilian Portuguese’ in Probus 9:203-232 =================================================

Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M. Phil. (Pakistan) Assistant Professor of English Lasbela University of Agriculture (LUAWMS), Uthal, PB No. 90150, Balochistan, Pakistan [emailprotected]

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Syed, Nasir A. R., M.A. (UK), M.Phil. (Pakistan) Nasals and Nasality in Saraiki

Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar ===================================================== Abstract Active and proactive characteristics of Physiological Needs are the greatest wealth of stimulation. It is concluded that when anyone fills his needs, the foremost effects of those needs are called active characteristics, but after quenching those needs, the final or end effects/ results are called proactive characteristics of those needs. There is an urgent need to explore the characteristics of human needs which are the complete reflection of active and proactive characteristics of human behavior, attitude, aptitude and habits etc. The needs stimulate a body from cradle to grave. These needs are so overlapped they cannot be separate easily. The net of these needs is very complicated, it cannot be understood. They are different in coloring, glowing, intensity and potency. Their scarcity, dearth and their excess can create restlessness, anxiety, worries and frustration. These are the basic needs which are called fundamental needs of a body. They build the Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 June 2012 Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs

348

character, behavior, attitude and aptitude of the personality. Their dearth can ruin the human beings as well as other beings. There excess also can create destruction in the world. Every need of physiological needs is the storage of energy. This power can dominate the whole body, world and the universe. Basic needs are the essential part of a body. They provide energy, light and life to all the beings. The people, who share the needs to be fulfilled of one another, feel relationship with one another. They establish harmony and brotherhood. These needs are the sum of thousands characteristics. They stimulate a body to continue its struggle for life. They have everlasting traits. They also have their own mobility, gravity, Perennials, novelty, erection, eternity, restoration, sensuality, duplicity. They teach how to get, eat, feel, search, and find the required needs and how to fulfill them. They also give the perception of thankfulness. These characteristics of needs establish the habits, conduct and attitudes and aptitude of the beings. They are derived from the review of related literature and from their own properties.

Key words: Characteristics of Physiological Needs

Introduction With the expansion of knowledge, the Physiological Needs also open an ample page of characteristics which have their own standard, potency, intensity and efficiencies. These traits also have their own active & proactive characteristics which cannot be measured or calculated so easily. It also seems impossible to make the lists of these characteristics of needs because Physiological Needs are the sum of hundreds and thousands of elements which have billions of characteristics and effectiveness. Their characteristics are so interrelated and interconnected, that they cannot be segregated from each other This article will reveal the purity, entity, eternity, morality, stability, reliability, novelty, richness, freshness, aliveness, uniqueness, fairness and worth of the characteristics of physiological needs. This article will also describe the supply, availability, non-availability and fulfillment of physiological needs. This will also clear that there should be equity, equality, accuracy, accountability and justice to fill the physiological needs. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 June 2012 Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs

349

It is also declared that as far as my knowledge and information goes, neither any active & proactive characteristics of Physiological Needs have been discussed, nor calculated so far. It is also concluded that when anyone fills his needs, the foremost effects of those needs are called active characteristics, but after quenching those needs, the final or end effects/ results are called proactive characteristics of those needs, e.g. “When a drinker or an eater began to drink or to eat something, he will try to judge its Smell, color, freshness, aliveness, coldness, hotness, goodness and taste. Thus these are the traits which are called active characteristics of those needs. But after the Fulfillment of those needs, the final or end effects of those needs like as, energy, intoxication, aliveness or destruction are called proactive characteristics of those needs.’ There is an urgent need to explore the characteristics of human needs which are the complete reflection of active & proactive characteristics of human behavior, attitude, aptitude and habits etc. . Review of Related Literature The most basic, powerful and obvious of all human needs is the need for physical survival. Included in this group are the needs for good drink, oxygen, activity, sleep, and sex, protection from extreme temperature and sensory stimulation and shelter to sit or live in. Maslow (1970:37) stated that these physical or physiological drives are directly concerned with the biological maintenance of the organism and must be gratified at some minimal level before the individual is motivated by higher-order needs. But another way, a person who fails to satisfy this basic level of needs won’t be around long enough to attempt to satisfy higher level needs. Lester D. Crow and Alice Crow (1956:128) related that a need for food leads to the hunger drive, although the hunger drive does not necessarily become stronger as the intensity of the food increase. Water, oxygen, sex and security of body is very essential. The two lowest orders of needs can be satisfied by goals that sustain life such as shelter and water, and provided protection from physical or psychological threat, until these needs have been met. People cannot be motivated toward higher level goal (Bryce B. Hudgins and his associates, 1983:394). Breckenridge (1960: 192-193) stated that "home is a place where the child’s physical and psychological needs are met. It feeds, clothes and protects. He also commented that the energy requirements for 14+ to Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 June 2012 Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs

350

16+ year youth are, in terms of calories 3200 to 3500 per day but this amount of energy varies from individual to individual. This sufficient food (with minerals, vitamins, proteins carbohydrates and fats) is available and the child is well and has a good appetite, he will meet his energy needs. Ann Miles Gordon (1989:114) concluded that "the humanists would strongly advocate a school breakfast or lunch program and support regular rest and nap times in programs with long hours". Deanna J. Sands (2000:278) stated that "in inclusive classrooms, school professionals attend to the physical and health needs of their students through the way they design the classroom environment as safety features, lighting, seating arrangements and temperature are very necessary". Jan H. Stubble and his associates (2004:128) analyzed the timing of meals. "These times in turn are superimposed on a back ground of several interacting rhythms that dictate meal time in the absence of other controllers. We further believe that signals reporting energy content of the body to the brain set a back ground level or tone the influences the behavioral responses to a host of internal and external stimuli. A complete understanding of the control of eating behavior requires that the factors that determine meal on set or off set Therefore home, school or society should meet the needs of food, water, shelter and environment to learn and educate the generation. Justin Yifu Lin (2004:2) concluded "In 2002, there were about 690 million people in Asia still in extreme poverty". Those poor people have no guarantee for their basic daily nutrition needs, access to improved sanitation and so on. "How to educate poverty"? Who will provide "basic needs" to the growing children and who will fulfill the educational requirements of the young ones? Society, family and Government are responsible to meet the needs of their individuals. For our chronically and extremely hungry man, Utopia can be defined simply as a place where there is plenty of food. He tends to think that, if only he is guaranteed food for the rest of his life, he will be perfectly happy and will never want anything more. Life itself tends to be defined in terms of eating. Anything else will be defined as unimportant. Freedom, love, community feeling, respect, philosophy, may all be waved aside as fripperies that are useless, since they fail to fill the stomach. Such a man may fairly be said to live by bread alone( Maslow, 1970: P. 37). Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 June 2012 Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs

351

Physiological needs are crucial to the understanding of human behavior. The devastating effects on behavior produced by a lack of food or water have been chronicled in numerous experiments and autobiographies. For example, in the Nazi concentration camps of World War II, it was common for prisoners subjected to prolonged deprivation and torture to relinquish their moral standards, steal food from each other, and in other ways surrender the values they had held under normal conditions (Bettelheim, 1943). Another terrifying example of the behavioral effects of prolonged food deprivation occurred when a Peruvian airliner crashed deep in the jungle of South America in 1970. Trapped with a dwindling supply of food, the survivors, including a Catholic priest, resorted to eating the victims of the crash. This incident illustrates how even deeply ingrained social and moral taboos can give way to biological drives under life-threatening conditions. Without a doubt, physiological needs dominate human desires, forcing themselves on one’s attention before higher order goals can be pursued. (H. Larry, 1981:369) All needs of a body have many characteristics from candle to grow. They are different from species to species and their effects also different. Marlow (1970) and other psychologists have done excellent work in the field of motivation. However, this does not mean an end to further research. Still there is need to further undertake research to know about the active & proactive characteristics of needs from psychological to self-actualization needs and how those are influenced in different culture settings. A Derived List of Hierarchical Human Needs and Their Characteristics Biological needs or Basic Physiological needs 1. Stomach desires 2. Respiration 3. Excretion 4. Sensations 5. Neural sports/supports Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 June 2012 Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs

352

6. External survival (shelter) and Medical care for healthy living 1. Stomach desires or Nourishment: i. Food (Balanced Diet) Containing minerals, vitamins, protein, fats, salt, glucose and carbohydrates with energy requirements and habits 14+ age 2600 calories per day 15+ age 2700 calories per day 16+ age 2800 calories per day Fruits and Vegetables (to avail food, fruits adequacy ii. Water or Liquid Cold drinks or with related climate pure, clean, and tasty water To provide pure water to drink iii. Milk Pure and fresh milk to be provided 2. Respiration: i. Fresh air to breath ii. Oxygen in natural form Free and open air to live Natural environment for breathing Oxidation of food substance and significance of energy release with exercise of lungs Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 June 2012 Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs

353

Ventilated class rooms, Halls Air conditioning or air cooling facilities Comfortable sitting or seating to be sit in or on Exercise for developing breathing lungs Satisfactory temperature 3. Excretion: To arrange flush system for the elimination of body wastes, nitrogenous wastes and liver function to urinate and defecate 4. Sensations: Sight 87% (for suitable seating and setting the students) Hear .07% Feel or touch 1.5% Smell 3.5% Taste 1.00% 5. Neural Sports: Exercise for physical growth, physical fitness, maturity of tissues, flexibility of nerve system with doing exercise and playing games 6. External Survival: i. Shelter (home or school or residence) clean, ventilated, airy light fitted ii. Medical care or treatment (when ill or injured to be checked up) Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 June 2012 Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs

354

Rest or sleep (Five or six hours per day) Talking Walking, Riding Clothing according to the atmosphere Conveyance according to the distances and locality Take part in P.T. classes and in sports Active Characteristics of Physiological Needs Physiological Needs are the specific and urgent needs of a body. They give survival and long life to the whole creations. All the beings lead their lives on the blessings of basic necessities of life. In the realm of basic human needs, a man knows how to lead a life and how to begin a pleasant life; and how to spend a contented life. He is taught how to fulfill required needs and how to live a thankful life. From these needs, all other needs take their birth and begin their lives. These needs are the basis of Safety or Security Needs, Belongingness and Love Needs, Self-Esteem Needs, Knowledge & Understanding Needs, Aesthetic Needs as well as Self – Actualization Needs; generally without the fulfillment of basic needs, other needs cannot spring out in the mind, but when the mind is in fix or in tension, many needs can interact and become During the gratification of basic needs, one can think, exert and compel to get higher rung of needs. Basic needs are of different kinds, colors, shapes, tastes and weighs etc. It seems impossible to make any list of characteristics of fundamental human needs because the physiological needs are the sum of hundreds and thousands elements which have billions of characteristics, those can not be described and cannot be encircled by a helpless man. This is reward of nature and blessings of God that man is a wanting human being. Some of the active characteristics of needs are mentioned as under: 1.

External Appearance: i)

Color: Colors are the smiling face of the nature. Basic needs have different colors and some are colorless.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 June 2012 Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs

355

Some have charming colors which attract the visitor. ii)

Shape: Shapes of the eatables are designs of the nature. These essentials have variety of shapes designs, sizes and weighs. Some are shapeless and all have natural identification.

iii)

Fragrance / smell: They have charming smell and some are smell-less. They invite to relish them and to see the beauty of the creator who has made them attractive and fantastic. It is the perfume of the nature which creates the sensation of pleasantness. Fragrance elicits feelings of joy, confidence and sense of well being and spark cherished memories.

iv)

Temperature: Photosynthesis, respiration and transpiration are also depend temperature. All the metabolic activities are dependent upon the temperature. They have different temperature and effects, from locality to locality. Their growing, glowing and producing qualities are also different from ocean to ocean.

Hardness or softness: Some eatables are hard and some are soft but they have their own traits and virtues.

vi)

Winglessness: Some essentials are sign less; we can not see them but can feel and perceive only e.g. air, bacteria etc.

vii)

Taste: They have variety of tastes. They attract the users and compel them to taste them. Some are bitter or tasteless and some are sweet, salty and sour.

Revival and Existence: These needs bring to life. They also give existence to all the beings without these needs, all the living things cannot live a life.

Energetic: All the basic needs are energetic and some are sources of energy having a lot of minerals and vitamins. They give life and energy.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 June 2012 Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs

356

Satisfaction & gratification: They satisfy the body needs and urgent necessities of the beings. They gratify the soul and the body.

Survival: They are necessary for the survival of life. The life cannot exist without these needs. Allah made the beings according to their nature.

Delicious: They are very delicious and tasty. They attract the people to relish them. Some are without any taste and color.

Enlightenment: Fulfilled needs lighten the vision and the body. All the eatables grant glowing colors to the body.

Enhancement: They have value and attraction for the users. They satisfy their hunger and thirst. They produce A.T.P (Adenosine Triphasphate) which we use in our daily activities. They remove the wrinkles on the skin and give the beauty.

Freshness: They are fresh. They grant freshness and aliveness to the body for ever. Fresh water, fresh air and fresh foods are most important which refresh our mind and body for new adventures of life. Rotted things discourage. The users and spoils the body. Freshness adds the taste and beauty in the things.

10.

Glowing: They brighten the body. They have glowing colors.

11.

Magnificent: They are pleasant and remarkable. They widen the scope of mind.

12.

Perfection: There are all perfect and natural. They perfect the body, limbs and muscles.

13.

Entity: They have unique performance, their own existence and entity.

14.

Eternity:

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 June 2012 Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs

357

Their productivity is everlasting from the beginning to the end. 15.

Everlasting: They cannot be deleted but their kind and shapes can be developed. They cannot be rooted out for ever.

16.

Richness: They have richness and re-freshness in their existence.

17.

Safety: They save the body from the all kinds of diseases and contaminations.

18.

Brightness and colorfulness: They create brightness and they glow the color of the users. Some are bright colors.

19.

Pleasantness: They have pleasantness from species to species and man to man.

20.

Softness and flexibility: They are soft and flexible in nature.

21.

Species to species different: They have different kinds. They have different effects as well.

22.

Dried and Juicy: Some are dried and some are juicy with different tastes.

23.

Purity & chastity: They are pure and some are covered with a cell wall. They maintain the conscious state of body.

24.

Reliability: They are reliable and protective but some are not reliable.

25.

Stability: They have stability and have self – growth and self -worth.

26.

Availability: They are ready available everywhere.

27.

Durability: They are durable and everlasting.

28.

Perennial:

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 June 2012 Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs

358

They are perennial in nature and their effects are also perennial. 29.

Cell membrane: They are protected by cell membrane. So the germs and bacteria of different diseases cannot attack on them.

30.

Juicy Appearance: They have different colors, taste and viscosity.

31.

Attraction: They have different charming attraction for the users.

32.

Novelty: These are different in kind, in color, in size, in shapes in weighs.

33.

Neatness and cleanliness: They are neat and clean and have grantee for health.

34.

Seasonal: They are seasonal. Different kinds of food cereals are grown in different seasons. Food and drinks are also different from day to day.

35.

Differ from area to area: They have different growth, different color and taste from area to area or country to country.

36.

Healthy: They create health, power and grace.

37.

Preservation: They preserve the body from all the harmful diseases.

38.

Storage: They are the storage of power and energy. They create ability in a body to store energy. They can be stored also, but some cannot be stored.

39.

Profitable: They are profitable trade. They also benefit the beings. Some are available without any price.

40.

Useful: They are very useful. A man cannot live without them.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 June 2012 Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs

359

41.

Flexibility: Some are flexible and hard in character.

42.

Valuable: They are valuable and precious.

43.

Motivation: They motivate the individual to eat, drink and grow the suitable species.

44.

Mobility: They move the body to get relish forever.

45.

Everlasting: They have everlasting effects and tastes.

46.

Buffer systems: These systems mainly regulate the acid and base balance in the body.

47.

Functions: They create different functions. They develop and grow with the life.

48.

Immunity: They increase immunity and decrease the sensitivity pain.

49.

Develop Memory: They develop our memory and our eye -sight.

50.

Potential: They have potential to regulate the body function. They help to recover the body from all sorts of diseases.

Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs When any need is fulfilled, the intensity of that need fades away for the time being. After a short time that need again springs out and then it is being quenched. This circle remains continuous forever from species to specie. If they are retarded, the needs create more energy and strength, which cannot be control. This power dominates the whole body, whole community and the whole world. The basic needs spring out for a very short time. They are everlasting and they continue from cradle Basic needs are the essentials of everybody. Their lake or non-availability can cause many other needs. They can divide themselves into many kinds from body to body and time to time. They split into many other needs. Their complex fabric of web can puzzle, compel Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 June 2012 Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs

360

to think and can afraid to us. Basic needs are interrelated and Interconnected with other that they cannot be separated. Needs are the complex web of desires which follow each other. If one is quenched or fulfilled another flows. If one is retarded, the many more wants stem out or create hopelessness and frustration. Needs do not exist under the skin of the individual in isolation from the physical and social environment. They are in continuous interaction with each other. Therefore they can not be adequately described or defined without taking into account the environmental or social aspects of the nature. The man is a wanting entity who cannot reach a state of satisfaction. If one need is satisfied, another need comes to attend. It is the characteristic of human life. That people are almost always desiring something like as having lots of money, secure a job, a house, home, family, car, no debts, health insurance faith or personal conviction, to be guarded in friends, family or in a community. The people who share the needs of one another feel relation with one another but the people who do not share their needs, will have a hard time to live and to conduct with each other. This realm is the collection of stomach desires, respiration, excretion, sensations, neural sports and external survival and medical care for healthy The most basic, powerful and obvious of all human needs is the need for physical survival included in this group are the needs for food, drink, oxygen, activity, sleep, sex, protection from extreme temperature and shelter to sit or live in, etc. The needs of this group have following proactive characteristics: 1.

Mobility: Needs drive us day-to-day. Needs motivate us to satisfy the basic needs. Needs develop the methods of distributing food etc. Needs stress to grow the food cereals. Needs derive to get fresh food, air and pure water. Needs create many other needs. Needs initiate food taking activity and food taking is essential to the maintenance of life and body. Needs remain powerful in determine the behavior throughout life. Needs make the body mobile to maintain maturity of tissues, requirements, flexibility and

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 June 2012 Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs

361

power, development of nervous system, with health exercises. Needs stress to dance, to suffer, and to bear the difficulties. 2.

Gravity: Needs make a complex net like a cobweb? Needs insist to avoid physical pain, heat, cold and hunger. Needs stress to take balanced diet. Needs want satisfactory temperature. Needs change their phase, potency and intensity with the passage of time. Needs are held to be personal and social in character. Needs make life to run out and run over.

Perennialism: Needs develop the sense of producing the food, tools and other necessities of life. Needs provide freshness. Needs create the ability to fresh them. Needs regulate the functions of a body. Needs cannot be ended. They will continue to the end. Needs change their potential, shape and intensity. Needs are the life leading. Needs run the life and life runs the needs. Needs create everlasting struggle to lead a prosper life. Needs grant life and life grant existence. Needs exert to live long with new spirits.

Novelty: Needs are the blessings of novel nature. Needs convince to eat good and pure diet. Needs exercise to produce novel things. Needs stress to acquire new subject, new thinking, latest equipment, information technology and other subjects. Needs urge to seek batter atmosphere to live, to breath and to enjoy. Needs urge to seek fresh air.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 June 2012 Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs

362

Needs regulate the daily work and routines of life. Needs create dare to produce new variety of things. Needs cause spirit to do more and more. Needs stress to build the new notions. 5.

Erection: Needs builds present and future generation. Needs stress to eat, drink and use sacred things. Needs cause the sense of protection. Needs accept or reject the various substances. Needs create dare to struggle for life. Needs unite the people to get freedom. Needs scatter the united people to get their individual benefits. Needs build the pillars of the nation up to the sky. Needs frame the objectives of the life. Needs erect to do work and to die for the humanity, for the nation and for our self.

Sensuality: Needs compel to satisfy the desires Needs stress to accumulate the wealth and money Needs cause greediness Needs covet to get more shares Needs stress to steal the goods Needs move to do wrong evils Needs motivate to get the others rights Needs stimulate the men to eat, get and drink the pure and sacred things Needs compel to do improper or invalid Needs force to get the more knowledge

Duplicity: Needs have a double face Lake of Needs can destroy the life, society and the world and, Excess of Needs can also run the self and the world

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 June 2012 Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs

363

Fulfillment of needs can cause happiness. The deficit of Needs can cause illness of mind, thoughts and motives and, Lake and excess of Needs can cause disturbance. Needs cause greediness, dishonesty and robbery. Needs cause contented life Summary Active & proactive characteristics of Physiological Needs are the greatest wealth of stimulation. They stimulate a body from cradle to grave. These needs are so overlapped they cannot be separate easily. The net of these needs is very complicated, it cannot be understood. They are different in coloring, glowing, intensity and potency. Their scarcity, dearth and their excess can create restlessness, anxiety, worries and frustration. These are the basic needs which are called fundamental needs of a body. They build the character, behavior, attitude and aptitude of the personality. Their dearth can ruin the human beings as well as other beings. There excess also can create destruction in the world. Every need of physiological needs is the storage of energy. This power can dominate the whole body, world and the universe. Basic needs are the essential part of a body. They provide energy, light and life to all the beings. The people, who share the needs to be fulfilled of one another, feel relationship with one another. They establish harmony and brotherhood. These needs are the sum of thousands characteristics. They stimulate a body to continue its struggle for life. They have everlasting traits. They have their own mobility, gravity, Perennials, novelty, erection, eternity, restoration, sensuality, duplicity. They teach how to get, eat, feel, search, and find the required needs and how to fulfill them. They give perception of thankfulness. These characteristics of needs establish the habits, conduct and attitudes and aptitude of the beings. We should follow the characteristics of needs to find out the intensity and potency of these needs. They also guide us about their effectiveness, freshness, richness and aliveness. So, on the active and proactive characteristics of needs reveal the behaving, believing, conducting, using, wanting and refusing of the individuals. These also present the behavior, habits, livelihood and livelihood of the individuals. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 June 2012 Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs

364

==================================================================== References

Gordon, A.M. and Browne, K.W (1989) Beginnings & Beyond: Foundations in Early Childhood Education, (2nd Ed.) Delmar Publishers Inc, Albany, New York. Hjelle Larry, A. (1981). Personality Theories: Basic Assumptions, Research and Application, Singapore: B & Jo Enterprise PTE, Ltd. Hoban, G.F. (2002) Teacher Learning for Educational Change, A System Thinking Approach, printed in Great Britain by St. Edmunds Bury Press. Limited, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. Hudgins, B.B. et. al. (1983) Educational Psychology, F.E. Peaco*ck Publishers, Inc. Itasca, Illinois, America. Lester, D. Crow and Alice Crow (1956) Human Development and Learning, New York: American Book Company. Lester, D. Crow and Alice Crow (1986) An Introduction to Guidance: Basic Principles and Practices, (2nded.) New York: American Book Company. Leese, J., Frasure, K. and Johnson, M. (1961) The Teacher in Curriculum Making, New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers. Lin, J.Y. (2004) Development Strategies for Inclusive Growth in Developing Asia, Journal of Asian Development Review, (2004) Vol. 21. No. 2 Asian Development Bank, 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City, 1550 Metro Manila Philipplines. Lindgren, H.C. (1973) Educational Psychological in the Class Room, San Francisco State University. Long, M. (2000) The Psychology of Education, Routledge Falmer 11 New Fetter Lane London. Luella Cole, (1988) Psychology of Adolescence, (5th ed.) New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston. Lurry, L. and Alberty, E. (1957) Developing a High School Core Program, Macmillan Company, New York. Maslow, A. (1954). Motivation and Personality, New York: Harper & Row. Maslow, A. (1970) Motivation and Personality, (2nd ed.) New York Harper & Row. Sand, D.J., Kozleski, E.B. and French, N.K. (2000), Inclusive Education for the 21st Century, A Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 June 2012 Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs

365

New Introduction to Special Education, Printed in the United States of America, Wadsworth Thomson Learning. Sheldon, K.M., Elliot, A. J. and Kim, Y. (2001) What is Satisfying about Satisfying Events? Testing 10 Candidates Psychological Needs, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, (Feb. 2001) Vol. 80. American Psychological Association: Inc. =================================================================== Abdul Ghafoor Nasir, Ph.D. Scholar Subject Specialist Higher Secondary School Faisalabad Pakistan [emailprotected]

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 June 2012 Abdul Ghafoor, Ph.D. Scholar Active and Proactive Characteristics of Physiological Needs

366

Empowerment of the Urban Women through SHGs in Coimbatore District – A Study S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. ================================================ Coimbatore, the third largest city of the state of Tamilnadu, is one of the most industrialised cities in Tamilnadu, known as the textile capital of South India or the Manchester of the South. The city is situated on the banks of the river Noyyal. Located in the rain shadow region of the Western Ghats, Coimbatore enjoys a pleasant climate all the year round, aided by the fresh breeze that flows through the Palakkad Pass. The rich black soil of the region has contributed to Coimbatore’s flourishing agriculture industry.

The successful growth of cotton served as a foundation for the establishment of its famous textile industry. The first textile mill started functioning in 1888. There are now over a hundred mills. The result has been a strong economy and a reputation as one of the greatest industrial cities in South India.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. Empowerment of the Urban Women through SHGs in Coimbatore District – A Study

367

Coimbatore is also famous for the manufacture of motor pump sets and varied engineering goods. It serves as an entry and exit point to neighbouring Kerala state and the ever-popular hill station of Udhagamandalam (Ooty).

Contours of Empowerment of Women The National Policy for the Empowerment of Women (2000) states that “The Women’s movement and a widespread network of NGOs which have strong grassroots presence and deep insight into women’s concern have contributed in inspiring initiatives for the empowerment of women”. UNDP has identified two crucial routes as imperatives for empowerment. The first is social mobilization and collective agency, as poor women often lack the basic capabilities and self-confidence to counter and challenge existing disparities and barriers against them. Second, the process of social mobilization needs to be accompanied and complemented by economic security (UNDP 2001). When women are healthy and empowered members of their communities, economic development, social welfare and quality of governance will all profit. Where women’s voices are heard and heeded, conflicts are more likely to overcome, and societal rifts more likely to heal.

Focus of This Study

This study seeks to explore the impact of participation in SHGs on the Empowerment of Women in the context of the great importance being given to the group approach while conceptualizing any programme for urban women. The study area is situated in Coimbatore district in the western part of Tamilnadu. This study looks at various dimensions of empowerment – material, cognitive, social and relational.

Involvement in SHGs has enabled women to have a voice in the community affairs and they have been able to tackle day-to-day problems such as lack of drinking water and electricity, access to health services and children’s education. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. Empowerment of the Urban Women through SHGs in Coimbatore District – A Study

368

Empowerment of Women

Empowerment is the process by which the disempowered or powerless people can change their circ*mstances and begin to have control over their lives. Empowerment results in a change in the balance of power, in the living conditions and in the relationships. It is a broad term that includes educational, economic, social, political, legal and cultural empowerment. Women’s empowerment is a global issue. It is the outcome of criticism and debates generated by the women’s movement/feminists.

Women have shifted from being recipients of welfare benefits to targets and partners in development. Now the society looks at women as the agents of social change. Empowerment is the woman’s self-interest - anything she might want - food, medical care, shelter, income, respectful treatment, a job, property, freedom from violence, the family size she desires, etc. Women’s Status Women’s status in the social field is much lower than those of men. They are always in fear of physical harm, economic deprivation or social oppression. The local institution rules and norms which dominate women’s daily lives include the marriage and kinship system, household and extended family, lineage, kinship system and caste group. Few women are active participants in any of these institutions other than the household. Economic empowerment, where people begin to control their economic processes, gain access to resources, to skills and to markets their skills, also leads to social and political empowerment.

The process of centralisation is increasing with globalization where international forces have begun to control markets at local level. Today, it is very necessary to build up economic empowerment. Political empowerment without economic power will lead to distorted development. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. Empowerment of the Urban Women through SHGs in Coimbatore District – A Study

369

Employment in India

In India, the majority of the workforce is in the unorganized sector. Ninetytwo percent of the workforce is in the unorganized sector. There are many problems faced in this sector which lead to the disempowerment of women. First is the uncertainty of their employment. The second major problem is that their earnings from their assets are not at all adequate for a minimum basic life. The third major problem is that they do not have access to social security.

Empowerment is a multi-faceted, multi-dimensional and multi-layered concept. According to the country report of Government of India (1995), “Empowerment means moving from a position of enforced powerlessness to one of power. It would promote women’s inherent strength and positive self-image.”

Progress in Empowering Women

The formal global calls for the inclusion of women in national and international development began in the early 1960s. Even before the rights for women were enshrined in the Indian Constitution were a recognition of their role in the freedom struggle against British Imperialism.

The first Five Year Plan (1951-56) provided welfare measures for women and a national body known as the Central Social Welfare Board was set up in 1953 to implement welfare programmes for women. The third Five Year Plan (1961-66) promoted women’s education as a key strategy for women’s welfare. The fifth Five Year Plan (1974-79) emphasized the training of women through income generation and functional literacy programme with a view to making women more productive on the public as well as the domestic front.

The seventh Five Year Plan (1986-91) targeted women with the concepts of equity and empowerment propagated globally by the United Nations Decade for women. In 1985, a separate department of women and child development was created Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. Empowerment of the Urban Women through SHGs in Coimbatore District – A Study

370

in the Human Resource Development Ministry to oversee the implementation of more than twenty-seven different programmes for women covering a range of services, including employment and income generation, education and training, legal support, general awareness, etc. The National Commission for Women was established in 1992.

Role of Government in the Empowerment of Women in India

The pre-requisites for the empowerment of women are literacy and education, awareness, skill development, good health, access to economic resources, capacity and opportunity for participation in decision-making within the family, community and institutions of governance. The action taken at the global, national and individual levels for the empowerment of women are as follows:

The Charter of the United Nations set out three main goals for the Organisation: 

To prevent future wars by fostering peace & security



To promote social and economic progress



To define and protect the rights and freedoms of every human being regardless

of race, sex, language or religion.

The efforts of United Nations in bringing about gender equality has been commendable through its various agencies like UNIC,UNDP, UNICEF, UNESCO and particularly through UNIFEM which works on the principle of gender equality and gender justice through new approaches to women’s empowerment.

Action at the National Level

Right from the inception of the Indian Republic in January 1950, the Constitution of India provided for Women’s equality with men. The Government have enacted specific laws for the protection of women and for the up gradation of their status such as marriage related laws, property related laws, work related laws, health related laws, and violence related laws. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. Empowerment of the Urban Women through SHGs in Coimbatore District – A Study

371

Female literacy Rate in India

2011 Census

Sr. No.

State

2001 Census

Literacy(%) Male(%) Female(%) Literacy(%) Male(%) Female(%) Change(%)

India

74.04

82.14

65.46

65.38

75.85

54.16

8.66

Kerala

93.91

96.02

91.98

90.86

94.24

87.72

3.05

Lakshadweep

92.28

96.11

88.25

86.66

90.72

80.47

5.62

Mizoram

91.58

93.72

89.40

88.80

92.53

86.75

2.78

Tripura

87.75

92.18

83.15

73.19

82.42

64.33

14.56

Goa

87.40

92.81

81.84

82.01

88.62

76.47

5.39

Daman and Diu

87.07

91.48

79.59

78.18

86.14

67.42

8.89

Puduch*erry

86.55

92.12

81.22

81.24

86.33

73.90

5.31

Chandigarh

86.43

90.54

81.38

81.94

88.42

75.37

4.49

Delhi

86.34

91.03

80.93

81.67

87.33

75.24

4.67

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

86.27

90.11

81.84

81.30

86.76

74.71

4.97

Himachal Pradesh

83.78

90.83

76.60

76.48

85.35

65.61

7.3

Maharashtra

82.91

89.82

75.48

76.88

85.97

67.03

6.03

Sikkim

82.20

87.29

76.43

68.81

77.38

59.63

13.39

Tamil Nadu

80.33

86.81

73.86

73.45

83.28

64.91

6.88

Nagaland

80.11

83.29

76.69

66.59

76.04

56.87

13.52

Manipur

79.85

86.49

73.17

70.53

80.33

61.46

9.32

Uttarakhand

79.63

88.33

70.70

71.62

81.02

63.36

8.01

Gujarat

79.31

87.23

70.73

69.14

78.49

60.40

10.17

Dadra and Nagar Haveli

77.65

86.46

65.93

57.63

68.82

43.53

20.02

West Bengal

77.08

82.67

71.16

68.64

77.02

59.61

8.44

Punjab

76.68

81.48

71.34

69.65

79.66

60.53

7.03

Haryana

76.64

85.38

66.77

67.91

76.10

59.61

8.73

Karnataka

75.60

82.85

68.13

66.64

76.06

57.80

8.96

Meghalaya

75.48

77.17

73.78

62.56

71.18

50.43

12.92

Orissa

73.45

82.40

64.36

63.08

71.28

50.51

10.37

Assam

73.18

78.81

67.27

63.25

75.23

51.85

9.93

Chhattisgarh

71.04

81.45

60.59

64.66

75.70

55.73

6.38

Madhya Pradesh

70.63

80.53

60.02

63.74

75.35

54.61

6.89

Uttar Pradesh

69.72

79.24

59.26

56.27

67.30

43.00

13.45

Jammu and Kashmir

68.74

78.26

58.01

55.52

66.60

42.22

13.22

Andhra Pradesh

67.66

75.56

59.74

60.47

71.16

50.29

7.19

Jharkhand

67.63

78.45

56.21

53.56

63.83

38.87

14.07

Rajasthan

67.06

80.51

52.66

60.41

70.32

43.85

6.65

Arunachal Pradesh

66.95

73.69

59.57

54.34

65.43

40.23

12.61

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. Empowerment of the Urban Women through SHGs in Coimbatore District – A Study

372

2011 Census

Sr. No.

State

2001 Census

Literacy(%) Male(%) Female(%) Literacy(%) Male(%) Female(%) Change(%)

India

74.04

82.14

65.46

65.38

75.85

54.16

8.66

Bihar

63.82

73.39

53.33

47.00

59.68

33.12

16.82

Source:http://www.census2011.co.in

Action taken at the State Level Mahalir Thittam by Tamilnadu Corporation for Development of Women Ltd. (TNCDW)

Mahalir Thittam is a socio-economic empowerment programme for women implemented by Tamilnadu Corporation for Development of Women Ltd (TNCDW). It is based on SHG approach and is implemented in partnership with NonGovernmental Organisations (NGOs) and community based organisaitons. The SHG approach was started in a small way in Dharmapuri district in the year 1989 with the assistance of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Later the scheme was extended to all the districts of the State. Today the SHG movement is a very vibrant movement spread across all districts of the State with nearly 59,00,000 women as members. As on 31.3.2009, there were 3,91,311 SHGs with a total savings of Rs.2062.04 crores.

The hall mark of the SHGs promoted by Mahalir Thittam is the systematic training provided to the SHG members and the office bearers. This capacity building brings about qualitative changes in the attitude of the women and promotes cohesion and effective functioning of the group.

The Present Scenario

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. Empowerment of the Urban Women through SHGs in Coimbatore District – A Study

373

As a result of all the efforts made at various levels, the situation of women on the whole has improved with regard to some of the critical indicators of women’s empowerment, like literacy, education, employment, health, human rights, etc. The empowerment of women in reality is the urgent need of the hour as it seems to be the best way to stop the degeneration of the society and to bring about harmony, happiness, progress, prosperity and peace in the world.

SHGs and their role in Uplifting women:

SHG (Self Help Group) or mutual support is a process wherein people who share common experience and problems can offer each other a unique perspective that is not available from those who have not shared the experience. SHGs are run by and for group members. They are based on principles of empowerment, inclusion, nonhierarchical decision-making, shared responsibility and a holistic approach to people’s cultural ,economic and social needs . A SHG consists of 10-20 members drawn from a relatively hom*ogeneous economic class, self-selected on the basis of existing affinities and mutual trust. Members meet regularly at a fixed time and place and pool their savings into a common fund which they take as need based-loans. The group develops its own rules and regulations and sanctions for violations. The objectives of the SHGs go beyond thrift and credit and include the overall development of members in the social, political, cultural and economic arena.

Objectives of SHGs 

To develop women in socially and economically who live in below poverty line.



To develop self-confidence among the women.



To bring out the potential in women.



To promote gender equality and equal rights.



To encourage women to take over village level administration.



To voluntarily save from their income and expenditure.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. Empowerment of the Urban Women through SHGs in Coimbatore District – A Study

374

Women Entrepreneurs

SHG has really helped to increase the skills and awareness of women. The Objectives of Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) is to promote economic activities among the members of the SHG through skill training, Entrepreneurship Development, Credit Linkage and Market Support. The year 2001 was announced as the year of women empowerment.

Empowering SHG Women 

Creating awareness about the government and bank procedures



Making women able to read and write



Developing the capability to manage a mini bank with ledgers and passbooks



Aiming at the total abolition of over interest rate



Enhancing their knowledge and skills to undertake economic activities



Encouraging their participation in the Gram Sabhas, Panchayat level Federation clusters, Block level federation etc.

Government Schemes for Women Empowerment

The Government of India has over twenty seven schemes for women operated by the different departments and ministries such as: 

Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP)



Training of Rural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSEM)



Prime Minister’s Rojgar Yojana (PMRY)



Women’s Development Corporation Scheme (WDCS)



Working Women’s Forum



Indira Mahila Yojana



Indira Priyadarshini Yojana



SBI’s free Shakti scheme



NGO’s credit scheme

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. Empowerment of the Urban Women through SHGs in Coimbatore District – A Study

375

Data Analysis and Interpretations

As per 2011 census, total population of India is 1210193422, out of which the female population is 586469174. In Coimbatore district alone, total female population is 1737216.

In modern times, the position of Indian women did improve a lot. This study reveals how much, particularly the urban women, their conditions, life styles, and literacy levels have improved. The present study explains the status of urban women and the changes in their role after joining in SHGs. This study was undertaken at Anna Nagar (Sowripalayam), Coimbatore district. For this study, both primary and secondary data are used.

Objective of This Study 

To know the socio-economic condition of SHG women



To explain the role of SHG women in the family



To find out their decision making power and self confidence level



To know the Entrepreneurship development of SHG women

Details of Sample Selection

In the study area, 75 samples were selected. Using simple random sampling method, 75 samples from 6 SHGs were collected. Though the study area is located in Urban Coimbatore, most of these women are illiterates but are actively involved in group activities.

Tools Used for Data Collection

For the purpose of data collection, an interview schedule was prepared. There were 75 respondents from different SHGs. Information was collected from members of the SHGs functioning in the study area. During the initial stage of data collection, Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. Empowerment of the Urban Women through SHGs in Coimbatore District – A Study

376

the Respondents were reluctant to answer. The researcher had taken effort to convince them by explaining the importance and purpose of the study.

Characteristics of the SHG Women

The characteristics of SHGs include age, educational qualification, marital status, type of family, occupation, income, etc. which are illustrated in the tables given below. Table 1.1:Details of SHGs and the number of Respondents: S.no Name of the SHG

Number of Respondents

Annai Anbumalar

Kannimalar

Mahizhampu

Om Sakthi

Sathya deepam

Sri Durgaiamman

Age of Respondents Table 1.2:Percentage distribution of Respondents by their age: Respondent’s age

No.of Respondents percent

18-27

28-37

38-47

48-65

Total

100

Educational qualification of Respondents Table 1.3: Percentage distribution of Respondents by their education Respondent’s

No. of

education

Respondents

Illiterates

percent

70.6

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. Empowerment of the Urban Women through SHGs in Coimbatore District – A Study

377

Primary

Middle

9.3

High school

9.3

Hr.Secondary &

2.6

100

above Total

Marital status of Respondents Table 1.4: Percentage distribution of Respondents by their marital status Marital status

No. of

percent

Respondents Married

97.3

Widowed

1.3

Divorced

Separated

1.3

Total

100

Type & Size of Family Table 1.5 : Percentage distribution of Respondents by the type of family to which they belong

Type of the

No. of

family of

Respondents

percent

Respondents Nuclear family

Joint family

Total

100

Table 1.6: Percentage distribution of the Respondents by their family size Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. Empowerment of the Urban Women through SHGs in Coimbatore District – A Study

378

Respondent’s

No. of

children(size of

Respondents

percent

family) 1

37.3

26.6

4 and above

Total

100

Occupational status of the Respondents Table 1.7: Percentage distribution of Respondents by their occupation: Occupation of

No.of Respondents percent

Respondent Not working other

14.6

Sweepers

14.6

House-maids

10.6

Total

100

than SHG Construction workers

Income of the Respondents Table 1.8 :Percentage distribution of Respondents by their income Respondent’s

No.of Respondents percent

income No income

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. Empowerment of the Urban Women through SHGs in Coimbatore District – A Study

379

Below 1000

1000-2000

2000-3000

3000 &above

Total

100

Table 1.9: Percentage distribution of the Respondents by freedom to spend money on their own wish Freedom to spend

No.of Respondents percent

money No

6.7

Yes

93.3

Total

100

Activities undertaken by the Group members Table 1.10: Percentage distribution of Respondents by activities undertaken by them for their groups

Activities undertaken

No. of

percent

by the Respondents

Respondents

No activity undertaken

100

except meeting Meeting &arranging loans Encouraging member to join development &awareness programmes Total

EDP & Other Training Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. Empowerment of the Urban Women through SHGs in Coimbatore District – A Study

380

Table 1.11: Percentage distribution of Respondents undergone EDP& other training Training

No. of

undertaken by

Respondents

percent

the Respondent EDP

Other training

None of the

100

training attended Total

Savings by SHG Members Table 1.12: Percentage distribution of the Respondents by their savings:

Savings

No. of

percent

amount/week

Respondents

No savings

Rs.25

Rs.50

Total

100

Loan Repayment Table 1.13: Percentage distribution of the Respondent’s loan amount Repayment

Duration of

No. of

percent

Repayment

Respondents

Weekly

53.3

Monthly

46.6

Total

100

Findings of This Study & Suggestions for Improvement

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. Empowerment of the Urban Women through SHGs in Coimbatore District – A Study

381

Most of these women’s families are nuclear families and most of them got married at an early age of their adulthood. By joining SHGs, these women started becoming independent. They are even helping their family members in time of their need by availing loans from the bank. They are not only economically independent but they also improved their confidence level and try to find solution for the problem they are facing in their day to day life in their group meetings. They have taken their decisions independently in all aspects and decide matters on their own accord. Due to high rate of illiteracy and lack of perseverance in acquiring skills, they are not able to avail the full benefit of SHGs. By lacking these soft skills, they find themselves difficult in learning new skills like computer training, EDP, etc. ============================================================ References

Government of India, Fourth World Conference on Women,Beijing,1995, Country report, Department of Women and Child Development, Ministry of HRD,1995. Jha, Nirmala, “Women Entrepreneurship Development”, Kanpur: Bhaskar Publications,2010. Kapur, Promila, “Empowering the Indian Women”, New Delhi: Publication Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, 2001. Umashankar, Deepti,”Women’s Empowerment: Effect of Participation in SHGs”, Diss. IIMB, 2006. http://www.iimb.ernet.in United Nations Development Programme Annual Report. http:www.undp.org. http://tnrd.gov.in/scheme/st_mahalirthittam.html www.census.tn.nic.in ========================================================

Appendix Questionnaire 1. Name of the Respondent Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. Empowerment of the Urban Women through SHGs in Coimbatore District – A Study

382

: 2. Age

3. Sex

4. Religion

5. Community

6. Residential Address

7. Educational Qualifications

8. Whether the Respondent is Employed or not a) If so, give details

: :

9. Annual income

10. Marital status

11. Type of family 11a. No. of Family members

: :

12. Details about the members

II. Group Details 1. Name of the Group

2. Year of inception

3. No. of members in the Group

4. Position of the Respondent : a. Animator, b. Representative, c. Member in the group 5. How many times do you meet in a month? 6. Contribution of the Respondents to total Savings 7. Amount of savings of the group Each month

8. Does the group lend to its members? Yes /no: Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. Empowerment of the Urban Women through SHGs in Coimbatore District – A Study

383

9. If yes, at what interest rate? 10. Period of time for Repayment

: :

11. Do the members have undergone any: Yes/No Type of training? 12. State the type of training

13. Period of training

14. How much does the Respondent Contribute to the family’s income Before and after joining the groups

Income Rs/Month 0-1000 1000-2000 2000-3000 3000-4000

Before joining After joining

15. Does the group have rendered any social Service? 16. Is there any difference in your decision making power regarding a. family matters b. children’s eduction c. community matter d. other matters and self confidence level improved after joining the group? Status of improvement Moderate Highly improved No change

Self confidence

Decision making

============================================================= Mrs. S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. Assistant Professor Department of History PSGR Krishnammal College for Women Coimbatore - 641 004 Tamilnadu India [emailprotected] Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 S. Kamini, M.A., M.Phil. Empowerment of the Urban Women through SHGs in Coimbatore District – A Study

384

Puritan and Vietnamese Views on Self, Sin, Love and Moral Mission Present-Day Vietnamese Readers’ Views at Hue College of Foreign Languages Nguyen Trong Nhan, M.A. Ho Thi Lai, M.TESOL ================================================

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Nguyen Trong Nhan, M.A. and Ho Thi Lai, M.TESOL Puritan and Vietnamese Views on Self, Sin, Love and Moral Mission – Present-Day Vietnamese Readers’ Views at Hue College of Foreign Languages

385

Introduction

General thoughts of morality and justice have held the first place in American literature and philosophy (Smith, 1934). The Scarlet Letter written in 1850 by Nathaniel Hawthorne appears to be a valuable novel for readers to consider opposite issues including conventional versus unconventional gender roles and presumed guilt versus innocence. Many English-majored students and EFL teachers at Hue College of Foreign Languages, Vietnam, showed their sympathy to the forbidden love affair linking Arthur Dimmesdale, a religious and respectable minister, with Hester Prynne, a sensitive and beautiful wife assuming her husband’s death at sea. Adultery, in this case, becomes a disputable issue between humiliation of society and true love for oneself.

This article explains why and how a relationship outside marriage like Prynne and Dimmesdale’s received such a widespread sympathy from contemporary Vietnamese readers. Therefore, the paper is not an effort to criticize the Puritan values, but it compares and contrasts the Puritan and Vietnamese views on self, sin, love and moral mission. In addition, this investigation aims to provide those interested in American Romanticism and Nathaniel Hawthorne with a deeper interpretation of historical perspective and personal issues.

Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Nguyen Trong Nhan, M.A. and Ho Thi Lai, M.TESOL Puritan and Vietnamese Views on Self, Sin, Love and Moral Mission – Present-Day Vietnamese Readers’ Views at Hue College of Foreign Languages

386

Having a complex sensibility, richly compounded for appreciating subtleties, Nathaniel Hawthorne has been considered one of the greatest American authors, a position he shows no sign of losing. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, he was a sturdy patriot, a Yankee of Puritan ancestor, an enthusiastic Democrat, a writer of Gothic Romances and a master of symbolism (Turner, 1961). In his literary works, Hawthorne never abandoned his enduring interest in “the truth of the human heart”; the characters in his tales and romances are in effect symbolic (or allegorical) Adams and Eves thrust into archetypal struggles between good and evil, reason and emotion, and pride and humility (Stallman & Waldhorn, 1961, p. 275).

The Scarlet Letter, a story of Hester Prynne standing under the stern law in the public pillory of the adulteress with the charming child of her guilt, has appeared on lists of the world’s greatest novels and regularly placed at the head of all American fictions. Gohdes (1944, p. 138) considered The Scarlet Letter as “the most profound, the boldest, and the most riveting analytical romance.” Hubbell (1972, p. 139) stated that the two greatest American novels were The Scarlet Letter and Huckleberry Finn.

According to Vanspanckeren (1994), The Scarlet Letter, for its time, was a daring and even subversive book; however, Hawthorne’s gentle style, remote historical setting, and ambiguity softened his grim themes and contented the general public. “Its psychology is that of the concealment of sin amid circ*mstances that make a sin of concealment itself. The sin itself might, one may almost say, be almost any other. And this constitutes no small part of the book’s formal originality. To fail to perceive this is quite to misconceive it” (Jones, 1963, p. 7).

The Puritans and the Sin of Adultery under the Puritan Judgment

Without some knowledge of the Puritans, their society, values and beliefs, readers may not fully understand The Scarlet Letter. According to Miller (1956), before setting foot on the Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Nguyen Trong Nhan, M.A. and Ho Thi Lai, M.TESOL Puritan and Vietnamese Views on Self, Sin, Love and Moral Mission – Present-Day Vietnamese Readers’ Views at Hue College of Foreign Languages

387

New World in the 17th century, the Puritans were members of the excessively strict Protestant Party in England in the 16th century. They were very strict persons in religion or morals, looking upon many kinds of pleasure as sinful. “They believed that human beings were all inherently sinful, corrupt and deserving of damnation. Rescue from damnation was only by arbitrary divine grace” (Inge, 1993, p. 129). According to Leisy (1962), in the Puritan society, “Adultery is conceived of not as an affair of the civil order, but as a problem that concerns the immortal soul” (p. 39). Meserole, Sutton and Weber (1969) said that marriage for the Puritans was a godly duty; when a woman and a man got married to each other, they were morally tied by God, and later if one of them had an affair with any other person, he or she was committing adultery or infidelity, and deserved damnation. Boynton (1919) stated that one part of the reputation Puritanism in the 17th century was its intolerance; under the Puritan view, moral responsibility was that wife owed the primary loyalty to husband and the nature of human love was also a moral or religious element. Adultery, therefore, was regarded as one of the most severe sins involving mistrust, betrayal, hurting, unfairness, lies, and forbidding.

However, in The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne married Roger Chillingworth but she did not have any feelings for him. After assuming her husband’s death at sea, she fell in her first and only true love with Arthur Dimmesdale and had a daughter with him. This can partly explain why many Vietnamese readers at Hue College of Foreign Languages sympathize with Hester Prynne. Under the Puritan judgment, “whosoever does commit Adultery shall be severely punished by whipping two several times; … and likewise to wear the capital letter "A" cut out in cloth and sewed on their uppermost garments on their arms or backs; and if at any time

388

they shall be taken without the said letter while they are in the Government so worn to be forthwith taken and publicly whipped” (Bradley, Beatty and Long, 1965, p. 191).

The opening scene of The Scarlet Letter shows how terrible and cold-blooded the Puritans were. Wearing the scarlet letter A, Prynne received scornful looks when she walked through the market place. More cruelly, most of the old women thought that Prynne deserved a worse punishment, and one of them even said that at the very least, Prynne should be put a brand of a hot iron on her forehead.

Analyzing the merciless punishment inflicted upon Hester Prynne, Short (1960) concluded that “the Puritan judgment in this scene appeared with its harsh and austere heart" (p. 25). In short, the Puritans in The Scarlet Letter believed that the sinners of adultery had to be severely punished for their offence. The shameful badge the Puritans put on Hester Prynne’s bosom, together with their alienation and humiliation, expressed their view on this sin. However, the harsh punishment Prynne received seemed to reveal the Puritans’ lack of charity and love in their austere laws and in their actions as well.

Methodology This study aims to manifest and compare the 17th century Puritan with the 21st century Vietnamese view on Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale’s forbidden love; therefore, it is informative and interpretative by nature. The data for this qualitative research was collected from 50 participants’ responses to a survey (questionnaire). These subjects consist of 42 English-majored students (16 males and 26 females aged 21-23) and 8 EFL teachers (4 males and 4 females aged 24-50) at Hue College of Foreign Languages. All the students were single, 6 teachers were married, 1 teacher was divorced and 1 teacher was a widow. These participants were Buddhists, Catholics, Christians, Protestants and religion-free. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Nguyen Trong Nhan, M.A. and Ho Thi Lai, M.TESOL Puritan and Vietnamese Views on Self, Sin, Love and Moral Mission – Present-Day Vietnamese Readers’ Views at Hue College of Foreign Languages

389

Data Analysis The gathered data was first classified according to the subject’s religion. It was then analyzed with the compare and contrast method, which was integrated with the authors’ argument, interpretation, description and evaluation of the findings.

Findings and Discussion

The Vietnamese View versus the Puritan View about Adultery

As mentioned before in this paper, the Puritans believed that marriage was an arrangement in which God brought a man and a woman together into “one flesh”; therefore, they condemned adultery or sex outside marriage and defined it as one of the most serious sins against God’s moral law. Moreover, in the Puritan society, adulterers as well as adulteresses had to endure severe and brutal punishments. In The Scarlet Letter, Prynne and Dimmesdale, even in death, were not allowed to mix their dust.

In contrast to the Puritan beliefs, 46 out of 50 Vietnamese readers said that adultery, an issue belonging to the world of human nature, in some circ*mstances may receive sympathy. With a much more merciful and tender perspective, these Vietnamese people thoughtfully considered the possible reasons behind a marital betrayal, which could help clarify why a spouse did “escape” from his/her marital-bond to follow another partner.

38 out of 50 participants also stated that the unsatisfactory feelings in the sentimental life were the number one cause of infidelity while the rest (12/50) thought that the combination of both unsatisfactory materialistic and sentimental life might be the most possible cause.

390

Nobody thought that only the shortage of material or the hard daily life could lead people to commit adultery. This manifests the Vietnamese readers’ awareness of the importance of the passionate sentiment in maintaining and reinforcing the couple’s happiness. To explain their acceptance of “situational adultery”, the Vietnamese informants said that if the marriage was loveless or one spouse did ignore his/her partner for a long time, then the occurrence of changes in emotions would be unavoidable and reasonable. No man can foresee what kind of man he/she will be the next day. In marriage, the problem even becomes doubled when the two partners live far away from each other. Apparently, Hester Prynne and Roger Chillingworth’s marriage was loveless and before falling in love with Arthur Dimmesdale, she did not hear anything about her husband for a long time (she assumed his death).

With regard to the question about the Puritan punishment, 46 Vietnamese readers replied that the Puritans were hard-hearted and egoistic when transforming Prynne into a living sermon against sin, by forcing her to wear the mark of infamy for the remainder of her life. This indicated that the severity of a punishment is rather difficult to get a consensus. 49 out of 50 participants also expressed their disapproval of the idea that all people committing adultery must receive harsh and austere punishments. These participants confirmed that some assumed sinners might be innocent in some aspects and they deserved tolerance and forgiveness. Only one third-year student supposed that sinners of adultery ought to be deeply punished no matter how minor their wrongdoings were.

To sum up, the twenty-first century Vietnamese readers in Hue and the seventeenth century Puritans in The Scarlet Letter seemed to possess quite opposite views about adultery. The Puritans viewed adultery as a threat to their community that had to be punished and suppressed. The Vietnamese readers, on the other hand, respected the bond of love and accepted that men were united in a brotherhood of imperfection. They considered the Puritan beliefs as a lack of human warmth and love, and emphasized that a presumed guilt Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Nguyen Trong Nhan, M.A. and Ho Thi Lai, M.TESOL Puritan and Vietnamese Views on Self, Sin, Love and Moral Mission – Present-Day Vietnamese Readers’ Views at Hue College of Foreign Languages

391

of adultery in some cases could become a debatable between immorality and sacred human right of seeking happiness. The Scarlet Letter “A” or “Able” for Hester Prynne

What does it mean to be humans? Humans, in general, cannot get rid of their weaknesses. No man is perfect and infallible, and no man lives without faults and offences. Hester Prynne’s affair with Arthur Dimmesdale makes her into a human being with whom the 21st century readers are familiar. According to Hawthorne (1992), the scarlet letter “A” on Prynne’s bosom remarkably functioned as “her passport into regions where other women dared not tread” (p. 170).

The Puritans’ purpose was to blaze the letter “A” not only upon Prynne’s bosom but also into her heart and mind as a physical reminder of her infamy. Nevertheless, the letter’s meaning shifted as time passed, and at the end of the book, it came out to have a positive meaning. It is easy to see that Nathaniel Hawthorne, a master of symbolism, successfully portrayed the diverse symbols of the letter “A”.

Readers of this story might think of the letter with quite different meanings: Allegory, American, Assimilation, Ambiguity, Angel and even Able.

However, within the

limitations of this investigation, the authors only check whether the scarlet letter “A” can stand for “ABLE” under the Vietnamese readers’ views, and search for prospective explanation from these participants of different religions.

As expected, a significantly substantial proportion of the Vietnamese readers absolutely approved of the idea that in Hester Prynne’s situation, the scarlet letter “A” can be understood as “ABLE”. The evidence for this comes from the following table.

392

Participants (N = 50) Question

Responses

Religions Male(s) (N = 20)

Do you agree that Hester

Yes

Prynne’s the scarlet letter “A” can stand for “ABLE”?

Female(s) (N = 30)

Christianity

1/1

4/4

Protestantism

0/0

4/4

None

8/8

Catholicism

4/5

Buddhism

5/6

8/9

Christianity

0/1

0/4

Protestantism

0/0

0/4

None

0/8

Catholicism

1/5

Buddhism

1/6

1/9

The above table shows that 46 out of 50 informants had the same answer “Yes”. There are many factors which help Prynne acquire these informants’ sympathy and approval. One of these factors is the consensus of Chillingworth’s death at sea. According to these readers, a married woman will be bound by the law with her husband as long as he is alive, but if the husband is dead, she will be free from that law. Then if she has some relationship with another man, she should not be called adulteress. Chillingworth had left Hester Prynne alone for more than two years without any information. Moreover, Prynne and Chillingworth’s marriage was clearly not rooted in a true love. Some participants even believed that there had been not any special feelings between them. Meanwhile, Dimmesdale was the first and only man to whom Prynne really devoted her heart. She believed that she had done the righteous thing in her world of love; therefore, she made the letter “A” into a lovely, skillful, and subtle decoration, and constantly wore it with a sense of pride and dignity. She also did many good things to prove that she was “ABLE”, particularly her care for the poor and those receiving the community’s alienation. Consequently, society began to view her differently; “they said that it meant “ABLE”; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” (Hawthorne, 1992, p. 139). Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Nguyen Trong Nhan, M.A. and Ho Thi Lai, M.TESOL Puritan and Vietnamese Views on Self, Sin, Love and Moral Mission – Present-Day Vietnamese Readers’ Views at Hue College of Foreign Languages

393

In addition, the survey found that 45 out of 50 readers strongly expressed their sympathy for Prynne and Dimmesdale’s passion and they all agreed that it was a true genuine love. Only 3 informants thought it was anyway shameful and sinful, and the rest 2 participants did not have clear answers. Among the readers supporting Hester Prynne, there were 25 people even supposed that Hester Prynne with her sacred love as well as her actions in defense of love was the highest moral character in the novel. These informants regarded the scarlet letter “A” as a symbol of Prynne’s dignity and they frankly expressed their admiration to her strong spirit. They also argued that by the end of the novel, Hester Prynne became a highly respected woman in the town, so the hangdog meaning attached to her scarlet letter no longer existed. Eventually, Prynne with her courage, pride and effort, diverted all the negative meanings against her letter and successfully went beyond the conventional rules. In conclusion, Hester Prynne was an extreme sinner through the Puritans’ eyes and she ought to feel repentant for her immoral deed; however, under the Vietnamese view, Prynne should hold up her head without regret and the scarlet letter “A” appeared to be the thing she could be proud of.

Conclusion

It may be bias but when a topic of the Puritan society is brought up, most people think of a conservative, rigorous and devotional community. The Puritans seemed to be known as uptight and stick-in-the-mud killjoys, who pitiless lashed out on anyone deemed unfit to their society. Hester Prynne and the harsh punishment she endured in The Scarlet Letter told us about the austere Puritan view on morality, particularly on infidelity.

In the contemporary world, adultery appears to be a noticeable and debatable issue under the Vietnamese point of view. These twenty-first century readers sympathetically looked

394

for the acceptable reasons behind a marital betrayal, and most of them stated that the call of true love would never be the call of sinful desire. ================================================================= References

Boynton, P. H. (1919). A history of American literature. Ginn and Company. Bradley, S., Beatty, R. C., & Long, E. H. (1967). American tradition in literature. NY: Norton and Company, Inc. Gohdes, C. (1944). American literature in nineteenth century England. Southern Illinois University Press. Hawthorne, N. (1992). The scarlet letter: A romance. London: David Campbell publishers Ltd. Hubbell, J. B. (1972). Who are the major American writers? Ducke University Press. Inge, M. T. (1993). A nineteenth century American reader. The United States Information Agency. Jones, H. M. (1963). American prose masters. The Belknap Press of Harvad University. Leisy, E. E. (1962). The American historical novel. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. Meserole, H. T., Sutton, W., & Weber, B. (1969). American literature: Tradition and innovation. D. C. Health and Company. Miller, P. (1956). The American Puritans. NY: Doubleday and Company, Inc. Short, R. W. (1960). Four great American novels. NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. Smith, C. A. (1934). What can Lit. do for me? NY: Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc. Stallman, R. W., & Waldhorn, A. (1961). American literature: Readings and critiques. NY: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. Turner, A. (1961). Nathaniel Hawthorne: An introduction and interpretation. NY: Barnes and Noble, Inc. Vanspanckeren, K. (1994). Outline of American literature. The United States Information Agency. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Nguyen Trong Nhan, M.A. and Ho Thi Lai, M.TESOL Puritan and Vietnamese Views on Self, Sin, Love and Moral Mission – Present-Day Vietnamese Readers’ Views at Hue College of Foreign Languages

395

================================================================= Nguyen Trong Nhan, M.A. English Department Ho Chi Minh City University of Transport No. 2, D3 Street, Van Thanh Bac Site, Ward 25, Binh Thanh District Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam [emailprotected] Ho Thi Lai, M.TESOL English Department Ho Chi Minh City University of Natural Resources and Environment 236B, Le Van Sy Street, Ward 1, Tan Binh District Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam [emailprotected]

396

Relationship between Morphology and Reading in Kannada Kuppuraj, S., Ph.D. Candidate Abhishek, B. P., Ph.D. Candidate Prema K. S. Rao., Ph.D. ================================================ The state of reading research today, more than ever before, is bringing us closer to an understanding of the cognitive processes that underlie learning to read (Snowling & Hulme, 2005). Reading emerges from child’s oral language. Oral language is important for reading, and it continues to serve reading development (Hiebert, Pearson, Taylor, Richardson, & Paris 1998). Hiebert et al., (1998) quoted that, to comprehend decoded text the readers need to extract the meaning (semantics) and structure (syntax) of spoken language. In addition, children who exhibit reading difficulty generally lack the ability to process and manipulate speech sounds, and therefore, the link among oral language, phonological skills and reading development appear to have been well established (Sonali & Snowling, 2005).

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Kuppuraj, S., Ph.D. Candidate, Abhishek, B. P., Ph.D. Candidate and Prema K. S. Rao., Ph.D. Relationship between Morphology and Reading in Kannada 397

Phonological awareness and reading Majority of the research in early reading has been reported from the Western countries. Consequently, the language that was studied extensively was English that emphasize the significant contribution of phonological sensitivity to early reading skills.

Phonological

awareness (term used alternative to “phonological sensitivity” in the present paper) refers to the broad range of skills in the awareness and manipulation of sound structures at the syllable, onset/rime and phonemic level (e.g. counting of syllables, rhyming and isolating initial phonemes). Phonological awareness has been found to influence early reading in English that has alphabetic script (Ehri, 1999; Lonigan, Burgess, Anthony, & Barker, 1998; Wagner, Torgesen, & Rashotte, 1994; Wood & Terrell, 1998). Recent evidence from studies by Burgess & Lonigan (1998), indicate that phonological sensitivity and reading are reciprocally related. That is, phonological sensitivity facilitates the development of early reading and the vice versa. Study by Lonigan et al., (1998) revealed that phonological sensitivity can be assessed in young preschool children and that lower levels of phonological sensitivity may serve as developmental precursors to higher levels of phonological sensitivity as the child develops.

Influence of language and script structure on reading acquisition The influence of language and script structure on reading acquisition and reading disorders was examined by researchers who examined children from non-English speaking countries. There was convincing evidence to state that the nature of script (transparency or opaqueness) does play a role in reading acquisition (See orthographic depth Hypothesis by Katz & Frost, 1992). The hypothesis postulates that learning to read a transparent orthography such as German (Wimmer & Hummer, 1990), Greek (Goswami, Porpodas, & Wheelwright, 1997), Italian (Thorstad, 1991), Spanish (Goswami, Gombert, & De Barrera, 1998), Turkish (Öney & Durgunoglu, 1997), or Welsh (Ellis & Hooper, 2001) is easier than learning to read a language that is orthographically opaque such as French or English (Goswami, Gombert, & De Barrera, 1998; Landerl, Wimmer, & Frith, 1997). The script that has direct connection between orthography and phonology is considered to be transparent while that with lesser connection between these two levels is considered opaque. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Kuppuraj, S., Ph.D. Candidate, Abhishek, B. P., Ph.D. Candidate and Prema K. S. Rao., Ph.D. Relationship between Morphology and Reading in Kannada 398

Alphabetical languages like English and Portuguese need letter mapping while reading, where every letter has to get converted into its respective sound. In alpha-syllabic languages, the mapping happens at syllable level while reading. The alpha-syllabic languages are a group of orthographies that represent sounds at the level of the syllable but have distinctive features to indicate sub-syllabic information (Bright, 1996). Kannada, a south Indian Dravidian language, is a typical example of alpha-syllabic orthography. In alpha-syllabary, the basic unit of the orthographic symbol is the Akshara. The Akshara usually maps to phonology at the level of the syllable. Linguistic features of the alphasyllabaries suggest that subtle differences exist in sound-to-symbol mapping when compared with the alphabetic and logographic orthographies since the mapping units are bigger in Kannada compared to English. The logographic script as in Chinese has even bigger level of mapping unit compared to letter and syllabic mapping. Current evidence indicates that irrespective of whether it is the matching of phonemes to letters (as in alphabetic orthographies like English and Spanish) or the linking of morphemes to characters (as in logographic orthographies like Chinese), reading acquisition depends on becoming skilled with sound and symbol mapping. Further, the degree of consistency in the sound and symbol mapping facilitates or slows down reading acquisition. Children learning to read transparent, consistent alphabetic orthographies, acquire reading more rapidly than children learning to read in the more opaque, orthographically inconsistent languages like Portuguese and English (Seymour, Aro & Erskine, 2003). However, the type of cognitive processes relied upon when mapping phonemes to letters can be expected to differ from the mapping processes for morphemes and characters (Ellis, 1993).

Role of Morphological Knowledge In character reading, as in languages like Kannada for example, morphological knowledge may play a more crucial role when compared to letter reading (McBride-Chang, Shu, Zhou, Wat, & Wagner, 2003). As the mapping unit changes from smaller to bigger units (alphabetic as in English, alpha syllabic as in Kannada to morphemes as in Chinese),

the

significance of phonological awareness (sensitivity) for reading acquisition is questioned by many investigators. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Kuppuraj, S., Ph.D. Candidate, Abhishek, B. P., Ph.D. Candidate and Prema K. S. Rao., Ph.D. Relationship between Morphology and Reading in Kannada 399

Studies on Indian languages like Kannada, Hindi and Oriya report that phonemic awareness is not so crucial in learning to read (Karanth & Prakash, 1996; Prakash, 1987; 1994; 1999; Prakash, Rekha, Nigam, & Karanth, 1993; Prema, 1998). McBride-Chang, Cho, Liu, Wagner, Shu, Zhou et al., (2005) state that phonological awareness is important in reading in English and French, but morphological awareness is important to learn to read Korean and Chinese script that are morphemic in nature. The significance of morphological sensitivity over phonological sensitivity has been studied and reported in literature over couple of decades.

Morphological awareness and reading Studies that investigated beyond the alphabetical scripts resulted in growing evidence on significance of morphological awareness to reading. Morphological awareness is the awareness of words’ morphemic structure and the ability to reflect on and manipulate that structure (Carlisle, 1995). In order to examine morphological awareness, majority of studies have considered derivational morphology and inflectional morphology that are linguistically distinct from each other (for an overview see Bybee, 1985, 1988, 1995). Derivational morphology concerns the generation of distinct words from a base morpheme across different grammatical categories. For example, darkness, and darken all derive from a single base morpheme dark. Inflectional morphology is concerned with the systematic marking of grammatical information on a word stem. For example, nouns may have distinct case forms; adjectives may agree with the nouns they modify; and verbs may have distinct forms for tense, aspect, mood, voice, and valence, as well as number, person, and gender agreement. In an inflectional expression, semantic units are bound into a single word in the form of affixes to a stem (e.g. looked) or in the form of a change in the stem itself (e.g. saw). Unlike derivations, inflections are morphemes that do not change the class of the word they are affixed to and generally can be added to every word within the same grammatical class. Therefore, for manipulation of morphemes, such morphological awareness either at implicit or at explicit levels is mandatory for reading acquisition. Bellugi and Brown (1964), Brown (1973), and Miller (1981) studied the development of morphemes in English language by children at different age. At around two years the child is expected to acquire inflectional morphemes and at the age of four he is expected to begin Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Kuppuraj, S., Ph.D. Candidate, Abhishek, B. P., Ph.D. Candidate and Prema K. S. Rao., Ph.D. Relationship between Morphology and Reading in Kannada 400

acquiring derivational morphemes. The morphology develops as the vocabulary increases, with both morphological knowledge and vocabulary development mutually facilitating each other. Devaki (1983) studied morphological development in Kannada language and reported that development of different types of morphemes in Kannada is complete by the age of seven years. Study by Karanth and Suchitra, (1993) and Scholes, (1993) revealed that school going children become increasingly proficient in identifying grammatical inaccuracies from Grade I through VII. Carlisle (1995) conducted a longitudinal study which followed children from kindergarten till Grade II and found that first-grade morphological awareness made a significant contribution to later reading achievement. With regard to spelling in the early elementary years, Verhoeven and Perfetti (2003), state that progress in reading acquisition requires gaining knowledge of morphemes as abstract linguistic units. They also state that the relationship between awareness of morphology and progress in reading acquisition can also be seen as reciprocal and mutually facilitative in that morphological awareness develops as a consequence of reading instruction. Studies of adults and older children have demonstrated that morphological knowledge plays a role in reading complex words (e.g. Elbro, 1990; Fowler & Liberman, 1995; Elbro & Arnbak, 1996; Nagy, Berninger, & Abbott, 2006) as well as in spelling and reading comprehension. Nunes, Bryant, and Bindman (2006) found that six-year old children’s inflectional spellings predicted their morphological awareness performance at the ages of seven and eight. In the alphabetical language like English research has already highlighted the predominant role of derivational morphological awareness to reading (E.g. Venezky, Jastrzembski & Lucas, 1980; Sowell &Yanigahara, 1989; Massaro, Taylor, Stahl & Nagy, 2006; Balota, Yap, Cortese, Hutchison, Kessler, Loftis, et al. 2007 and Matthews, 2007). Nagy, Berninger, and Abbott (2006), using structural equation modeling evaluated the contribution of morphological awareness, phonological memory, and phonological decoding to reading comprehension, reading vocabulary, spelling, and accuracy and rate of decoding morphologically complex words for Grade IV and V students, Grade VI and VII students, and Grade VIII and IX students. Morphological awareness made a significant unique contribution to reading comprehension, reading vocabulary, and spelling for all the 3 groups, to all the measures of decoding rate for the Grades VIII/ IX students, and to some measures of decoding accuracy Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Kuppuraj, S., Ph.D. Candidate, Abhishek, B. P., Ph.D. Candidate and Prema K. S. Rao., Ph.D. Relationship between Morphology and Reading in Kannada 401

for the Grade IV/V students. Morphological awareness also made a significant contribution to reading comprehension above and beyond that of reading vocabulary for all the 3 groups. Casalis, Colé, and Sopo (2004) studied the phonological process in dyslexics. Casalis’ and colleagues reported that the deficit in the phonological paradigm is compensated by intact morphological paradigm in these dyslexics, thus enabling them to read. In addition to these and other reports on the role of morphology in reading complex words (See study by Elbro, 1990; Elbro & Arnbak 1996 and supporting studies), some crosssectional research (Carlisle, 1995; Singson, Mahony, & Mann, 2000) indicated that the influence of morphological awareness on reading increases as reading becomes more sophisticated. This increase is logically predicted by models of reading development that include a shift in emphasis from phonological to orthographic and morphological information over development (e.g. Ehri, 1999; Seymour, 1999). Other longitudinal studies indicate stable contributions of morphological awareness over time (Deacon & Kirby, 2004). There is similar but more limited evidence for the connection between morphological awareness and reading in French, a transparent orthographic language. Plaza and Cohen (2003, 2004) studied French language and reported that morphological awareness in the first grade determined a significant portion of children’s reading and spelling ability that year and of their spelling one year later, even after controlling for phonological awareness and naming speed. The hypothesis that morphological awareness contributes to reading is further supported by research demonstrating its role across a range of alphabetic and nonalphabetic orthographies (e.g., Abu-Rabia, Share, & Mansour, 2003; Ku & Anderson, 2003; McBride-Chang et al., 2003; McBride-Chang, Cho et al., 2005; for parallel research on spelling, see Levin, Ravid, & Rappaport, 1999). In their comprehensive study, McBride-Chang et al. (2003) reported that morphological awareness was related to Chinese character recognition in the second grade. This link survived controls for age, phonological awareness, naming speed, speed of processing, and vocabulary. This research bolsters the conclusion that morphological awareness has an independent role in the reading development of monolingual children. Relationship between morphological knowledge and vocabulary development has already been established in English by Emden and Harrington (2007). Bowers, Kirby and Deacon (2010), studied the vocabulary development in two groups, one of them receiving morphological instructions and the other not Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Kuppuraj, S., Ph.D. Candidate, Abhishek, B. P., Ph.D. Candidate and Prema K. S. Rao., Ph.D. Relationship between Morphology and Reading in Kannada 402

receiving it. The authors concluded that the group that received morphological training tends to learn vocabulary faster compare to the group that did not receive formal instruction on explicit morphology. Review of studies suggest that there are evidences towards the role of morphological awareness in the acquisition of reading, reading complex words, reading at higher grades although the details of the developmental pattern of its contribution is not very clear. The existing studies link morphological knowledge and vocabulary development (oral language) in alphabetical language and also in other alpha-syllabic languages. However the direct relation between morphological sensitivity and reading development is yet to be derived for Dravidian alpha syllabic language, Kannada. The need for the present study is justified by the lack of studies on examining relationship between morphological sensitivity to reading development in Kannada. The present study uses a reading task along with inflectional/derivational morphologies in sentence completion and priming task through grades IV, V and VI in order to find out the empirical relation between morphological sensitivity and reading. Thus the aim of the present study is to examine explicit morphological knowledge of children using sentence completion task through grades IV, V and VI. The study also aims to examine child’s implicit awareness of morphology using morphological priming task through grades IV, V and VI and evaluate the relation across tasks. The study intends to trace the development in morphological knowledge as reading performance increases and report the correlation between morphological knowledge and literacy.

Method Participants Ten children each were selected from Grade IV, V and VI studying in a Kannada medium school in Mysore city. All the participants were administered the WHO Ten Disability questionnaire (Singhi, Kumar, Malhi, & Kumar, 2007) to screen for developmental disabilities. The participants did not have any academic difficulties as informed by their teachers.

Material Word reading task Reading ability of the participants was examined using 50 words selected from Frame Work for Testing Kannada Reading on the Bases of Automaticity, Rules of Orthography, and Sequential Processing (Purushotama, 1986). (See Appendix for 50 words used in the present study). Experiment 1 (Sentence completion task) The participants were given sentence completion task in which they were asked to complete a set of 15 sentences each by choosing either inflectional and/or derivational morphemes suitable to the context (see Appendix for sample sentences). A sample response form is given in Appendix. (Sentence completion task has been used frequently in literature to examine explicit morphological skills of participant (e.g. Carlisle, 1995; Fowler & Liberman, 1995). E.g. Inflectional sentence completion: Rama… bana (“na” a possessive inflectional marker to be inserted) E.g. Derivational sentence completion: avanubudhi….. (“vantha” to be inserted) Experiment II (Priming task) Priming task was designed with 15 stimuli each for inflectional and derivational morphemes. The prime appeared on the top of the screen for duration of 500 milliseconds following the target which was aligned at the center and appeared for duration of 1000 milliseconds. The prime was a bound morpheme and the target was root word. The participants were required to judge whether the bound morpheme with the root word is appropriate or inappropriate (lexical decision task). He/she has to press ‘0’ on the keyboard if the bound morpheme is judged inappropriate with that root and ‘1’ if the bound morpheme is judged appropriate with the word (See Appendix for test materials used).

Procedure a) Word reading task: The Word reading test was administered as individual task. Words were typed using Baraha in Kannada, with 14 fonts, black colour and printed on A4 sheet. Each participant read the words and the responses were noted. b) The experiment I was a group task. All the 10 participants from a class were given Sentence completion task in which they were instructed to complete the given sentences by choosing the correct morphemes from the list of options. c) In experiment II, each participant was tested on a priming task individually and the Reaction Time (RT) and accuracy of responses were recorded. d) Testing was carried out in a quiet environment. Scoring and analysis of data On the word reading task, Children were asked to read and each correct response was given the score of ‘one’ and words those were either read with errors or incorrectly are given score of ‘zero’. Binary scoring system was followed for responses obtained in Experiment 1.A score of ‘one’ was given when the participant had used correct inflectional/derivational morpheme to fill the blank. A score of ‘zero’ was given when inappropriate morphemes were used to fill the blanks. Total score for each participant was computed for a maximum of 15 each for inflectional and derivational morphemes. Reaction Time for the target responses of all the participants was recorded in Experiment II.The reaction time taken by the participants to judge the word as correct or incorrect was noted using DMDX software in milliseconds. Incorrect responses were eliminated from scoring. Results Results were analyzed for scores on Word reading task, sentence completion task (Experiment I) and priming task (Experiment II). Descriptive statistics were used to find out the average scores on this 50 word reading task across grades IV, V and VI. Average of correct

responses for Grade IV was 39, Grade V was 41 and Grade VI was 46, showing a steady increase in the performance. i) Explicit Inflectional morphology The results of sentence completion task (Experiment 1) is described in Table 1for all the three grades respectively (IV, V and VI). Descriptive statistics was used to find out the average scores on sentence completion task. Table 1 show that the mean scores for inflectional morphemes for a maximum of 15 sentences for Grade IV is 6.8, Grade V is 8.1 and Grade VI is 8.7. The increase in mean scores is seen from Grade IV to Grade VI. While there was an increase in the mean score by 2.7 for explicit inflectional morphological skills between Grade IV and Grade V, that between Grade V and Grade VI was only 0.7 indicating rapidity in the acquisition of inflectional morphological skill, yet being only 50% of the maximum score by Grade VI suggesting that the skill is not completely achieved (Figure 1). ii) Explicit Derivational morphology The mean scores for sentence completion task with derivational morphemes also showed consistent improvement across Grades IV (5.1), V (6.2) and VI (7.4). The increase in mean score from Grade IV to Grade V was 1.1and that from Grade V to Grade VI was 1.2. The performance of children on inflectional and derivational morphemes showed a consistent developmental trend across the three grades. However, the development for inflectional morphemes was relatively better across the grades than for derivational morphemes suggesting that inflectional morphemes are acquired earlier to derivational morphemes. Table 1. Mean Scores on Inflection and Derivational Morphemes across Grades

IV Inflection

IV Derivation

Grades V V Inflection Derivation

6.8/15

5.1/15

8.1/15

Grades Type of

VI Inflection

VI Derivation

8.7/15

7.4/15

morphemes Mean

6.2/15

scores

iii) Implicit morphological knowledge task The priming task required the participant to judge the sentence as correct or incorrect. The reaction time for judgment was measured using the DMDX software. The mean reaction time for Grade IV was 2286.53 milliseconds, Grade V was 1833.62 milliseconds and Grade VI was 1759.66 milliseconds.

Figure 1: Comparison of Performance across Grades on Inflectional and Derivational Morphemes using sentence completion task. X-axis representing Grades and Y-axis representing average of correct responses on 15 sentence completion task. I- sentence completion using inflectional morphemes, D- sentence completion using derivational morphemes. The gradual decrease in the reaction time with increasing Grades from Grade IV through VI suggests that participants from higher grades were faster in judging the sentences as correct/incorrect. The reduction in Mean Reaction Time for Grade V is ~450 milliseconds compared to Grade IV, whereas only ~70 milliseconds for Grade VI compared to Grade V (see Table 2). This could be compared to explicit sentence completion task performance of the participants where the Grade V mean scores were relatively better than Grade IV and that Grade VI was better than Grade V (see Table 1).

Table 2. Overall Mean Reaction Times across Grades Particulars Overall mean reaction time in milliseconds

Grades IV 2286.53

V 1833.62

VI 1759.66

Figure 2: Mean Reaction Times of Grades on priming tasks. X- axis representing the grades and Y-axis representing the average reaction times in milliseconds. Table 3 shows the correlation value between morphological sensitivity and Reading across Grades IV, V and VI. The correlation values between inflectional morphemic sensitivity and Reading are 0.809, 0.829 and 0.537 for Grades IV, V and VI respectively. The correlation values show that inflectional morphemic sensitivity is highly correlating with reading on Grades IV and V and moderately with Grade VI. The correlation values between Derivational morphemic sensitivity and Reading are 0.535, 0.232 and 0.452 for Grades IV, V and VI respectively. The correlation values show that Derivational morphemic sensitivity is moderately correlating with Grade IV reading and where as the correlation of Grade V and VI derivational morphemic ability with reading is lower than Grade IV. To summarize, the correlation results revealed that the

correlation degree between morphological sensitivity and Reading reduces as Grades increases suggesting a better correlation at lower grades (IV and V). Table 3. Correlation value between reading and morphological sensitivity (on sentence completion task only) across Grades IV, V and VI. (Grades)

IV V V

Reading and Morphological sensitivity correlation Inflectional Derivational .809 *** .535** .829 *** .232 * .537 ** .452 *

*low correlation **moderate correlation ***high correlation

Discussion The present study administered a Word reading test (Purusothama, 1986) which revealed that selected participants showed improved performance with increasing grades (39, 41 and 46 for grades IV, V and VI respectively, 50 being the maximum). The present study examined the explicit knowledge of children studying in Grade IV through Grade VI in Kannada medium on knowledge of inflectional and derivational morphemes. Results show that the knowledge of inflectional morpheme increases with increase in Grade. However the increment is more prominent between Grade IV to Grade V. The improved performance on morphemes at these Grade levels is also reported by McCutchen, Green, and Abbott (2008). McCutchen et al, found that morphological awareness continued to develop from Grades IV through VI, and the development was most pronounced when derivational morpheme forms required phonological changes to their root words (i.e., phonologically opaque items like signature/sign). Karanth and Suchitra, (1993) and Scholes, (1993) reported that school going children become increasingly proficient in identifying grammatical inaccuracies from Grade I through VII. Similarly Anglin (1993) also estimated that children between Grades III and V develop more derived morphemic knowledge than their knowledge of single morphemic roots itself. The statement by Anglin could be contained to English language and nay be to related orthographies., Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Kuppuraj, S., Ph.D. Candidate, Abhishek, B. P., Ph.D. Candidate and Prema K. S. Rao., Ph.D. Relationship between Morphology and Reading in Kannada 409

because derivational morphemes play major role in English reading (See Venezky, Jastrzembski, & Lucas, 1980; Sowell &Yanigahara, 1989; Massaro, Taylor, Stahl, & Nagy, 2006; Balota, Yap, Cortese, Hutchison, Kessler, Loftis, et al. 2007; Matthews, 2007). The present study, however, did not attempt to measure the single morphemic root’s growth in the Grades tested. Nevertheless the increase in performance on derived morphemes across Grades IV, V and VI in present study could be compared with study by Anglin (1993). Researchers commented that the growth might be related to children’s knowledge to recognize morphological relationships among words and apply that knowledge into better language fluency and expanded vocabulary (e.g. Anglin, 1993; Derwing, Smith, & Wiebe, 1995; Nagy & Anderson, 1984; Nagy & Scott, 2000; Nagy et al., 2006). The present study also showed consistent development in both inflectional and derivational morphemes in Grades IV, V and VI. The difference in the development of inflectional and derivational morphemes is also stated by Wolter, Wood, and D'zatko, (2009). Wolter and colleagues compared the development of inflection and derivational morphology in English. They identified that first grade was time for spurt of development of inflectional morphemes

and

the later elementary grades were identified as a time of derivational growth in

English. The scores of inflection morphemes being higher than derivational morphemes in the present study suggest that knowledge of inflectional morphemic rules was relatively better compared to derivational rules (see also Devaki, 1983 for order of acquisition of morphological rules in Kannada). The study also examined the implicit morphological knowledge using priming task designed using inflectional morphemes. Priming paradigm of the present study also exhibited increased sensitivity of morphemes while reading from Grades IV through VI. The results show that children who read better also scored better on implicit usage of inflectional morphemes in priming task. Similar priming study was conducted on Grade IV French readers by Casalis, Dusautoir, Cole´, and Ducrot (2009) using morphological and orthographical priming paradigm. Their results revealed the significance of morphological knowledge for visual word recognition. McCutchen, Logan, and Biangardi-Orpe (2009) also studied the significance of morphological knowledge for reading using priming paradigm. Children in their study read target words more Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Kuppuraj, S., Ph.D. Candidate, Abhishek, B. P., Ph.D. Candidate and Prema K. S. Rao., Ph.D. Relationship between Morphology and Reading in Kannada 410

quickly and more accurately when primed by words that were morphologically related compared with words that had only general semantic or orthographic and phonological overlap with targets. The results on priming task of present study also showed that children from higher grades responded faster when primed by morphemes, suggesting greater significance of morphemic sensitivity. Morphology and reading have been related empirically by researchers in the past. WeiLun Chung and Chieh-Fang Hu (2007) suggested from their research findings that facilitative effect of morphological knowledge in reading was not significant in very initial stages of reading acquisition. However the facilitation effects are likely to appear at later elementary Grades. Siegel and Linda (2008) also reported that morphological awareness was more significantly related to reading and spelling over phonological awareness and oral language skills. Authors extended the findings into individuals with dyslexia and found that Dyslexics had significantly lower scores than normally achieving readers on the morphological awareness tasks. The relation between explored relationship between morphology, reading and vocabulary size is also studied in deaf adults by Bastien, Dubuisson, Bélanger, and Daigle (2006) and reported a positive correlation among the variables. A large number of studies have documented a significant connection between children's derivational morphological awareness and their reading and spelling skills (e.g., Carlisle, 1987, 1988, 1995, 2000; Carlisle & Stone, 2005; Champion, 1997; Elbro & Arnbak, 1996; Fowler & Liberman, 1995; Green et al., 2003; Mahoney, Singson, & Mann, 2000; Nagy, Berninger, & Abbott, 2006; Singson, Mahoney, & Mann, 2000; Windsor, 2000). Majority of these studies not only found such associations in normal children but also in children with reading and language/learning disabilities. In the present study also, an increase in the performance of participants from Grade IV through Grade VI on all the three tasks under study-word reading, sentence completion tasks with inflectional and derivational morphemes, and priming tasks with inflectional morphemes suggest the possibility of relationship between reading skills and knowledge of inflectional and derivational morphology. The results of the present study suggests that facilitating morphological awareness may also facilitate word reading (Parel, 2005), thus a alternative view to intervention of children with Reading difficulty in Kannada language. ==================================================================== Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Kuppuraj, S., Ph.D. Candidate, Abhishek, B. P., Ph.D. Candidate and Prema K. S. Rao., Ph.D. Relationship between Morphology and Reading in Kannada 411

Acknowledgements We express sincere gratitude to Prof. S.R. Savithri, Director, AIISH, for permitting us to present our work in 39th All India Conference of Dravidian Linguistics. Our sincere thanks are due to all the participants of Gangothri Primary School, Manasagangotri, Mysore and also the managing authorities of Gangothri Primary School. ===================================================================== References Abu-Rabia S., Share, D., and Mansour, M. (2003). Word Recognition and Basic Cognitive Processes among Reading-Disabled and Normal Readers in Arabic. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 16, 423-442. Anglin, J. M. (1993). Vocabulary development: A morphological analysis. Monographs of the Society of Research in Child Development, 58 (10, Serial No. 238). Balota, D. A., Yap, M. J., Cortese, M. J., Hutchison, K. A., Kessler, B., Loftis, B., et al. (2007). The English Lexicon Project. Behavior Research Methods, 39, 445-459. Bastien, M., C. Dubuisson, N. Bélangeret D. Daigle (2006) "Relationship between morphology, reading and vocabulary knowledge in deaf adults", soumis à Second Language Research Forum (SLRF 2006), Seattle, University of Washington, octobre. Bellomo, T.S (2009). Morphological Analysis and Vocabulary Development: Critical Criteria The Reading Matrix, 9 (1). 44-55. Bellugi, U. & Brown, R. (1964). The acquisition of language. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development. Bowers, P. N., Kirby, J. R., & S. H. Deacon. (2010). The effects of morphological instruction on literacy skills: A systematic review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 80, 144-179. Bright, W. (1996). Kannada and Telugu writing. In P. Daniels & W. Bright (Eds.), The world’s writing systems. (pp. 413–419). New York: Oxford University Press. Brown, R. (1973). A first language: The early stages. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Burgess, S.R., & Lonigan, C.J. (1998). Bidirectional relations of phonological sensitivity and prereading abilities: Evidence from a preschool sample. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 70, 117-141. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Kuppuraj, S., Ph.D. Candidate, Abhishek, B. P., Ph.D. Candidate and Prema K. S. Rao., Ph.D. Relationship between Morphology and Reading in Kannada 412

Bybee, J. L. (1985). Morphology. A study of the relation between meaning and form. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Bybee, J. L. (1988). Morphology as lexical organization. In M. Hammond & M. Noonan (Eds.), Theoretical morphology: Approaches in modern linguistics (pp. 119–141). London: Academic. Bybee, J. L. (1995). Regular morphology and the lexicon. Language and Cognitive Processes 10,425–455. Carlisle, J. (1987). The use of morphological knowledge in spelling derived forms by learning disabled and normal students. Annals of Dyslexia, 37, 90–108. Carlisle, J. (1988). Knowledge of derivational morphology and spelling ability in fourth, sixth, and eighth graders. Applied Psycholinguistics, 9, 247–266. Carlisle, J. (1995). Morphological awareness and early reading achievement. In L. B. Feldman (Ed.), Morphological aspects of language processing (pp. 189–209). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Carlisle, J. (2000). Awareness of the structure and meaning of morphologically complex words: Impact on reading. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 12, 169–190. Carlisle, J., & Stone, A. (2005).Exploring the role of morphemes in word reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 40, 428–449 Casalis, S., Colé, P., &Sopo, D. (2004). Morphological awareness in developmental dyslexia. Annals of Dyslexia, 54(1), 114-138. Casalis, S., Dusautoir, M., Cole, P., & Ducrot, S. (2009). Morphological effects in children word reading: A priming study in fourth graders. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 27, 761–766. Champion, A. (1997). Knowledge of suffixed words: A comparison of reading disabled and nondisabled readers. Annals of Dyslexia, 47, 29–55. Deacon, S. H. & Kirby, J. R. (2004). Morphological: Is it more than phonological? Evaluating the roles of morphological and phonological awareness in reading development. Applied Psycholinguistics, 25, 223-238. Derwing, B. L., Smith, M. L., & Wiebe, G. E. (1995). On the role of spelling in morpheme recognition: Experimental studies with children and adults. In L. Feldman (Ed.), Morphological aspects of language processing (pp. 3–27). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Devaki, L. (1989). Development of morphological rules in Children, CIIL.

Ehri, L.C. (1999). Word reading by sight and by analogy in beginning readers. In C. Hulme& R.M. Joshi (Eds.), Reading and spelling: Development and disorders (pp. 87-111). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc Elbro, C. (1990). Differences in dyslexia: A study of reading strategies and deficits in a Linguistic perspective. Copenhagen: Munksgaard. Elbro, C., &Arnbak, E. (1996). The role of morpheme recognition and morphological awareness in dyslexia. Annals of Dyslexia, 46, 209-240. Ellis, N. C., & Hooper, A. M. (2001). It is easier to learn to read in Welsh than in English: Effects of orthographic transparency demonstrated using frequency-matched cross linguistic reading tests. Applied Psycholinguistics, 22, 571-599. Feldman, L. B., Rueckl, J., DiLiberto, K., Pastizzo, M. &Vellutino, F. R. (2002).Morphological analysis by child readers as revealed by the fragment completion task. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 9, 529–53. Fowler, A., & Liberman, I. (1995). Morphological awareness as related to early reading and spelling ability. In L. Feldman (Ed.), Morphological aspects of language processing (pp. 157–188). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Fowler, C. A., Napps, S. E., &: Feldman, L. B. (1985). Relations among regular and irregular morphologically related words in the lexicon as revealed by repetition priming. Memory & Cognition, 13, 241-255. Giraudo, H. (2001). Rôleetreprésentation de l’informationmorphologique chez l’apprentilecteur et l’enfantdyslexique [Role and representation of morphological information in the beginning reader and dyslexic child]. Annales du FondationFyssen, 16, 81–90 Goswami, U., Gombert, J. E., & de Barrera, L. (1998). Children’s orthographic representations and linguistic transparency: Nonsense word reading in English, French and Spanish. Applied Psycholinguistics, 19, 19–52. Goswami, U., Porpodas, C., & Wheelwright, S. (1997). Children’s orthographic representations in English and Greek. European Journal of Psychology of Education,12, 273–292. Green, L., McCutchen, D., Schwiebert, C., Quinlan, T., Eva-Wood, A., & Juelis, J. (2003). Morphological development in children’s writing. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 752–761. Hiebert, E. H., Pearson, P. D., Taylor, B., Richardson, V., & Paris, S. G. (1998).Every child a reader. Ann Arbor, MI: Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement.

Karanth, P. and Suchitra, M.G. (1993).Literacy acquisition and grammaticality judgments in children [speakers of Hindi and Kannada]. In R.J. Scholes (Ed.), Literacy and language analysis. Hillsdale, N.J, 143-156. Lawrence Erlbaum. Karanth, P., & Prakash, P. (1996). Developmental investigation on onset, progress and stages of literacy acquisition: Its implication for instructional processes. Research Project (F: 217/89/eric/1147). Report was submitted to and was funded by the National Council of Educational Research and Training, New Delhi. Katz, L., & Frost, R. (1992). Reading in different orthographies: The orthographic depth hypothesis. In R. Frost & L. Katz (Eds.), Orthography, phonology, morphology, and meaning (pp. 67–84).Amsterdam: New Holland Ku, Y.-M., & Anderson, R. C. (2003). Development of morphological awareness in Chinese and English. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 16, 399- 422. Landerl, K., Wimmer, H., &Frith, U. (1997). The impact of orthographic consistency on dyslexia: A German–English comparison. Cognition, 63, 315–334. Levin, I., Ravid, D., & Rappaport, S. (2001). Morphology and spelling among Hebrew-speaking children: From kindergarten to first grade. Journal of Child language, 28, 741-769. Lonigan, C.J., Burgess, S.R., Anthony, J.L. & Barker, T.A. (1998).Development of phonological sensitivity in two to five-year old children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 294311 Mahoney, M., Singson, M., & Mann, V. (2000). Reading ability and sensitivity to morphological relations. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 12, 191–218. Massaro, D. W., Taylor, G.A., Venezky, R.L., Jastrzembski, J.E., and Lucas, P.A. (1980) Letter and word perception. Amsterdam: North-Holland. Matthews, P.H. (2007). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics. Oxford UP.p. 11. McBride-Chang, C., Cho, J.-R., Liu, H. Y., Wagner, R. K., Shu, H., Zhou, A. B., et al. (2005). Changing models across cultures: Associations of phonological awareness and morphological structure awareness with vocabulary and word recognition in second graders from Beijing, Hong Kong, Korea, and the United States.Journal of Experimental child Psychology, 92, 140–160. McBride-Chang, C., Shu, H., Zhou, A.B., Wat, C.P. & Wagner, R.K. (2003). Morphological knowledge uniquely predicts young children’s Chinese character recognition. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 743–751.

McCutchen, D., Green, L., & Abbott, R.D. (2008). Children's morphological knowledge: Links to literacy. Reading Psychology, 29(4), 289–314.doi:10.1080/02702710801982050 McCutchen, D., Logan, B., &Biangardi-Orpe, U. (2009). Making meaning: Children’s sensitivity to morphological information during word reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 44, 360–376. Moats, and Smith,(1992). Derivational Morphology: Why It Should Be Included in Language Assessment and Instruction. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 23: 312-319 Nagy, W. E., & Anderson, R. C. (1984). The number of words in printed school English. Reading Research Quarterly, 19, 304 –330. Nagy, W. E., & Scott, J. (1990). Word schemas: Expectations about the form and meaning of new words. Cognition and Instruction, 7, 105–127. Nagy, W., Berninger, V., & Abbott, R. (2006). Contributions of morphology beyond phonology to literacy outcomes of upper elementary and middle school students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98 (1), 17–34. Nunes, T., Bryant, P., & Bindman, M. (2006).The effects of learning to spell on children's awareness of morphology. Reading and Writing, 19, 767-787. Oney, B. & Durgunoglu, A.Y. (1997).Beginning to read in Turkish: A phonologically transparent orthography. Applied Psycholinguistics, 18, 1-15. Plaza, M., & Cohen, H. (2003).The interaction between phonological processing, syntactic sensitivity and naming speed in the reading and spelling performance of first-grade children. Brain and Cognition, 53, 287–292. Plaza, M., & Cohen, H. (2004). Predictive influence of phonological processing, morphosyntactic skills and naming speed on spelling performance. A longitudinal study from Grade 1 to Grade 2. Brain and Cognition, 55, 368–373. Prakash, P. (1987). Reading development, metalinguistic awareness and cognitive processing skills. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar. Prakash, P. (1994, December 15-16). Development of metaphonological awareness and communication. Paper presented at the International conference on Early Childhood Communication. Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore. Prakash, P. (1999). Reading disability and knowledge of orthographic principles. Psychological Studies, 44, 59-64.

Prakash, P., Rekha, D., Nigam, R., & Karanth, P. (1993).Phonological awareness, orthography, and literacy. In R.J. Scholes (Ed.), Literacy and Language Analysis (pp. 55-70). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Prema, K.S. (1998). Reading acquisition profile in Kannada. Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, University of Mysore, Mysore. Purushothama, G (1986). Frame Work for Testing Kannada Reading on the Bases of Automaticity, Rules of Orthography, and Sequential Processing. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the requirements of the degree DOCTOR OF EDUCATION, The University of Rochester, Rochester, New York. Raveh, M., &Rueckl, J. G. (2000). Equivalent effects of inflected and derived primes: Long-term morphological priming in fragment completion and lexical decision. Journal of Memory and Language, 42, 103-119. Seymour, P.H.K., Aro, M., & Erskine, J.M. (2003). Foundation literacy acquisition in European orthographies. British Journal of Psychology, 94, 143–174. Siegel, L. S. (2008). Morphological awareness skills of English language learners and children with dyslexia. Topics in Language Disorders, 28: 15-27. Singson, M., Mahoney, D., & Mann, V. (2000). The relation between reading ability and morphological skills: Evidence from derivational suffixes. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 12, 219–252. Singson, M., Mahony, D., & Mann, V. (2000). The relation between reading ability and morphological skills: Evidence from derivational suffixes. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 12, 219-252. Snowling, M.J. & Hulme, C. (Eds.) (2005). The science of reading: A handbook. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Sonali, N., &Snowling, M.J. (2005).Cognitive profiles of poor readers of Kannada. Reading and Writing.DOI: 10.1007/s11145-010-9258-7 Stahl, S.A. and Nagy, W.E. (2006) Teaching word meanings. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Stolz, J. A., & Feldman, L. B. (1995).The role of orthographic and semantic transparency of the base morpheme in morphological processing. In L. B. Feldman (Ed.), Morphological aspects of language processing (pp. 109-154). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Thorstad, G, (1991). The effect of orthography on the acquisition of literacy skills.British Journal of Psychology, 82, 4, 527-537

Van Emden H.F,& Harrington R. (Eds), 2007 – Aphids as crop pests. CAB International, Oxford, 717 pp. Verhoeven, L., & Perfetti, C. A. (2003). Introduction to This Special Issue: The role of morphology in learning to read. Scientific Studies of Reading, 7(3), 209-218. Wagner, R.K., Torgesen, J.K. & Rashotte, C.A. (1994). Development of reading related phonological processing abilities: New evidence of bi-directional causality from a latent variable longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 30, 73-87. White, T.G., Sowell, J., and Yanigahara, A. (1989) Teaching elementary students to use wordpart cues. The Reading Teacher, 42(4), 302-308. Wimmer, H. and Hummer, P. (1990). How German speaking first graders read and spell: doubts on the importance of the logographic stage. Applied Psycholinguistics, 11, 349368. Windsor, J. (2000). The role of phonological opacity in reading achievement. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 43, 50–61. Wolter, J.A., Wood, A. &D’zatko, K.W, (2009).The influence of morphological awareness on the literacy development of first-grade children. Language, Speech & hearing Services in Schools, 40, 3, p. 286-298. Wood, C. & Terrell, C. (1998). Pre-school phonological awareness and subsequent literacy development. Educational Psychology, 18, 253-274. ==================================================================

Appendix Selected words from word reading task of Purushothama (1986)

Sentence completion task (inflectional morphemes)

Sentence completion task (Derivational morphemes)

Priming task using inflectional and derivational morphemes

=============================================================================

Kuppuraj. S. Junior Research Fellow All India Institute of Speech and Hearing Mysore 570 006 Karnataka India [emailprotected] Abhishek. B. P. Junior Research Fellow All India Institute of Speech and Hearing Mysore 570 006 Karnataka India [emailprotected] Prema K. S. Rao., Ph D. Professor All India Institute of Speech and Hearing Mysore 570 006 Karnataka India [emailprotected]

The Effect of Strategic Planning on Accuracy, Fluency, and Complexity of Written Narrative Task Production Reza Khorasani, Ph.D. Candidate Ambigapathy Pandian, Ph.D. Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail, Ph.D. ============================================================ Abstract The effects of different planning conditions on learners' complexity, fluency, and especially accuracy of written task production are still open to question. To further investigate the issue, in this study planning was operationalized in three levels of noplanning (NP), unguided pre-task planning (UPP) and content and language-focused strategic planning (CLSP). The impetus rose from the idea that if learners are given a combination of instructions regarding form and meaning, the output would be presumably more accurate, fluent and complex (Sangarun, 2005). One hundred and two Iranian EFL learners were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups equally. The first group was required to watch an episode of Mr. Bean's series and wrote their account of watching immediately after that, whilst the second group was Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Reza Khorasani, Ph.D. Candidate, Ambigapathy Pandian, Ph.D. and Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail, Ph.D. The Effect of Strategic Planning on Accuracy, Fluency, and Complexity of Written Narrative Task Production 422

given 10 minutes to think about their output in advance. Alternatively, the third group was given planning time plus a set of instructions on how to plan the content and form of their written task production. The texts were analyzed for the measures of accuracy, fluency, and complexity. A series of one-way ANOVA run on the scores. The results showed general benefits of planned conditions in comparison with unplanned one. However, significant difference was gained only for fluency. The findings of the study support the idea of limited attentional capacity especially in low to intermediate level learners. It also sheds light on the issue that giving a combination of instructions may not always lead to a perfect language output and the allocation of attention turns over the aspects that are easily accessed or given priority by the subjects. Key words: Unguided pre-task planning, strategic planning, accuracy, fluency, complexity

Introduction A number of studies have been conducted on the effects of planning conditions on learners' complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) of productions on oral and few on written task performance (Ortega, 1999; Skehan & Foster, 1999; Yuan & Ellis, 2003; Ellis & Yuan, 2004; Ahmadian, 2012). Yet the results are still inconclusive due to differential effects of planning on language output. Furthermore, unlike oral tasks which have been of more interest in the area of planning studies, written tasks have been ignored to some extent, however, due to remarkable need for pursuing academic career, and social and educational needs, it is necessary to conduct some investigations concerning writing as well to find out methods for enhancing this skill of learners. Based on the university syllabus in Iran for those who are majoring in English, writing courses are mandatory. Students first become familiar with components of paragraph writing like topic sentence, supporting ideas, and conclusion, and then they are taught to write different kinds of narrative, expository, argumentative, and descriptive texts. However, Birjandi, Alavi, and Salmani (2004) hold the idea that Iranian learners have problems both in macro-skills (content and Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Reza Khorasani, Ph.D. Candidate, Ambigapathy Pandian, Ph.D. and Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail, Ph.D. The Effect of Strategic Planning on Accuracy, Fluency, and Complexity of Written Narrative Task Production 423

organization) and micro-skills (vocabulary, grammar, and mechanics) in writing. In addition, according to Manchόn & Larios (2007) the importance of conducting planning studies for writing can be easily understood if we pay attention to the complex nature of composing which consists of different kinds of linguistic and rhetorical knowledge that can be in competition for limited attentional resource and there is a need for a kind of planning that might help learners overcome these problems.

On the other hand, based on information processing theory human beings have limited processing capacity and attention to one aspect of a task may cause less attention to the other (Anderson, 1985). Language production needs a lot of mental processing capacity. This processing greatly increases while learners are engaged in producing a foreign language. Learners especially those with low proficiency who are involved in the processes of language production, i.e. Planning, Translator, and Execution (Anderson, 1985), face with a big mental challenge while producing language in realtime and this leads to producing dysfluent or inaccurate language (Skehan & Foster, 1999). According to Skehan (1996a) this happens because of the trade-off between accuracy and fluency.

Therefore, it seems necessary to conduct different studies regarding the effects of planning and especially strategic planning on learners' writing skill to find out whether it can be as a solution that might affect the writing process. This study is looking for the effect of unguided pre-task planning (UPP) and content and languagefocused strategic planning (CLSP) on complexity, accuracy, and fluency of learners' written narrative task production.

Review of the Literature SLA researchers have investigated planning from different aspects such as types of planning (Foster & Skehan, 1996; Sangarun, 2005); amounts of planning time (Mehnert, 1998); planning and task type Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Reza Khorasani, Ph.D. Candidate, Ambigapathy Pandian, Ph.D. and Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail, Ph.D. The Effect of Strategic Planning on Accuracy, Fluency, and Complexity of Written Narrative Task Production 424

(Foster & Skehan, 1996; Fahim & Nourzadeh, 2011) planning and proficiency level (Kawauchi, 2005; Rahimpour & Nariman-Jahan, 2011) planning and specific instruction (Ortega, 2008) individual and peer planning (Xhafaj, Muck, & D'Ely, 2011), and others (Ellis, 1987; Wendel, 1998; Ortega, 1999; Yuan & Ellis, 2003; Ellis & Yuan, 2004; Tajima, 2003). The findings of these studies have revealed that providing learners with planning prior to their task performance demonstrates positive effects on language performance, still not to the same extent for each aspect of performance.

Wendel (1997) distinguishes two kinds of planning. Strategic or off-line planning that occurs when learners are given time prior to their production which is also called pretask planning, and on-line planning that occurs when learners are performing the task. Accordingly, Schmidt (2001) calls strategic planning as a preparatory attention that helps learners accomplish the activity with more accuracy and speed. Based on Levelt's (1989), there are three language production processes: Conceptualization in which the message is encoded to a preverbal message, formulation that involves applying the grammatical and phonological coding to the pre-verbal message, and articulation in which utterances are phonetically shaped and articulated. Anderson (1985) also proposes similar processes for language production both in written and oral modality. He names these processes as: Planning, translation and execution. He believes that learners are faced with problem in the translation stage in finding the appropriate lexicon and applying the rules on them. Besides, Yuan and Ellis (2003) claim that "on-line planning is the process by which speakers attend carefully to the formulation stage during speech planning and engage in pre-production and postproduction monitoring of their speech acts" (p. 6). They further add that pre-task planning is in the conceptualization and on-line planning is close to formulation stage. So pre-task planning is in contrast with on-line planning. The first one occurs prior to Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Reza Khorasani, Ph.D. Candidate, Ambigapathy Pandian, Ph.D. and Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail, Ph.D. The Effect of Strategic Planning on Accuracy, Fluency, and Complexity of Written Narrative Task Production 425

task performance and might include the provision of linguistic forms while on-line planning happens during task performance (ibid.).

In his model, Levelt divides planning to macro and micro planning. In macro planning the speaker selects and employs the specific information to express his idea and in micro planning he is engaged with configuration of linguistic forms to the intended speech. Ellis (2005) describes planning based on figure 1.

Figure 1 types of task-based planning by Ellis (2005b, p.4)

He identifies two kinds of planning, pre-task planning and within task planning. Ellis further divides pre-task planning into rehearsal and strategic planning. He defines rehearsal as opportunities provided for learners to practice and redo the task prior to main performance and strategic planning as an opportunity to consider how to focus on the content of the performance. Ellis (2003) believes that when learners repeat a task they have easy access to content and since they are familiar with it, so they focus on finding appropriate form. This, he claims that decreases the competing demand of accuracy, fluency, and complexity. Strategic or pre-task planning is a time given to learners prior to their performance to think about their productions. To make sure that learners have spent their time for task preparation, some sorts of note-sheets can be given to learners to write their notes during planning phase (Skehan & Foster, 2005). Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Reza Khorasani, Ph.D. Candidate, Ambigapathy Pandian, Ph.D. and Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail, Ph.D. The Effect of Strategic Planning on Accuracy, Fluency, and Complexity of Written Narrative Task Production 426

For Ellis, within task planning is distinguished due to whether the task is performed under real-time pressure or not i.e. in providing learners with planning time the teacher can allow learners to perform the task in their own time without setting any time limitation, or under real-time pressure in which the learners are required to perform the task in a specific time limitation. This choice is significant and can affect the nature of the language that learners produce (Rouhi & Saeed-Akhtar, 2008). Further, Ellis (1987) also refers to modality and the distinction between productive skills of speaking/writing and receptive skills of listening/reading. He believes that speaking is under more pressure than writing and listening than reading respectively. As Yuan (2001) claims modality of the task can modify the effects of planning time. For him on-line planning is more beneficial for oral rather than written production.

Referring to the amount of time given for learners, Skehan (1996b) states that if learners are provided with unlimited time to perform the task it will be unspeeded, and this will be easier for learners than a task which should be performed in time limitation and he called it speeded. The results of the study by Yuan and Ellis (2003) also revealed that participants who were given unlimited time to perform the task produced a more accurate and complex language in comparison with the group that performed it under real-time pressure. That is to say, the participants used their time to monitor and reformulate their output. Their findings also verified that if the emphasis is on accuracy of the task, learners should perform the task in their own time; however, if they encourage fluency there must be a time limit.

Ahmadian, Tavakoli, and Ketabi (2010) declare that when learners watch a narrative task like a cartoon and are required to tell the story, they might produce a dysfluent language, this could be due to their engagement with finding the message to be conveyed, that keeps their working memory involved with holding the information in their mind. However, repeating the task frees up their attentional resources for subsequent processing and increase the learner fluency. Dembovskaya (2009) claims that pre-task planning is used for: 1)"activating students' background knowledge Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Reza Khorasani, Ph.D. Candidate, Ambigapathy Pandian, Ph.D. and Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail, Ph.D. The Effect of Strategic Planning on Accuracy, Fluency, and Complexity of Written Narrative Task Production 427

schemata and brainstorming a range of relevant L1 vocabulary necessary for the task completion, and 2) brainstorming with the students metacognitive strategies helpful in fulfilling the task effectively" (p. 76). He further adds that when background knowledge is activated learners can have easy access to them and this helps them use their attentional resources for other simultaneous processes, and brainstorming facilitates task completion.

Skehan and Foster (1996) used two types of pre-task planning in their studies, undetailed and detailed. By detailed or guided planning it means to provide learners with some metacognitive advice on how to attend to content, form or content and form simultaneously. Sangarun (2005) studied the effects of three types of guided pretask planning, i.e. meaning-focused, language-focused and meaning and languagefocused planning on learners' oral production. Skehan (1996b) suggests that learners should be made explicitly aware of what they are focusing their attention whether on fluency, complexity or accuracy. Foster and Skehan (1999) also made a distinction between individual and group-based planning and studied their effects on learners' performance. SLA researchers have used different types of planning time in their studies, however, in order to make planning more effective there is a need for operationalizing it in different ways. As a result, it is believed that adding some kind of general or specific guidance will improve the efficiency of planning time. Next section will consider the issue more deeply.

Ellis & Yuan (2004) studied the effects of pre-task and on-line planning on learners' written narrative task production. They asked subjects to write a story based on a set of pictures, which were demanding to some extent and needed interpretation. They conducted this study in order to compare the effects of planning on oral task with written task at the same condition. The no-planners were given 17 minutes to write 200 words about the pictures. In pre-task planning condition they were also given 17 minutes to write 200 words about the task, i.e. under real-time pressure and with no or limited on-line planning that they have calculated earlier, and 10 minutes of planning Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Reza Khorasani, Ph.D. Candidate, Ambigapathy Pandian, Ph.D. and Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail, Ph.D. The Effect of Strategic Planning on Accuracy, Fluency, and Complexity of Written Narrative Task Production 428

time before their production. The on-line planners were given as much time as they needed and they were not asked to write a minimum of 200 words. They employed the same measures they used in oral production. Ellis and Yuan found that pre-task planning has beneficial effects on fluency, complexity with very little effect on accuracy. On-line planning resulted in significant accuracy, some effect on complexity and no effects for fluency. On the contrary to these two groups noplanners had a negative trend of fluency, accuracy, and complexity. This was probably because of attentional limitation while they were involved in the process of writing.

Shin (2008) conducted a study on Korean EFL learners' to measure the effects of both planning time and proficiency level on two types of argumentative and expository task in two kinds of individually planned and collaboratively planned condition. The individual planners were given ten minutes planning time to perform the written task and the collaborative group was instructed to interact with their partners during planning time and then perform their written task individually. The findings of the study revealed that planning time and proficiency level had positive effects on learners' production regarding content, organization, and language of production.

Rahimpour and Safarie (2011) organized a study to investigate the effects of pre-task and on-line planning on descriptive writing of Iranian EFL learners. Their findings did not show any effect of planning conditions on complexity and accuracy of the participants. However, planning had positive effects on fluency of the task in pre-task planning group. Likewise, Rahimpour and Nariman-Jahan (2011) studied the effects of planning and proficiency on Iranian EFL learners' narrative task production. They operationalized planning in two levels of pre-task and on-line planning. The results of their study revealed that low proficiency learners benefit more from planning time regarding concept load, fluency and complexity, whilst high proficiency learners take advantage of planning only with respect to concept load and accuracy.

Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Reza Khorasani, Ph.D. Candidate, Ambigapathy Pandian, Ph.D. and Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail, Ph.D. The Effect of Strategic Planning on Accuracy, Fluency, and Complexity of Written Narrative Task Production 429

Therefore, having considered the importance of writing and the fact that this skill has been neglected to some extent in planning studies, and as also Ellis (2004) says, there has been not much research into the effects of planning on written task performance, there appears to be a need for further research in this area. This study was set out to explore the effects of two types of planning on EFL learners' written narrative task production. The study attempts to answer the following questions: 1. What is the effect of unguided pre-task planning (UPP) on accuracy, fluency, and complexity of written narrative task production? 2. What is the effect of content and language-focused strategic planning (CLSP) on accuracy, fluency, and complexity of written narrative task production? 2.1 What is the effect of instructions in tailoring learners' attention toward the aspects of production?

Method Design The study is a single-factor between group designs in which planning as the independent variable is operationalized in three levels of (NP), (UPP), and (CLFS). The scores of the three groups of the participants were analyzed and compared with each other in order to determine the effect of the treatments. The dependent variables were the accuracy, fluency, and complexity of language production. Table 1 shows the quantitative design of the study.

Table 3.1 Quantitative design of the study Group I (N=34) WT

Group II (N=34) WT

Group III (N=34) WT

Note: NP (No-planning), UPP (Unguided pre-task planning), CLSP (Content & Language-focused planning), WT (Written Task)

Setting and participants Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Reza Khorasani, Ph.D. Candidate, Ambigapathy Pandian, Ph.D. and Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail, Ph.D. The Effect of Strategic Planning on Accuracy, Fluency, and Complexity of Written Narrative Task Production 430

One hundred and two Iranians sophom*ores majoring in English language in Islamic Azad University and Payame Nour University (Ardabil branch) participated in this study. The groups were selected based on cluster sampling and randomly assigned to control and experimental groups based on their scores in Oxford Placement Test. Each group consisted of 34 subjects. Almost all the participants were bilingual being Azari-Turkish as their mother tongue and Persian as their second language. The ages varied from 19 to 25 years old.

Material An Oxford Placement Test developed by Lynda Edwards (2007) was administered in order to distribute the participants to hom*ogeneous groups. This was to take care of internal validity of the effects, i.e. the effects are the results of the treatment. The scores were fed into SPSS, and the results of one-way ANOVA run demonstrated no meaningful difference across the groups (P=.997). So the groups were taken to be hom*ogeneous regarding proficiency.

Task The task in this study was a narrative based on an episode of Mr. Bean's series. The task was selected for a number of reasons: Primarily, narrative tasks are quite common in planning studies (Skehan & Foster, 1999; Bygate, 2001; Tavakoly & Foster, 2008) and this makes the comparison easier. Furthermore, it has a clear inherent structure; the episodes are short and amusing; it is entirely mimed and avoids the interaction between learners' linguistic knowledge and listening skills (Skehan & Foster, 1999).

Procedure Having considered the hom*ogeneity of the groups, they were randomly assigned as no-planning, (NP), unguided pre-task planning (UPP), and content and languagefocused planning (CLSP) groups. The task was performed at the presence of the researcher and their regular instructor. The participants in NP group started writing Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Reza Khorasani, Ph.D. Candidate, Ambigapathy Pandian, Ph.D. and Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail, Ph.D. The Effect of Strategic Planning on Accuracy, Fluency, and Complexity of Written Narrative Task Production 431

immediately after watching the film. They were required to write at least 200 words within 14 minutes under real-time pressure which was based on the pilot study conducted earlier. This was to exercise time pressure and reduce the opportunities for on-line planning. The second group was UPP. After watching the film, they were given 10 minutes to plan their text prior to their production. The idea of 10 minutes was according to Mehnert's (1998) study based on which she discovered that 10minute planning time is more effective than two or five minutes on the CAF triad. The participants were given task-sheet and note-sheet, however, they were told that their notes will be taken at the time of production. The third group was CLSP. They had similar conditions with UPP group, in addition to the instructions provided for them on how to attend to the content and form of their output (Appendix A). The instructions were adapted from Sangarun (2005) and Foster and Skehan (1996). The data from the participants were coded based on the global measure of CAF triad.

Measures In congruence with the findings of earlier research, a number of most common methods that are used for measuring accuracy, fluency, and complexity have been selected and employed in this study (Kellog, 1996; Wendel, 1997; Mehnert, 1998; Wolfe-Quintero, Inagaki and Kim, 1998; Ortega, 1999; Skehan & Foster, 1999; Yuan & Ellis, 2003; Ellis & Yuan, 2004; Rouhi & Saeed akhtar, 2008). The discourse analytical measures of CAF are suitable for these kinds of studies for the following reasons. First, they are within an information processing framework. Second, they have been used in all planning studies to investigate the affectivity of the treatment (Ortega, 1999; Yuan & Ellis, 2003). Third, they have been used in many studies to evaluate task difficulty (Tavakolli & Foster, 2008; Robinson, 2001). The measures of CAF which have been used in this study are as follows: Accuracy was measured by calculating the number of error-free clause as a percentage of the total number of clauses (EFC), Fluency was be measured by the number of dysfluencies, i.e. the total number of words each participant reformulated (crossed out and changed) divided by the total number of words produced (ND). Finally, complexity was measured by Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Reza Khorasani, Ph.D. Candidate, Ambigapathy Pandian, Ph.D. and Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail, Ph.D. The Effect of Strategic Planning on Accuracy, Fluency, and Complexity of Written Narrative Task Production 432

dividing the total number of clauses by the number of T-units, i.e. syntactic complexity (SC).

Results To answer the research questions of the study and find out the effect of each planning condition as independent variables on CAF of production as the dependant variables, the score of the participants were given to SPSS. Then, a series of one-way ANOVA conducted on every aspect among the groups. Table 2 shows the descriptive statistics for syntactic complexity across the three groups. Table 2 Descriptive statistics for (SC) Planning N condition NP 34 UPP 34 CLSP 34

Mean

1.16 1.22 1.26

.133 .167 .194

As the table shows regarding syntactic complexity the CLSP group has the highest mean score among the groups (M=1.26) followed by UPP group (M= 1.22) and finally NP group with the mean score of (M=1.16) which shows an increasing trend from NP to CLSP. To check whether the differences among the groups were meaningful a one-way ANOVA was conducted. Table 4.2 One-way ANOVA results for SC ____________________________________________________________________

F-value

______________________________________

Between groups Within groups Total

.277 5.911 6.188

4 165 169

.069 .036

1.930

.108

___________________________________________________________________

The results revealed that there is no statistically meaningful difference among the groups (p=.108). Hence, this means that although planning and specially instructed

planning favors syntactic complexity, however, the effects are not statistically significant.

To investigate the influence of planning conditions on accuracy of performance another one-way ANOVA was run. Table 3 displays the descriptive statistics for the accuracy measure of participants' narrative writing in the three groups. Table 2 Descriptive statistics for (EFC) Planning N condition NP 34 UPP 34 CLSP 34

Mean

49.61 51.34 61.26

23.68 25.52 23.93

The results in table three displays similar trends as complexity to the accuracy measure of error-free clauses (EFC) among the groups. It also provides the number of participants, means, and standard deviations of the groups. There is a positive trend among the groups from NP to CLSP group. CLSP group has higher mean (M=61.26) than UPP group (51.34) and NP group has the lowest mean. In order to verify these results, one-way ANOVA conducted. Table 4 represents that despite the fact that planned groups outperformed unplanned groups, however, there was no significant difference across the groups (P=.110). Table 4.6 One-way ANOVA results for EFC _______________________________________________________________________

Between Groups Within Groups Total

SS df MS F-value p ____________________________________ 2686.02 4 1343.01 2.256 .110 58936.20 99 595.31 61622.22 101

___________________________________________________________________

Fluency was measured by (ND) which refers to the total number of words a participant reformulated (crossed out or changed) divided by the total number of words produced. Table 2 shows the mean and standard deviation for the scale. Language in India www.languageinindia.com 12 : 7 July 2012 Reza Khorasani, Ph.D. Candidate, Ambigapathy Pandian, Ph.D. and Shaik Abdul Malik Mohamed Ismail, Ph.D. The Effect of Strategic Planning on Accuracy, Fluency, and Complexity of Written Narrative Task Production 434

Table 2 Descriptive statistics for (ND) Planning N condition NP 34 UPP 34 CLSP 34

Mean

.0739 .0295 .0216

.083 .033 .022

As table shows NP group has the highest means score (M=.739), this means that this groups is the most dysfluent group compared with others. The UPP group with the mean of (M=.295) and CLSP group is the least dysfluent group. To discover if the differences across the groups are meaning full a one-way ANOVA run. Table 4.14 One-way ANOVA results for ND of written task production _________________________________________________________________________

F-value

______________________________________

Between Groups Within Groups Total

.054 .286 .340

2 99 101

.027 .003

9.329

.000

___________________________________________________________________

As depicted in the table, the difference among the groups reached to a significant level (p=.000). To find out where the differences were located a Post Hoc Tukey Test was run. As table shows both planned groups yielded statistically significant differences in comparison with NP group. Table 4.15 Post HocTukey Test for ND Planned Groups NP-UPP NP-CLSP UPP-CLSP

Mean Difference .04431 .05221 .00790

F-value 9.329

Significance .003* .000* .817

The mean difference is significant at p