The Study of Code-Mixing and Code-Switching in the Selected Novels of Amitav Ghosh: A Convergence Approach for Multilingual and Multicultural Students
Keywords:
Convergence, Code-mixing, Code-switching and sociolinguisticsAbstract
India is a multilingual and multicultural country. Many Indian writers have made attempts to depict India and its culture through Indian Writings in English. English has become the most important language of wider communication. The Indian English speech community consists of those bilinguals who use English as a second language. The bilingual competence of the speaker helps him to mix or switch to another language very easily. The present study is an attempt to understand code-mixing and code switching in the novels, The Hungry Tide (2005), The Glass Palace (2000), The Circle of Reason (1986)and Sea of Poppies (2008)by Amitav Ghosh.
The present study is a convergence study of code-mixed and code-switched language used in four Indian novels. The study also focuses on various dimensions of socio-cultural aspects and their effects on society. As the selected novels have multicultural and multilingual background, the focus is on the multilingual society in which mixing and switching of codes is common. The characters depicted in the novels use Bengali, Hindi Bhojpuri, Arabic and Burmese expressions in their conversations. In the novels,The Hungry Tide(2005), The Glass Palace(2000),The Circle of Reason (1986)and Sea of Poppies(2008),we come acrossBengali, Hindi, Bhojpuri, Arabic and Burmese expressions and a mixed-variety of language in their conversations.
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