Research on Bilingual Language Behaviour

Research on Bilingual Language Behaviour The aims of this qualitative study are threefold: To observe the language behaviour, in the formal register of religious services, of bilingual members of a sample East African Sikh speech community; To identify and examine the broad patterns of the bilingual language behaviour observed; and To attempt to explain those patterns from the perspectives of language policy (specifically, religious language policy), audience design and communication accommodation. The structure of this dissertation is as follows: Chapter 1 offers a brief history of Sikhism; a discussion of the double migration of the East African Sikhs to the United Kingdom; and the linguistic ramifications of the same for the sample speech community today. Chapter 2 contains a critical examination and review of the literature and central notions relevant to the study. Chapter 3 discusses the hypothesis and methodological aspects of this study; Chapter 4 contains observations made over the course of the data collection period, with the results and analysis of that data. Chapter 5 draws preliminary conclusions on the basis of the data analysis in the preceding chapter. Sikhism, the worlds fifth largest religion, originated in the Punjab (Northern India) as an off-shoot of Hinduism in the 15th century. Its emergence and development as one of the three main religions in India are closely tied to, influenced by and reflect the political, economic and socio-cultural changes that swept across the region over the course of nearly three centuries, shaping the role of Sikhs thereafter. Sikhism would only take on its à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾modern and most immediately recognisable form in 1699 (see below). The faith was founded by the first of the Sikhs ten gurus, Guru Nanak (1469-1538). He began preaching a new belief system founded on principles of monotheism, gender equality and egalitarianism at a time when the Muslim Mughal conquerors of India were forcing conversions to Islam, while the caste system reduced thousands of people to living, starving and dying in poverty. Guru Nanaks disciple and appointed successor, Guru Angad (1504-1552), is credited with creating the Gurmukhi script (which is still in use today) and popularising the practice of Guru ka Langar, whereby congregants eat together at the end of each service. Guru Angad was succeeded by Guru Amar Das (14791574), who made Guru ka Langar compulsory. He also instituted new ceremonies for birth, marriage and death; raised the status of women; and established three main gurpurbs (festivals), one of which is Vaisakhi (see below). The fourth guru, Guru Ram Das (1534-1581), is credited in turn with composing the Laava (the hymns recited during Sikh marriage ceremonies) and, perhaps more significantly, designing the Harimandir Sahib (also known as the Golden Temple) in Amritsar, Punjab. Guru Nanaks teachings, saloks (verses) and shabads (hymns) together with those of his successors were compiled by the fifth guru, Guru Arjan Dev (1563-1606), into the Adi Granth. This would eventually be known as the Guru Granth Sahib, the contents of which are known as gurbani (literally, the utterances of the Gurus). The sixth Guru, Har Gobind (1595-1644), instituted the role of the Sikhs as a martial race of saint soldiers a role which was maintained and expanded by his successor, Guru Har Rai (1630-1661). The eighth Guru, Har Krishan (1656-1664), died of smallpox aged 7 and appointed Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621-1675) as his successor. Tegh Bahadur further reinforced the Sikhs role as a warrior class before his execution by Emperor Aurangzeb. Prior to his death, he appointed his son, Gobind, as his successor. Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708), the tenth and final human guru, is widely regarded as having laid the foundations for modern Sikhism on Vaisakhi in 1699. In establishing the Khalsa[1] Panth, Gobind Singh gave tangible shape to Sikh identity. He instituted the taking of amrit (literally nectar) as a new baptism ceremony, together with the five Ks, symbols to be worn by Sikhs as outward identifiers. New names were also to be taken by the newly unified community of Sikhs: Singh (literally, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾lion-hearted) for men and Kaur (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾princess) for women. Guru Gobind took part in the first baptism, thus becoming Guru Gobind Singh. Equally significantly, Guru Gobind Singh elevated the Adi Granth (see above), to which he had made significant contributions, to a new status as the Guru Granth Sahib, and effectively appointed the sacred text as his successor[2]. In doing so, he vested it with full spiritual authority, with temporal authority laying with the Khalsa Panth. The Guru Granth Sahib continues to be worshipped and venerated by Sikhs as a living Guru, with various rites and rules governing how it is handled and treated. The Guru Granth Sahib is unusual in that it is a religious text compiled within the lifetime of its authors and contributors. Furthermore, whilst it is written exclusively in Gurmukhi script, the text itself is actually a mixture of different languages, including inter alia Punjabi, Persian, Hindi-Urdu, and Sanskrit. Gurmukhi has therefore been used as a transliterative device, a means of unifying and harmonising a disparate collection of verses and hymns written, collected and compiled by the Gurus and their devotees. In an informal chat during one of my visits, the president of the gurdwara informed me that, stylistically, the language used in the Guru Granth Sahib can be equated with Shakespearean English: spiritual, poetic and inspiring, but with a meaning that is not readily grasped by congregants without an explanation or interpretation provided by a giani. Gurmukhi (literally from the mouth of the Gurus[3]) is central to Sikh worship and religious practices. The general view held is that true understanding of the spiritual significance of the sacred texts cannot be achieved without knowledge of Gurmukhi, and a Sikh cannot fully experience the Guru Granth Sahib until he or she can read its contents. English translations are not frowned upon per se, and Romanised publications (in which the original Gurmukhi text is rendered in Romanised script[4]) abound, but these are rather viewed as little more than an introduction to worship and prayer rituals practices for which only Gurmukhi can and must be used in order to be correct or acceptable[5]. Two further points are implicit within such a requirement: First is the need for congregants to speak the heritage language in order to understand the text in terms of its spiritual content (as stated above) and, by extension, participate completely as fully-fledged and acknowledged congregants in a given service. Following that line of reasoning, it would seem futile to be able to read Gurmukhi script without the requisite understanding of the Punjabi language necessary to grasp the meaning of the text. Secondly, proficiency in reading Gurmukhi would appear to establish a form of hierarchy amongst congregants: the greater the proficiency, the greater the understanding of Sikh spirituality, and the more likely any such members are to be able to participate fully in services particularly the Akhand Path, in which proficient ability to read Gurmukhi is central. It may be said that Gurmukhi script acts here as a source of religious mysticism[6], in that a full understanding of the spiritual message contained in the Guru Granth Sahib remains inaccessible and, therefore, a source of mystery to anyone who cannot read it. Congregants who are unable to read Gurmukhi are consequently dependent on the giani or fellow congregants who are fully proficient in reading Gurmukhi script. Taken together, it may be argued that Gurmukhi script and, therefore, Punjabi more generally could have an exclusionary or prohibitive effect, imposing additional criteria for full membership of a group on the basis of a shared language and social and cultural identity, creating a religious hierarchy within a group that also serves social and cultural ends. According to the 2001 Census, there are 329,000 Sikhs in England and Wales[7]. It should be noted that the census data makes no distinction between Indian Sikhs and East African Sikhs, who in fact constitute two very separate groups within a wider religious community. The establishment of the Sikh community taken as a whole as a bilingual speech community in the United Kingdom can by and large be described in terms of the chain migration model detailed, for example, by Dabà ¨ne and Moore (1995)[8]. It is, however, important to bear in mind that the history and development of the East African Sikh community present in the United Kingdom followed a distinct trajectory, one in which a sense of separateness has heightened the groups awareness of and desire to preserve it social, cultural and religious (and, by extension, linguistic) identity. [1] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Khalsa is derived from Arabic khalis (literally meaning pure or unsullied). Khalsa Panth means community of the pure. [2] Partridge, C. H. (2005). Introduction to World Religions. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, p. 223. [3] See Appendix VI. [4] See Appendix VI for examples. [5] This is further confirmed when one looks at the communities of non-Asian Sikh converts in the United States: they learn Punjabi particularly how to read Gurmukhi script and conduct their services in that language Their conversion is not only religious, but also linguistic. [6] Wirtz (2005) offers fascinating insight, from an anthropological perspective, on the use of language as a source of religious mysticism in Santerà ­a ceremonies held in Cuba. [7] See Appendix V for relevant data drawn from the 2001 UK Census. [8] See below Chapter 3: Literature Review.