Suchergebnisse

Examines representations of language in traditional texts of India as indicators of gender, ethnicity, class, & power, & compares them to representations of language that served as markers of status in well-known texts of modern Anglo-Indian literature. The sacred vedic texts of ancient India are touched on, but greater attention is given to signifiers of power relations in the epic, classical, & modern periods. It is argued that religious/social thought & practice in premodern India produced a pervasive link between the control of language & control of the world, an association that was quickly assumed by colonial agents, who were also concerned with both social hierarchy & language as a status indicator. An exploration of the complicated connection of this association with gender representations maintains that it spawned an obsession with the mechanisms of language/linguistic performance, including articulation, grammar, & etymology. It is noted that challenges to the power & prestige of Sanskrit during the Mughal & colonial periods led to the use of English as India's other "father tongue.". 16 References. J. Lindroth