SOME METHODOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS ON SOCIOLINGUISTIC FIELDWORK: A CASE STUDY FROM MAHARASHTRA-KARNATAKA BORDER

1
SOME METHODOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS ON
SOCIOLINGUISTIC FIELDWORK A CASE STUDY FROM
MAHARASHTRA-KARNATAKA BORDER

• Arvind Jadhav
• Yashwantrao Chavan College of Science,
  Karad-415124, Dist. Satara, Maharashtra
• India
• Email lecturer.arvind_at_gmail.com

2
Abstract

• The paper illustrates some methodological
  considerations to undertake linguistic fieldwork
  in general and sociolinguistic in particular.
  This case investigates the morpho-syntactic
  variation in the multilingual situation at the
  Maharashtra-Karnataka border area.
• The paper comprised of an introduction, the
  scope, sampling universe and subjects, methods of
  data collection and analysis, some initial steps
  before commencing the work, the observations
  during the fieldwork and the theoretical
  questions are raised to undertake the further
  research at the end of the paper.

3
Introduction

• Language convergence process occurring due to
  prolonged language contact situation has been a
  topic of interest in Sociolinguistics.
• Language convergence occurs due to immigration
  and in the case of tribal languages.
• In India, prolonged language contact has been
  the major cause of language convergence. One of
  the first reported cases of this type was that of
  Kupwar in Sangli district (Gumperz and Wilson,
  1971).

4
Continued

• Similar sociolinguistic processes are found in
  many more villages around border regions in
  India.
• At the Mahrashtra-Karnataka border, three
  languages (Marathi, Hindi-Urdu, and Kannada) have
  been co-existing for centuries in villages such
  as Arag, Bedag, Ugar, Abdul Lat, Kagal, Kagwad
  and Kudachi.
• No any published work so far found after Gumperz
  research, and hence there is a need to undertake
  this study to know the present linguistic change.

5
Defining boundaries

• Why Kagwad and Kupwad?
• Location Border area, Multilingualism
• Distance from border Kagwad(0) and Kupwad (20)
• 3 Languages Marathi, Kannada and Hindi-Urdu
• Changes in 40 yrs. (Industrialization, Education,
  Media, etc.)
• Medium in schools Marathi in Kupwad and Kannada
  and
• Marathi in Kagwad
• Kupwad and Kagwad may have started with similar
  sociolinguistic situations. Now, as the two
  villages are in two different states, the
  language convergence process is very likely to
  have progressed differently.

6
Which linguistic items?

• Gender agreement
• Number agreement
• Person agreement
• Non-finite VPs and Compound verbs
• Copula construction
• KI subordinating conjunction that
• Interrogative and verbal suffixes

7
Sampling universe

• Kupwad proper and Kagwad
• 2001 census Kagwad 13299
• Kupwad 67136
• The speakers from Kagwad (13299) and Kupwad
  proper (13427) i.e. Kavthan area of Kupwad have
  selected for recording.
• Outgrown area of Kupwad (80) and justification

8
(No Transcript)
9
Sampling subjects

• Number of subjects is the challenging issue?
• Previous studies
• Labov New York 88 speakers (1966)
• Rajyashree Dharavi 62 speakers (1986)
• Trudgill Norwich 60 speakers (1974)
• Eckert Detroit 69/200 speakers (2000)
• Susheela Thomas Kasargod 96 speakers (1995)

10
We can see total 96 speakers distribution

• Villages 48 Kagwad and 48 Kupwad,
• Sex 48 Males and 48
  Females,
• Age 48 Adults and 48
  Adolescents
• Education 48 Educated and 48 Uneducated,
• Languages 32 Marathi, 32 Kannada
  and
• 32 Hindi-Urdu

11
Speakers of Kannada as MT in Kagwad or Kupwad

• 2 Male Adolescents Educated (XI class)
• 2 Female Adolescents Educated (XI class)
• 2 Male Adolescents Uneducated ( 7th or less)
• 2 Female Adolescents Uneducated (7th or less)
• 2 Male Adult Educated (Service Sector)
• 2 Female Adult Educated (Service Sector)
• 2 Male Adult Uneducated ( Farming)
• 2 Female Adult Uneducated ( Farming)

12
METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

• Personal interviews (personal /group interviews)
• Questionnaires
• Participants observation and
• Investigators long time involvement
• This is considered at prime importance for
  in-depth knowledge of societal structure and
  socio-cultural practices in the given communities
  in the selected area.

13
METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS

• As study focuses morpho-syntactic elements,
  the structural grammars will be considered for
  analysis of recorded data. The local varieties of
  concerned languages will be compared with that of
  standard languages.
• LV (Kannada) Standard Kannada
• LV (Marathi) Standard Marathi
• LV (Hindi-Urdu) Standard Hindi-Urdu
• Note LV Local Variety

14
SOME INITIAL STEPS

• Kupwad 6 months intermittent visits
• Kagwad 10 days residence, and some visits
• Public places at bus stop, college area, praying
  places, squares, hotels, shops, on the roads, in
  lanes, market or bazaar and in homes, hospitals.
• e.g.
• 83 year-old muslim claimed that he knew the
  Gumperz
• Retired HM as a host of Gumperz and Wilson in
  1968
• Ex-panchayat (village) member from Kagwad gave
  account of a festival and the myth related with
  it.

15
Primary observations by the fieldworker

• Patience is the supreme tool in the fieldwork
  studies.
• It is a time consuming activity the field worker
  should not make any hast.
• Field worker should be frank and open minded, his
  being reserved will not be of any use.
• He should always take all the apparatus of
  recordings and diaries with him to have chance
  anytime to record the natural conversation or an
  important issue. You can capture the speech event
  any time.
• He has to check the instruments to be ready, all
  the time.

16
Continued

• Fieldworker have to fit anywhere and anyhow to
  record conversation. He should be flexible.
• Fieldworker should plan his work now and then.
• Always keep in mind that not to talk much on the
  sensitive issues. For example, some people do not
  know much of particular issue, but you are not
  there to teach or preach anything.
• Much people are more demanding and they want to
  know almost everything about you and your work
  without ignoring them try to satisfy them.
• Some others are tongue-tied they speak no word
  at all.
• Control of unwanted noises can help to collect
  clear and audible data.

17
Some Theoretical Questions

• Can the methodologies from bi/multilingual
  situations elsewhere than India applicable to
  follow in the fieldwork studies to be undertaken
  in India?
• How to control different languages, different
  linguistic and socioeconomic factors at the same
  time? And if we restrict all the factors to
  certain degree, is it research worthy to know the
  process of convergence or to define variation in
  language and responsible socio-economical
  factors?
• How to know which socio-economical factor is more
  responsible than other?
• How to define the locale for case studies like
  Kupwad?

18
Continued

• How far the statistics or mathematical figures
  give the best results in studies like language
  variation?
• What exactly mean by statistically sufficient
  data or justifiable data, as the terms used in
  the books on methodology in sociolinguistics?
• Is there any need of standardization in
  methodologies for initiating sociolinguistic
  studies in India?

19
Recommendation

• While concluding this paper, I think, to get the
  answers for all the above and other questions
  regarding sociolinguistic studies, the urgent
  need is to undertake more studies considering
  different sociolinguistic factors separately
  each one of them will give the different and
  better insight for theoretical perspectives and
  their application.

20
Notes and References

• 1 Gumperz and Wilson. Convergence and
  Creolization A case study from
  Indo-Aryan/Dravidian border in India. In Hymes
  D. (Ed.). Piginization and Creolization of
  Languages. Cambridge CUP, 1971. Pages 151-167.
• 2 Gumperz and Wilson. Convergence and
  Creolization A case study from
  Indo-Aryan/Dravidian border in India. In Hymes
  D. (Ed.). Piginization and Creolization of
  Languages. Cambridge CUP, 1971. Page 166.
• 3 Kupwad is the same of Kupwar as used by Gumperz
  and cited in further studies of language contact.
  This spelling has preferred because in the entire
  written official document it is used, later one
  is not in use.
• 4 Gumperz and Wilson. Convergence and
  Creolization A case study from
  Indo-Aryan/Dravidian border in India. In Hymes
  D. (Ed.). Piginization and Creolization of
  Languages. Cambridge CUP, 1971. Page 153.
• 5 Census of India. Director of the Census
  Operations, Maharashtra. Sangli District
  Villages and Town Directory, 1961, 1971, 1981,
  1991 and 2001.

21
Continued

• 6 Labov, W. The Social Stratification of English
  in New York City. Washington DC Center for
  Applied linguistics, 1966. In Lesley Milroy and
  Mathew Gordon, 2003. Sociolinguistics Methods
  and Interpretation. New York Blackwell
  publishing, 2003. Page 27.
• 7 Payne, A. C. Factors controlling the
  acquisition of Philadelphia dialect by
  out-of-state Children. 1980(143-178). In
  Lesley Milroy and Mathew Gordon, 2003.
  Sociolinguistics Methods and Interpretation. New
  York Blackwell publishing, 2003. Page 27.
• 8 Labov, W. The Social Stratification of English
  in New York City. Washington DC Center for
  Applied linguistics, 1966 (180-81). In Lesley
  Milroy and Mathew Gordon, 2003. Sociolinguistics
  Methods and Interpretation. New York Blackwell
  publishing, 2003. Page 28.
• 9 Rajyashree K. S. An ethnographic survey of
  Dharavi (a slum in Bombay). Mysore Central
  Institute of Indian Languages, Manasagangotri,
  1986. Page 20.
• 10 Thomas Susheela. Language Contact and
  Convergence A case study in Kasargod. (Ph. D.
  Thesis). Mysore University of Mysore, 1995.
  Pages 74-78.
• 11 Lesley Milroy and Mathew Gordon.
  Sociolinguistics Methods and Interpretation,
  2003. Page 34.

22

• THANK YOU