Translanguaging in Indian fiction

Abstract

Translanguaging refers to the way in which multilingual individuals draw on their full linguistic repertoires, rather than adhering to narrow use of one named language. This concept has important sociolinguistic significance because it enables individuals to move beyond colonial structures of power and liberates the language practices of multilinguals. The purpose of this research is to investigate the phenomenon of translanguaging in Indian writing in English, using two anthologies, She Speaks (Ray et al. 2019) and She Celebrates (Choudhury et al. 2020), as data sources. Focusing on stories contained in these anthologies as case studies, the research describes linguistic, cultural and stylistic effects of translanguaging used in these works, in which Indian writers portray their characters engaging in translanguaging as a way of ‘Indianising’ the English language. In line with accounts of the process of translanguaging as culture-specific, the study reveals that often authors and their characters use translanguaging because forms of usage can be difficult to translate – or at least to translate in a way that conveys the meaning those forms have in the original, vernacular context. The study demonstrates how work at the intersection of literary studies and linguistics can illuminate cross-cultural aspects of fiction writing.