DEPARTMENT OF Malayalam

Principal Investigator :

Dr. Brincy Mathew (Asst. Prof. Dept. of Malayalam, Deva Matha College, Kuravilangad)

MINOR RESEARCH PROJECT

M.R.P. (H) – 1252/13-14/KLMG023/UGC-SWRO  

Project Title: IMPACT OF KOTTAYAM AND THRISSUR DIALECTS ON MODERN MALAYALAM LANGUAGE:  A SOCIO-LINGUISTIC APPROACH      

Summary of the Findings

Language is an integral part of human life and it is the most important factor that makes us distinct from other species. It is one among the wonders of the human species, through which his social life operates. Language varies according to region & individual on the basis of lifestyle, environmental as well as cultural factors. Language cannot be separated from the society. Similarly the society cannot be separated from the language. Culture creates language and language gives birth to culture. The language which is acceptable to all individuals is standard language. It is this language which makes the communication between those who speak the different dialects of the same language possible. However, in the use of language and in responding to other’s use of language, each individual is different. Region, time, religion, caste and creed, age, occupation, gender, educational status etc are some of the factors that determine one’s use of language.

          Two of the major branches in linguistics are dialectology and sociolinguistics. The branch that gives importance to the study of language on the basis of regional differences is dialectology. Sociolinguistics is concerned with the relation of dialects to the social structure. Both are inter-related.

          The state of Kerala was formed in 1956 on the basis of language. Before the formation of the state, there existed three major dialects regional on the basis of Malabar, Kochi and Travancore administrative areas. However, it was later understood that this division was not perfect. The linguistics have recognized six linguistic subregions in Kerala. In the survey on dialects conducted by the Kerala University in 1965, 12 regional dialectal areas among them are in Kottayam and Thrissur districts. Thrissur is described as the ‘cultural capital city in Kerala’. The language of Thrissur is noticeably different from the standard language in terms of pronunciation, tone and rhythm. Kottayam is popularly known as the ‘city of letters’. The language of Kottayam shows close resemblance to the printing language. Even if this is the case, many dialects have been discovered in Kottayam district also. The collection of the regional terms that are in use in these two dialectal areas enriches language to a large extent.

          Today situation is such that people are interested in the study of dialects. This interest have been maximum utilized by the media. The importance of regional language in Malayalam literary genre were first presented by  O.Chandu Menon and C.V. Raman Pillai. Novelists like Uroob, O.V. Vijayan, Malayattoor Ramakrishnan and K.J. Baby have based the themes of their novels from the social and cultural spheres of Kerala and they constantly made use of the dialects of the regions in which they were born and brought up.

          Sara Joseph is a writer who has made use of the beauty and the diversity of the ‘Thrissur dialect’ in her works. Zachariah’s works are rich in the use of the ‘Kottayam dilect’. The Moplah dialect of Kottayam can be observed in the works of Vaikom Muhammed Basheer to some extent. These linguistic diversities in Modern Malayalam language can be considered as the factors that have proved beneficial to its growth richness.

          The national differences and the societal differences have influenced the language of the cinema as well. The use of the vocabulary, characteristic features and the tone of the Thrissur dialect has beautified the Malayalam cinema during several instances. The regional dialects have marked their entry and gradually created a space for themselves in the Malayalam film industry through their practical use by various actors, as exemplified by the use of Thrissur dialect in films by the veteran actor Innocent. The films like ‘Pranchiyettan’, Punyalan Agarbattis’, ‘Mathayi kuzhappakaranalla’, ‘Jamnapyari’etc illustrate the influence of the Thrissur dialect in the Malayalam films. Likewise there are many films such as ‘Lelam’, ‘Vazhunnor’, ‘Kottayam Kunjachan’, ‘Kanjirappilly Kariachan’, ‘Sphadikam’ - which have made use of the Kottayam dialect. Regional dialects are used on a large scale in dramas as well as short stories. As part of globalization, attempts have been made to destroy the diversities of language & culture and unite these realims. In such a situation, a study of these dialects can provide ample scope for preserving the richness, beauty & diversity of the Malayalam language for the future generation.   

          As part of this project, direct conversations were arranged with the respondents of the Kottayam and Thrissur districts. Questionnaires were distributed to the residents of these districts. The researcher has travelled through the various regions of

these districts to get a direct idea of the use of the dialects. Literary works were scrutinized and the Malayalam movies that have made an extensive use of the Kottayam & the Thrissur dialects were analyzed. The findings & conclusions of the study made in this way are given below:

·      The use of  language in Kottayam district shows close affinity to printing language. Other than that, a code mixing with the English language is  common in the Kottayam district. Even in the rural areas of Kottayam, the influence of the English language is visible.

·      In Kottayam district, an addition of the suffix, ‘-th’ with the words is noticeable. For eg: ‘Pokathilla’ (Will not go)

‘Varathilla’ (Will not come)

·      In Thrissur district, the original words are reduced and used. Eg:’Varoola’ (Will not come), ‘Povoola’ (will not go). In some contexts, words are reduced and used in Kottayam districts also. Eg: ‘Varuvela’ (will not come)

·      In Kottayam, Standard language words are pronounced as dental consonants.

·      Eg. ‘entha’ ’! ‘enna’ (‘what’)

·      In Thrissur, these are pronounced as alveolar sounds. Eg:- ‘entha’ ’! ‘enthwa’ (‘what’)

·      In Kottayam district, the word ‘Kochu’ is used in an affectionate sense to refer to a ‘child’. In Thrissur district,  ‘kidavu’ is used to refer to the same word.

·      The people of Thrissur usually omit the ‘o’ sound in pronouncing words. Eg: ‘farum’ instead of ‘forum’.

·      In Kottayam district, the use of ‘va’sound at the end of words is noticeable.

Eg: ‘pokuva’ (going), 

 ‘varuva’ (coming)

·      In Thrissur district, the surds and aspirated sounds are velarised and used in the word medial and final positions by omitting certain consonants.

·      In Kottayam district, it is noticed that various terms are used to address people depending on the age, relation, authority and status of those who are being addressed. However, in Thrissur district, the common terms used for addressing males and females are  ‘chetta’ and ‘chechi’ respectively. In Thrissur district, the following sound change can be observed:

In Namboothiri dialect, instead of pronouncing ‘naam’ (we), the word is pronounced as ‘nom’.

In Muslim dialect the words ‘enikku’ (for me), ‘nammal’ (us) etc are replaced by pronouncing the words as ‘anakku’ & ‘njammal’ respectively. In both districts, it is observed that while addressing, people use ‘ijj’ instead of ‘nii’ (you).

Thorugh this study 70 basic words used in the dialect of Kottayam and     basic words used in the dialect of Thrissur have been collected. Besides these, the terms used to show relationships, words related to religion, names of home appliances, different parts of a house, different styles of conversation, commonly used terms, affectionate terms, terms used for addressing, negative terms, etc used in both districts have been collected.

Along with the study of  phoneme and morpheme  the examples of the sentences used in both the districts have been studied and illustrated with examples.

This study has helped to create an objective and scientific outlook regarding the changes that can occur in the mother tongue on the basis of the dialects used in the two districts, Kottayam and Thrissur. By collecting the language varieties in these two districts, a language which is enriched with vocabulary can be  provided to the future generation. These dialectal varieties point to the growth of the language. It can also help in the making of a great dictionary containing the different regional dialects. It is sure that the study of the dialects will become a decisive factor in the field of cultural studies.