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Bangla to English Code Switching in BangladeshiCommercial Cinema

NASREEN SULTANA

Abstract

The language of media, especially language of cinema is relatively anunexplored area in the field of academic research. In Bangladeshi commercialcinema, it is often noticed that actors switch their codes from Bangla to Englishwhile speaking. However, it should not be thought that in cinema codeswitching is done without any reason; rather code switching in the dialogues isdesigned to convey the intended meaning. Therefore, it is important toinvestigate the phenomenon of code switching in Bangladeshi commercialcinema from an academic point of view. This research is descriptive andqualitative in nature. Its purpose is to find out the reasons and types of codeswitching which are found in the commercial films of Bangladesh. For thisresearch, data are collected from commercial Bangladeshi films and interviewshave been conducted with experts from linguistics and film background. Aftercollecting the data, they are transcribed, tabulated and analyzed in terms of theresearch objectives.

Introduction

In the early 1920s cinema achieved a rivalry position against theatre andopera houses because of its glamour as well as grandeur and by the end ofsilent period cinema had established itself not only as an industry but alsoas the ‘seventh art’ (Smith, 1996, p. 3) due to incorporation of verbaldialogues. Quder (1993) calls this the culmination period in the history ofmotion pictures (p. 11). Cinema became the most important form of art inthe entertainment world and later became the most important media.Adding verbal sound is an important phenomenon in cine history, which isthe key reason behind the huge success of cinema. Smith (1996) names thisevent as a ‘revolution’ in the cine history, since adding ‘synchronized

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sound dialogue’ changed the cine art form into something else which it wasnever before (p. 207).

At present dialogue or verbal language is an integral part of films anddue to globalization, usage of various languages or codes in films is verycommon to mass audience. Nowadays switching codes from one languageto another is noticed in numerous films irrespective of countries. In moderncinema, practice of various languages is a widespread matter and codeswitching, in fact, makes the content more interesting.

Following the rest of the world, the tendency of code switching isprominent also in the cinemas of South-Asian countries such asBangladesh, India, Malaysia, Pakistan and so on. In case of Bangladesh,frequent switching of code from Bangla to English is noticed in thecommercial cinema. However, it should not be thought that Bangla toEnglish code switching in Bangladeshi commercial cinema is doneabruptly; rather there are some specific functions of code switching incinema, which make the cine language more attention-grabbing,remarkable and meaningful.

Problem Statement

In Bangladeshi cinema there is much to explore about the language ofcinema, since it is important and interesting and hence, demands a formalresearch to know more about it. This study attempts to show the functionand type of Bangla to English switching found in Bangladeshi commercialcinema in various ways, which has been remained unidentified so far.

Research Objectives

The central research objectives are:

1) To find out the types of code switching used in commercialBangladeshi cinemas.

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2) To find out the reasons of code switching in Bangladeshicommercial cinema.

Research design

The research is descriptive, non-experimental and investigative innature. It attempts to explore the nature of code switching found inBangladeshi commercial cinema. Its purpose is to look at the nature of codeswitching in the commercial cinemas of Bangladesh. The analysis of thedata aims to provide answer to the central research objectives.

Sampling

The sampling is a two prong approach: one is textual and another is oral.The textual sampling is made up of 33 (thirty three) selected Bangladeshimovies and the oral sampling comprises of nine academicians from thediscipline of linguistics and media.

Data Collection and Analysis Procedure

Films are selected randomly from 1970-2009 for the purpose of collectingdata. Later, some experts have been interviewed both in formal andinformal setting. After collecting the data, they are transcribed andtabulated. Information is compiled, tabulated and is analyzed by bothqualitatively and quantitatively.

Operational definitions

The operational definitions of the research are given below:

Commercial cinema

Commercial cinemas are often termed as ‘films of mass consumption’(Armburst, 1995, p. 82), that is, these films are made for common peoplebased on their interest. Armburst believes that commercial cinema mightnot be intellectual but they are what the masses like. They establishconvention among people, which is closely tied with the prevailing culture,

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ideology and language of a country (p. 117). However, Farid (1988) makes aharsh comment labeling commercial cinema ‘for merchant and middleman’(p. 18), whose intention is only to do business, but he accepts the fact thatone can see the social and political scenario of a society only in commercialcinema. Nasreen and Haque (as cited in Shahaduzzaman, 2008, p. 71) termthe commercial cinema as ‘dorshok ki khai’ (what public eats), since it reflectsthe thought, hope and desire of the majority in the society. It can beunderstood that commercial cinema means the main stream films of acountry which reflect the society and its people and are made for massaudience.

Code switching/Code mixing

Speakers keep switching to various styles, registers or dialects whilespeaking and this is called code switching. Gumperz (1982, p. 159) andWardhaugh (1992, p. 103) both state that in code switching two languagesare juxtaposed within the same speech exchange and it goes randomly. So,code switching means any kind of language shift in the speech. Meyerhoff(2006) believes that people who have command on more than one varietyand are aware about the context usually use code switching (p. 116).

However, there is a controversy in between code switching and codemixing, since some researchers do not agree that code switching andmixing are same. Meyerhoff (2006) comments that code mixing is a ‘coverterm’ for code switching and so there is no need to use separateterminology to identify them separately (p. 116). Nonetheless, generally it isthought that code switching occurs across the borders and code mixingoccurs within the sentence, but there are not many differences betweenthem. Therefore, code switching and mixing can be used interchangeably.

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Literature Review

Language in Bangladeshi Cinema

Very little writing has been found on Bangladeshi films and almost nowriting is available on the language of Bangladeshi cinema except thehistorical writing of Kabir’s Film in Bangladesh (1979). He actually realizesthe importance of language in Bangladeshi cinema and thereforecomments, “it could not be a matter of happiness for anyone having faith inthe potential of the cinema in Bangladesh to realize that even after decadeof film production true language of films art has yet to make its confidentappearance in the arena” (p. 92). For Kabir (1979, p. 96), language of film artis ‘plastic’ in nature which is capable of expressing the most difficultthoughts explicitly. Later, he emphasizes on dialogues saying thatdialogues are important to express the messages properly:

A correct screenplay will never allow audience interest to stray away byoverloading the screenplay with dispensable details…other essentialelements such as dialogues, music, incidental sound effects etc. mustplay a secondary role in Bangladeshi cinema…in other words,dialogues would come to visual’s rescue only when latter’s power ofcommunication will appear inadequate . (p. 96)

Code Switching in Cinema

Armburst’s (1995) investigation on code switching in cinemademonstrates that the language of films is not exclusively verbal, butconsists of images coupled with verbal expression in a narrative frameworkand there are a number of codes evident in films, which are not necessarilydependent strictly on verbal expression. Armburst (1995) provides somecharacteristics of code switching in cinema. They are:

Code switching in cinema suggests that both the filmmaker and theaudience are familiar with both codes and this indicates a kind ofidentification in between the audience and the characters in the films.

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Therefore to understand such kind of code switching exposure towardseducation is not needed. However, sometimes the occurrence of foreignwords might create a gap between the film and the audience. So codeswitching has to be very sophisticated and careful.

Usually English is the common verbal code switching in cinema.

Usually the effect of switching is either comic or sinister.

Code switching is used to create sensation among the viewers.

Sometimes code switching may be used in films to show a kind ofsolidarity to a particular culture or language.

In cinema rich people show a reach variety of code switching toestablish their upper position. (p. 98-115)

In Bangladeshi cinema also, actors use different variation of languagesespecially Bangla to English code switching. Sometimes it is done evenunconsciously. Thus it has become an integral part of cine language.

Switching of codes is always common in cinema. In this research, thepurpose is to reveal the nature of code switching found in the commercialBangla cinema.

Types of code switching

Many researchers have identified three types of code switching, such as,tag switching, inter sentential and intra sentential (Poplack, 1980;Wardaugh, 1992; Holmes, 1992; and Romaine, 1995). They are given belowas Poplack (1980) has described:

Tag switching

It is an insertion of a tag from one language into the utterance of anotherlanguage. Since tags have minimal syntactic restrictions, it can be easilyinserted in an utterance without violating the syntactic rules. Hence, even

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monolingual speakers can easily use tag switching, such as, you know, Imean are the most common phrases of English language which arefrequently used in other languages in a form of tag switching.

Inter-sentential

Here switching occurs in the sentence boundary. It is generally thoughtthat this type of switching needs good fluency in both the languages, sincethe speaker needs to maintain the rules of both languages which he uses inthe switching.

Intra-sentential

Here code-switching means different types of switching occur within thesentence or clause boundary. Generally this type of switching needsmastery in both the languages since the speakers need to use differentforms of switching within a single discourse. However, it is noticed thatsometimes inefficient speakers also tend to initiate this sort of switching. Inthis case, speakers are used to inserting a noun phrase because inserting anoun phrase does not need a high syntactic mastery and thereof speakersfind it easy to insert a noun phrase in the sentence.

Discussion and findings

After watching the movies, the data has been tabulated (Table-1). Table -1 shows the reasons and types of code switching which are usually found inthe movies. Collected data from the interview are tabulated and analyzedin Table 2, where the experts has given their opinions about the reasons ofcode switching in the commercial films of Bangladesh.

Reasons of code switching

According to Table 1, there are some important reasons behind codeswitching in Bangladeshi commercial cinema. The table is given belowfollowed by a discussion:

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Table 1: Reasons, examples and classifications of code switching foundin Bangladesh commercial cinema from 1970 to 2009

Name ofthe Movies(Year ofrelease)

Languageinvolvedin codeswitching

Reasonsbehind codeswitching inBangladeshicommercialcinemas

Types of code switching found in cinema withexamples

Tag switching Inter sentential Intra sentential

1. Taka AnaPai (1973)

BanglaEnglishHindi

HabituationTo showhigh status

Ore baba,amake lecturedei.Haappointment tokore e eshesi.Ekkebare goodboy re

2. Beiman(1974)

To showhighlyeducatedTo showstatusHabituation

Right apanarprostab amimanlam.Montu k tucapture korerakish… byebye

It is so nice Naj jtumi amarshathe beratejabe? Oh! Surelets go.Please auntyothona…o mysweet darlingNaj, tumi jegeaso?

3. Mon JareChai (1976)

BanglaEnglish

To raisehumor/comedyHabitation

Are era tointernationalchor

Such a badsituation, ekhonki hobe?

4. JayParjay(1976)

HabituationTo maintainofficialnorms

Entry feeekshotototakaNext, cholonext heroine.Don’t forget jeta ekta policestation.

5. Gangchil(1980)

BanglaEnglish

To showbeingeducated

Chalun na ekcup coffee hoejak!!

Chalun na ekcup coffee hoejak!!/ I would be

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To showhigh statusHabituation

pleasedMy chiefengineer, Nishadeke kaj kormobujie dao, I thinkhe will beinterested.

6. Nagin(1980)

N/A ……………… ………………… ………………

7. Gaddar(1983)

BanglaEnglishArabic

To showauthorityTo showrespectaccording toreligionHabituation

Asha kori Iam clear./Amibolesilamna/Thank youvery much

8. GharBhangaGhar (1985)

N/A …………… ……………….

9. Daetto BanglaEnglish

HabituationTo Maintainofficial/situational norms

Notun k dieheroin er partkoraben?/chobisuperhit.Film office ekoto e chancer jonno ashe.Congratualation./thankyou…selederhat eto norom

10.Opekkha(1987)

BanglaEnglish

To createhumorTo putemphasisHabituation

Very bad verybad, meyedershathe emonkorena/rubbish, dileto practice tamati kore!!

11. TinKonna(1989)

BanglaEnglish

To createhumorTo maintainofficialnormsHabituation

Amar darlingre…yahooh.darling tumiamarhoibana…tomare ami kiss

May I come insir? Oh yes…eihoche Miss.Roji./amraporichito/ OH!That’s fine. Miss.

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dimu Kobita tomakeshahajjo korbe/Yes sir.

12.Shuvoda(1987)

N/A …………… ……………….

13. Bashona(1989)

BanglaEnglish

HabituationTo Maintainofficial/situational normsTo raisehumor

Hegounderstandinghoia gesega.Temonkisuna- minorinjury, she willbe alright.

Temon kisuna-minor injuri, shewill be alright.

14.Okritoggo(1990)

BanglaEnglish

HabituationTo Maintainofficial/situational norms

Ladies sata rniche seledermathadukanothiknaSir, Madamapnake callkoresen/MayI come inmadam, Haashun

15. DenMohor

BanglaHindi

To showhigh statusTo showrespectaccording toreligion

Apni amaderjobon noshtokorben na,Allah hafezBeta Ajmol,raajshobsomoimathai raktehoi

16. ChaowaThekePaowa

BanglaEnglish

To showeducatedTo show

high statusHabituation

Ektacha/ThankyouBah!Excellent..cmotakar…wow…that’s it.Sire felo…goahead

17. TomakeChai

BanglaEnglish

To showrespect

Amar money-bag ta khali

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Arabic according toreligionHabituation

hoe geseO apni eregularcustomer/ekhon apni eice-creamkhan/ thankyou

18. Ei Ghar,Ei Shanshar

BanglaHindiEnglishArabic

HabituationTo maintainthesituationalnormsTo createhumorTo showrespectaccording toreligion

College eshobaifriends…sorrybole de…Bad luckapnar meyecholegelo…okaygoodbyeAmi nijer riske or nam eloan ditepari/thankyou uncle,thank you.

May I come insir?/ eto derikeno, why solate?

19. JibonShanshar

BanglaEnglishArabic

To showrespectaccording toreligionHabituationTo maintainthe officialnormsTo putemphasis

Ashte pari/oyes yes / sitdown, tumi eto firsthoeso/ thankyou sir.

Ami e jobongrina kori…Ihate this life..Ihate this life

20. ShuduTumi

BanglaEnglishArabic

To showrespectaccording toreligionHabituationTo showhigh status

Ei follow me/shut up, marooke.

21. OntoreOntore

BanglaEnglish

To putemphasisTo showhigh statusTo show

Kishundor…beautiful…owo…onek shundorjaiga

Beg yourpardon…forgive…onugrohokore amakekhoma kore dao

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educationHabituation

22. ShopnerNayok

BanglaEnglish

To maintainofficeenvironmentTo showeducationTo showhigh statusHabituation

Hey, youngman, namki?/ publicRag korona,fun korsilam

23. VoinkorRaja

BanglaEnglish

Habituation Kothin shajarbebosthakorben/ yessir.Motive khujeber korardaetto police rEi light,camera shobready? Heroineki readyhoise? Madamkoi

This is the lastwarning/ sir apniamake vulbujsen/what doyou mean,amake ja bujabeami bujbo, am Ia foolish guy?Stop it Ana, stopit, what the hellyou are talkingabout?

24. JamidarBarir Meye

BanglaEnglish

To showhigh statusTo maintaincertainsituationalnormsHabituation

Bhaia amakeshundorlagesena? Youare lookingwonderful.Shotti??Hundredpercent shotti

Ladies andgentlemen, ejkerei party te asherjonno shobai kedonnobad.O Hasi letsgo…come

25. EstrirMorjada

BanglaEnglishArabicHindi

To maintainofficialjargon/norms/situationHabituation/social normTo showrespectaccording toreligion

Operation nakorel patient rkhoti hoe jabeValo ase Sir.Good, verygood. Nexttomake ektaoperation e jetehobe.Hey rahmanurrahim, tumi eidil-doria

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manushtarmoner ashapuron koro.Shono youngman, tumi kalgulshan jabe:Road no 21 rHouse no 2.Okay bye.

26.Nachnewali

N/A …………… ……………….

27. MyerBodla

To showauthorityHabituation

Shut up, nerikuttar motopalaisosEbaro detiophobonainshallah

28. AslamBhai

BanglaEnglishArabic

To showrespectaccording toreligionTo showauthorityTo showstatusTo maintainofficesituation

Assalamualiku,ei shob overbridge ertender amarMaia inshallahshukhethakboAiner cheyboro kono hatnai, mind itI give youpermissionfrom my ownresponsibility,je kore e hokkiller der kdore nieashbe

29. Ki jadukorila(2008)

BanglaEnglish

To maintainofficialnormsHabituationTo showrespectaccording toreligion

Primaryinvestigationtheke shurukore shobkisu amikorbo.., yescornea te konoproblem nai/doctor er overinvolvement

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1. Habituation

From the analysis, it is found that in films code switching occurs as aresult of mere habituation of the speakers. Primarily, English is used inswitching the codes from Bangla to show the characters are educated. Itis observed that Most of the characters are comfortable in mixingBangla-English while conversing, so it does not seem artificial orimposed. Usually filler words, tag words, common English nouns orwords are used in mixing the code.

patient rkhotir karonhote pare.

30. TomarJonno Pagol(2008)

BanglaEnglishArabic

Habituation Shomane goalditase apnareJiboner flightraat dosh tai

31. Dadima(2008)

BanglaEnglishHindi

ExpressangerHabituationof taggingTo showhigh statusTo showeducation

Amar Akashki mistakekorese

Bye Prity, reallyyou are so pretty,ha dost shottishe is bold andbeautiful

Amar kasetucho, an oldhaggard like youKe receive korbetake, okay bye;Hey man, hiAkash

32. Kopal(2009)

BanglaEnglish

HabituationTo showeducationTo putemphasis

Classroom edushtamikorse taiteacher bokadiseChalo, let’s go

33. KothinPrem (2009)

BanglaEnglish

To putemphasisTo showanger

Amar jonnoright r wrongshudu tumi.

I love you, amishudu tomakevalobashiO ami to kisu ebuhte parsina,what’s going here

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2. To maintain situational norms

Often code switching is done to maintain some kind of official orsituational norms. Table-1 shows that sometimes the characters switchtheir codes from Bangla to English because situation demands. In officeor business meeting, English phrases or jargons are used to maintainthe official environment. Some common medical or official terms areused in many occasions to cope up the situation.

In Bangladesh, practice of English is common in official or formalsituation. Sometimes, it is necessary to use English word to maintainthe situation in places such as offices, universities or Hospitals. On theother hand, commercial cinema is the reproduction of real life into reellife. For this reason, in cellular world also the actors do some situationalcode switching imitating the authentic situational code switching tocreate a simulation of real life.

3. To show high status or to create social distance

In films often English words are used as a symbol of high status or tocreate social distance. When the characters are rich and educated, theyintentionally switch their codes from Bangla to English to show highstatus, which creates a social distance between the speakers. Thus codeswitching is used to showcase the high status.

In fact in Bangladesh, the ability of speaking in English is thought tobe a symbol of being rich or educated. Therefore, even in cinema alsothe characters tend to use English words as a part of their statussymbol. However, sometimes this kind of code switching may soundartificial because of the unnecessary insertion and mispronunciation ofsome English words.

4. To show authority

At times, code switching is used when the characters are in anauthoritative position and want to establish their authority. Often

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sentence-level code switching takes place to show that the users havegood proficiency in English. The characters deliberately switch theircodes from Bangla to English to show their importance and authority ina situation.

Actually in Bangladesh English proficiency is highly valued. Inoffices and formal situations Bangladeshis often use English to showtheir authority. Even in cinema also this social norm is evident;characters tend to switch from Bangla to English to demonstrate theirsuperiority.

5. To show being educated

After the analysis, it is found that educated characters frequently useEnglish words and sentences in their speaking. When someone comesback from abroad after finishing the higher studies, he tends to insertsmall English sentences while speaking. In addition, sometimes they tryto exercise English accent to prove their long practice in English. Againuniversity graduate students are found to switch their codes fromBangla to English when they are in party or gossiping with friends.

In Bangladesh, even in real situations also students or educatedcommon people randomly switch their codes from Bangla to English.Therefore it is accepted that educated people will use English languagewith Bangla frequently without any hesitation. Nevertheless,sometimes the insertion of English words seems to be imposed whenthe characters add English accent in their English, since in reality manyeducated Bangladeshi English speakers actually do not use Englishaccent while speaking.

6. To raise humor

To create comic situation is another reason behind switching thecodes in Bangladeshi cinema. Often actors switch their codes fromBangla to English to generate funny situations. In many commercial

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films, it is found that comedians pronounce English words in a weirdaccent which creates humor.

From the situation or switching, it is apparent that the characters arenot proficient English speakers. They make code switching only toweave a funny situation. Sometimes, to insert a sense of sarcasm alsoBangla to English switching takes place.

7. To put emphasis/ to create importance

Bangla to English Code switching occurs when someone wants toemphasize on a particular dialogue or expression. Basically Englishlanguage is used to accomplish the desired meaning in theconversation. This code switching is done in two ways: the characterspronounce the same dialogue two times in English to put moreemphasis; and the other is once the dialogue is said in Bangla and thenagain the same dialogue is said in English. Generally to convey aspecific message to the other within the conversation this kind of codeswitching is done. In these situations, usually the users are educated,rich and authoritative.

8. To show anger

Bangla-English code mixing is done intentionally when thecharacters express their anger or frustration. In fact, in Bangladesh eventhe general mass educated people also switch their codes from Banglato English when they want to express their anger.

These are the above mentioned reasons for what code switching generallyoccurs in Bangladeshi commercial cinema.

Types of code switching

From the analysis, three types of code switching (Table 1) are found inBangladeshi movies. They are tag switching, inter sentential code switchingand intra sentential code switching, which are discussed below:

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Tag switching

The analysis of the data (Table 1) shows that tag switching is thechief tendency of switching. It is seen that habitually code switching isdone in word level either to convey a particular message or to showregular habit of the users. Often this switching becomes too frequentthat even the audiences also do not notice that the speakers areswitching their codes from Bangla to English. It is notable that use ofEnglish language is limited within the common English words or fixedphrase pattern.

However the data reveals that tag switching is done by uneducatedperson to create comic situation by adding weird accent in their Englishwords. On the other hand, educated persons use tag switching out ofhabituation or they want to convey some specific message.

Inter sentential code switching

In Bangladeshi commercial cinema (Table 1) inter sentential codeswitching do not occur frequently. In fact, to switch the code within thesentence boundary, a little mastery of language is needed, since it has ahigh syntactical restriction. That is why, in Bangladeshi commercialcinema when the characters are shown highly educated; only then intersentential code switching takes place in the conversation.

Intra sentential code switching

This kind of code switching is rare in Bangladeshi commercialcinema and it happens seldom. In the sampling (Table 1), it is foundthat characters who have come back from abroad or are highlyeducated make intra sentential code switching. In fact intra sententialcode switching needs high proficiency in both the languages and it hasa high syntactic restriction as well. Though it is a word or phrase levelcode switching, here unlike tag switching the speakers need to havegood knowledge of grammar and code switching. It happens within the

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sentence boundary and to insert a foreign code, the speakers shouldknow the rules of code switching.

Actually, in commercial cinema code switching is done in a way thatlay people can understand them and so the level of code switching isminimal. Therefore, intra sentential code switching is not frequent inBangladeshi commercial films.

Findings from the interview

To know the opinions of the experts, some professionals from film andlinguistics background have been interviewed (Appendix A). The interviewdata are tabulated and analyzed in Table 2 to know the general opinions,what the experts think about the phenomenon of code switching inBangladeshi commercial cinema. The table 2 is shown onto next page:

S/N Back ground information ofthe interviewees

Reasons for code switchingin Bangladeshi commercialcinema

1 He is the assistant professor ofELT and linguistics at East WestUniversity. Interest includeslinguistic imperialism,language planning and policy,linguistic diversity andvarieties.

Laymen and general peopleof Bangladesh are habituatedto use some common Englishwords. Sometimes peopleassume that using Englishwords might increase theirstatus.

2 He is an assistant professor ofliterature and cultural studies atEast West University. His areaof interest includes capitalism,power relation among thecountries and cultural variationamong countries

Language is meant to bechanged and humans tend toadapt new words whichseem to be convenient tothem. Because of capitalismand globalization, now evenin cinema also foreign wordsare being used. However, inBangladeshi cinema Banglato English code switching islimited, since they tend to

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use few English words.

3 She is a senior lecturer ofEnglish literature in East WestUniversity. Her area of interestincludes post colonial literatureand cultural studies.

Basically code switching isdone to show the status oreducation. Often codeswitching seems to beartificial and imposed.

4 He is an assistant professor offilm and media studies inStamford UniversityBangladesh. He is interested inthe recent development of filmindustry in Bangladesh.

In Bangladeshi commercialcinema code switching isdone because the same kindof switching is done in thereal life also. Cinema showswhat is going on in thesociety. Therefore in cinematoo the usage of Englishwords is common, however,only the switching of phrasesare prominent.

5 He is a part time professor offilm and media studies inStamford UniversityBangladesh. His research areaincludes the comparative studyof world and Asian films, filmculture and its history.

Basically Bangla to Englishcode switching occurs inBangladeshi cinema to showthat they are the part ofworld culture of usingEnglish language. NowadaysEnglish language usage hasbecome a common habit forBangladeshi people.

6 He is a senior lecturer of filmand media studies in StamfordUniversity Bangladesh. He isinterested in editing andcamera work of films

In Bangladeshi cinema, theusage of English language isa result of mere habituation.But, usually only words or atmax phrases are used inswitching the codes.

7 She is senior lecturer of filmand media studies in StamfordUniversity Bangladesh. She isinterested in the Montage offilms

Code switching occurs inBangla cinema, because it isvery much influenced byHindi cinema culture, whereEnglish language is usedfrequently. Nonetheless,

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extensive use of English isnot prominent.

8 She is an assistant professor ofdepartment of English inStamford University. Her areaof interest includes postmodernist studies andfeminism.

Code switching happens inBangladeshi commercialcinema as a result ofhabituation of using Englishlanguage for a long time.

9 She is an assistant professor ofdepartment of English inStamford University. Her areaof interest includessociolinguistics, ELT and worldlanguage.

To show that the characterare habituated in usingforeign languages likeEnglish, Bangla-English codeswitching is used. Generally,in this case tag switchingseems to be popular incinema.

The findings from the interview are given below:

Bangla to English code switching is present in Bangladeshi cinemabecause of globalization. Nowadays, mass people are open to thewestern culture. Therefore they want to imitate that culture.Accordingly Bangladeshi commercial cinema also tries to imitatethat culture of using English words and phrases in the dialogues sothat they can be in the flow of the society.

English language has become an integral part of the society.Nowadays, English language is a marker of high status. Educationand wealth. Therefore, in commercial cinema switching fromBangla to English occurs to depict the reality. Bangla to Englishcode switching in the cinema is just the result of the habituation ofusing this language for a long time.

Usually, small chunks are used to switch the codes from Bangla toEnglish. However, educated or rich characters are found to uselonger phrases or sentences of English as well.

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General findings

Apart from the research objectives also the researcher has found somegeneral findings, such as:

1. Basically when the setting is rustic or rural there is minimal usageof code switching and sometimes almost no usage at all.

2. In many occasions, code switching seems to be artificial or imposedas the speakers tend to add accent with the English words andeventually they sound weird.

3. On the whole, Bangla to English code switching is used to showstatus, education and authority

4. Generally, Bangla to English code switching is done in such a waythat even the lay man also can understand the meaning.

DelimitationEach year different kinds of cinemas are released in Bangladesh, such as,

documentary, arts, commercial, historical and many more; however, theresearcher has chosen only the commercial movies for her study. Hence, thefindings should not be generalized.

References

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Holmes, J. (2001). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (2nd ed.). UK: Pearson EducationLtd.

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Meyerhoff, M. (2006). Introducing Linguistics. London: Rutledge.

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Smith, G. N. (Ed.). (1996). The Oxford History of World Cinema. London: OxfordUniversity Press.

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Appendix

Interview Questions

Instruction: Please answer the following questions in brief.

1. According to you, who are the target audience of Bangladeshi commercialcinema?

2. To what extend do the actors of Bangladeshi cinema use foreign languagesother than Bangla?

3. How many types of code switching do you notice in Bangladeshicommercial cinema?

4. Why do the actors use code switching and why is this important?5. Do you think that the lay people find any problem because of the usage of

mix language in cinema?