Linguistic rivalries: Tamil migrants and Anglo-Franco conflicts

297 Pages·2016·11.06 MB·English

by  Sonia N. Das

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LINGUISTIC RIVALRIES
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OXFORD STUDIES IN THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF LANGUAGE
Series editor
Laura M. Ahearn, Rutgers University
This series is devoted to works from a wide array of scholarly traditions that
treat linguistic practices as forms of social action.
Editorial Board
Alessandro Duranti, University of California at Los Angeles
Paul B. Garrett, Temple University
Justin Richland, The University of Chicago
Thank You for Dying for Our Country: Commemorative Texts and Performances
in Jerusalem
Chaim Noy
Singular and Plural: Ideologies of Linguistic Authority in 21st Century Catalonia
Kathryn A. Woolard
Linguistic Rivalries: Tamil Migrants and Anglo- Franco Conflicts
Sonia N. Das
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LINGUISTIC RIVALRIES
Tamil Migrants and Anglo- Franco
Conflicts
Sonia N. Das
1
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1
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Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press
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© Oxford University Press 2016
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Das, Sonia N., author.
Title: Linguistic rivalries : Tamil migrants and Anglo-Franco conflicts / Sonia N. Das.
Description: Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, [2016] |
Series: Oxford studies in the anthropology of language | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015039130| ISBN 9780190461782 (pbk. : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9780190461775 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780190461799 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780190461805 (online content)
Subjects: LCSH: Tamil language—Social aspects—Canada—Montreal. |
Tamil diaspora—Social aspects—Canada—Montreal. | Anthropological
linguistics—Canada—Montreal. | Sociolinguistics—Canada—Montreal. |
Languages in contact—Canada—Montreal. | Tamil language—Usage.
Classification: LCC PL4751 .D325 2016 | DDC 306.442948110714/28—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015039130
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Paperback printed by WebCom, Inc., Canada
Hardback printed by Bridgeport National Bindery, Inc., United States of America
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To the memories of
Simonne and Aswini
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CONTENTS
List of Figures  ix
List of Tables  xi
Preface  xiii
Acknowledgments  xvii
Notes on Transliteration and Orthography  xxi
1. Introduction  1
2. Purism across the Seas  30
3. Narratives of a Diaspora  59
4. A Heritage Language Industry  95
5. Inscribing the Ūr  142
6. Navigating the Cosmopolis  176
7. Conclusion  205
Appendix  211
Notes  221
Glossary of Foreign Words  235
References  239
Index  261
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LIST OF FIGURES
1.1 Tsunami memorial in Montréal, Québec  24
1.2 Former headquarters of the WTM
in Côte- des- Neiges  27
2.1 Map of Tamil- speaking regions in South India
and Sri Lanka  36
2.2 Map of the provinces of Québec and
Ontario, Canada  49
4.1 Book catalog printed by the Catholic Mission
of India  102
4.2 Typographical standards in writing Tamil ca. 1855 104
4.3 Purchase order of Tamil- language books for French
Guiana, 1863  106
4.4 “Sippay” in Tamil and Arabic script labeled
as malabar and turc  107
4.5 École de la Montagne in Parc- Extension  113
4.6 Parker Elementary School in Parc- Extension  114
4.7 Worksheet on Tamil vocabulary for
modern technologies  120
4.8 Educational CD- ROMs produced near
Toronto, Canada  128
4.9 Front cover of Spoken Tamil Grammar Book  137
5.1 Map of Montréal’s boroughs and neighborhoods  144
5.2 View of the south side of Parc Jarry  145
5.3 Church in Petite- Rivière- St- François near the
St. Lawrence River  154
5.4 View of Église Ste- Cécile in Villeray from Parc Jarry  155
5.5 Advertisement for a real estate agent in east Montréal  156
5.6 Map of avenue Victoria in Côte- des- Neiges  158
5.7 Fantaisies Nickes store in Parc- Extension  159
5.8a Marché Abinaya in Parc- Extension  160