Language shift and maintenance in multilingual Mauritius: the case of Indian ancestral languages

Bissoonauth, Anu

doi:10.1080/01434632.2011.586463

Cited by 37 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…My aim is to provide a critical theoretical analysis of the language situation in the country and to identify implications for organisations and their employees. Given that several studies have previously confirmed that language is commonly used to index ethnic identity in Mauritius (see for example Bissoonauth 2011;Eisenlohr, 2004;Eriksen 1990;Owodally and Mooznah, 2011;Rohatgi 2013), it is inevitable that my analysis will ultimately cover the dynamics of both language and ethnicity. The above studies have clearly laid a foundation view of language and ethnicity, however they all lack a theoretical lens sensitive to the context.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The dynamics of language and ethnicity in Mauritius

Sambajee

2016

Int'l Jnl of Cross Cultural Management

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The link between ethnicity and language has been well established in research but its contextual, perspectual and variable nature demands that this connection be re-examined in each attempt to understand a nation. This paper is about Mauritius, a postcolonial context where French and British colonisation has left salient features which continue to influence the dynamics around language and ethnicity in the country. By describing its demographic characteristics and its linguistic and political situation, I retrieve some of the key facets of this multi-ethnic and multi-lingual nation which evidence resistance by both the state and the populace against the established colonial languages. To compensate for the lack of appropriate theoretical framework in existing research on Mauritius, I use Homi Bhabha’s postcolonial theoretical framework to uncover the realities faced by both the state and the people of this country and the impacts these may have in the workplace

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The dynamics of language and ethnicity in Mauritius

Sambajee

2016

Int'l Jnl of Cross Cultural Management

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“…Despite economic development and the adoption of a common globalised lifestyle, the symbolic dimensions of ethnic groups based on race, religion and ancestral language has gained more relevance and national identity has not developed (see The possible areas of inquiry on the Indian Diaspora in such a multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic context are legion. Some studies have focused largely on language (see : Bissoonauth 2011;Eisenlohr 2011;Eriksen 1990;Owodally 2011;Rohatgi 2013). They all described it is a marker of ethnicity for Mauritian Hindus.…”

Section: The Indian Diaspora In Mauritiusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rethinking non-traditional resistance at work: The case of the Indian Diaspora in Mauritius

Sambajee

2015

Culture and Organization

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This version is available at https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/53988/ Strathprints is designed to allow users to access the research output of the University of Strathclyde. Unless otherwise explicitly stated on the manuscript, Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Please check the manuscript for details of any other licences that may have been applied. You may not engage in further distribution of the material for any profitmaking activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute both the url (https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/) and the content of this paper for research or private study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge.Any correspondence concerning this service should be sent to the Rethinking non-traditional resistance at work: the case of the Indian Diaspora in MauritiusResistance at work can take many forms and be theorised in multiple ways. In this paper, I use postcolonial theorist, Homi Bhabha's concepts of mimicry, ambivalence and hybridity to explore non-traditional forms of resistance among Indo-Mauritians working in the hotel industry. I employ a two-stage qualitative research approach by conducting focus groups in eight hotels in Mauritius followed by focused ethnography with twenty Indo-Mauritians. The findings reveal that the Indian diasporic community is actively engaging with its past (India) through the materiality of its home, its sacred space, and its use of Bhojpuri to communicate. By unfolding and maintaining its difference, it is constantly demarcating its personal space from that of the Other. As this behaviour extends to the workplace, salient forms of non-traditional resistance surface in rural regions.

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“…As a matter of fact, adopting a behaviouristic approach, many studies have analysed linguistic data in relation to sociological variables (e.g. Moorghen and Domingue 1982, Eriksen 1998, Bissoonauth and Offord 2001, Rajah-Carrim 2005, Sonck 2005, and Bissoonauth 2011. Once the political boundaries have been established, these linguists describe the sociolinguistic organisation of the community with particular stress on the relationship among languages.…”

Section: A Meta-analysis Of the Mauritian Sociolinguistic Landscapementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Taking into account the fact that 1.3 million people are linked with a dozen languages, researchers (e.g. Moorghen and Domingue 1982;Stein 1982;de Robillard 1990, 1993;de Robillard 1991;Bissoonauth and Offord 2001;Rajah-Carrim 2005Sonck 2005;Sauzier-Uchida 2009;Bissoonauth 2011) have sought to provide an explanation of the social organisation of languages by focusing on the status of languages, their functional differentiation, and attitudes towards languages in different settings. The analysis of the linguascape, from the Structuralist perspective, has shown that there exists a stable hierarchy of languages conceptualised by the notion of diglossia (Ferguson 1959) and further refined by that of asymmetrical diglossia (Chaudenson 1984).…”

Section: An Overview Of the Sociolinguistic Landscape Of Mauritiusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deconstructing and Re-Inventing the Concept of Multilingualism: A Case Study of the Mauritian Sociolinguistic Landscape

Tirvassen

Ramasawmy

2017

SPILPLUS

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This article aims at deconstructing the conception of multilingualism developed in mainstream sociolinguistics by critically examining the assumptions underlying this trend of research, which is grounded in the scholarship of Labov (1972), Fishman (1984 and even Gumperz (1972). In order to engage in that discussion, we use the Mauritian sociolinguistic landscape, as described by researchers following that tradition, as a case. We, thus, carry out a meta-analysis of existing sociolinguistic research conducted in Mauritius, which serve to illustrate the extent to which knowledge produced bear the influence of the structuralist approach. Then, we critically discuss and reflect upon the assumptions underpinning such research, and in so doing, challenge key concepts such as language and diglossia.Finally, we open a discussion on the need to adopt an alternative epistemological position in order to construct a different type of interpretation of the phenomenon following the ground-breaking work of scholars such as Makoni and Pennycook

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Language shift and maintenance in multilingual Mauritius: the case of Indian ancestral languages

Cited by 37 publications

References 5 publications

The dynamics of language and ethnicity in Mauritius

The dynamics of language and ethnicity in Mauritius

Rethinking non-traditional resistance at work: The case of the Indian Diaspora in Mauritius

Deconstructing and Re-Inventing the Concept of Multilingualism: A Case Study of the Mauritian Sociolinguistic Landscape

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