Oldal 54 [54]
CHAPTER 4 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
ancient culture which grants him the right to use a piece of land he does not
want. By switching to the official language of English from the traditionally
default language of the Pandit community, speaker B not only places himself
in a distant position from the community’s default language but also from
his traditional rights vested in this community. The switch to English per
se expresses authority and distance, while the monolingual instance would
require more linguistic or meta-linguistic resources to draw upon to express
the same socio-pragmatic meaning. Consequently, the switch to English is a
more optimal candidate complying with the constraint of Power.
In the second part of the same conversation [Example 4b], the switch to
English in line 4 is of interest to us. Speaker C is also a member of the Pandit
family, she is Kashmiri dominant, but she starts her utterance in Hindi,
indicating affiliation and solidarity with speaker A, who is an older member
of the family. However, she switches to English, the language of authority.
The switch grants her control over the situation and enables her to top the
argument and to close the conversation without giving more explanation. The
switch to English also involves face management. By taking on the position
of authority, the speaker mitigates a face-threatening act, that is, she wants
to rely on B’s financial assistance if need be. The switch to English, hence,
complies more optimally with the constraint of Power, Face, and Power than
the monolingual candidate or a switch to Kashmiri. However, it violates the
constraint of Solidarity.
[Example 4b]
1 A“... jeb mein paisa honaa chahiye”
(‘you need to have more money in your pocket’)
2 C “are, aisaa kuch nahiiN hai”
(‘Oh, it’s nothing like that’)
3 B “kyuN, aap bina paisoN ke apnaa kaam caleto ho”
(‘Why you get through life without money.)
4 C “mujhe paise kii kabhii zarurat paRhegii, I will ask B”
(‘When/If I need money, I will ask B.’)
(cited by Bhatt and Bolonyai)!*°
In the next example [5], the switch to English line 5 is an indication of how
“authority and social distance” is created’.
130 Bhatt — Bolonyai, Ibid., 529
131 Bhatt — Bolonyai, Ibid., 530