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ADVERSITIES IN ADVERTISEMENT
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| My conscious effort here will be to point out how English language is used in the matrimonial Advertisements in Indian English newspapers. In addition to this, I will also try to figure out in what way these ads reflect inbuilt biases as well as deep rooted evil cultural practices in Indian marriages. Language has a powerful influence over people and their behavior. The choice of language to convey specific message with the intention of influencing people is very important especially for a country like India where individual mother tongue numbers more than hundred. In this post-colonial era, English language has gained the upper hand from the ubiquitous spread of English culture and language everywhere taking from legal, financial, education and above all media. Moreover, English also has the capacity to include new words by adding to its own vocabulary. From the Indian context, coinage of new hybrid words also sounds much trendy. Here I am talking about Hinglish or Benglish words that have taken deep root in our day-to-day vocabulary. Connotations of such words, however, only people who are typically Indian and who come from certain backgrounds, will get them correctly. Speaking of just matrimonial classified ads in newspaper, we come across a variety of English used there with in a very limited space. Matrimonial ads are just group of words, without any punctuation mark, article, or preposition and with loads of abbreviations and contact numbers. They consciously break grammatical rules considering the fact that our unconscious knowledge of language is much greater than conscious knowledge of it. Differences of region, religion, caste, language, wealth, status, gender had always been a very special feature of Indian society. People in India belong to thousands of castes, and caste like groups into which they are born. Person belonging to a particular castes are expected to marry within the group and follow caste norms pertaining diet, avoidance of ritual pollution, and many other aspects of life. In India, the primary thing which any matrimonial ad clearly specifies is religion and caste of the prospective brides and bridegrooms. Bizarre words are used which sound like English language, but strictly speaking are not. There are also many vernacular newspapers in India but more importance is given to English newspapers because in India only certain class of people, can read and understand them. Therefore, some people perpetually prefer to publish ads in English newspapers just for the sake of maintaining a good status and to receive responses only from members of specific class and caste background. Obsession with fair skin is yet another observable fact prominent in the matrimonial ads. "Very fair complexion", "wheatish" these terms are frequently used to denote skin colour. In Indian context wheatish, symbolizes the colour of wheat- a pale golden yellow colour, perhaps. The media is rampant with advertisements for skin-lightening and colour products which imply that non-fair skin and even black hair or black lips ( A product like Vaseline lip guard for pink lips - now imagine a dark person gaining pink lips applying Vaseline lip guard!) are neither beautiful nor desirable. There is also obsession for "convent educated girls." A convent-educated girl will invariably speak English fluently and so is more desirable. Besides, there are also some other interesting phrases used in matrimonial ads. For instance, words like Brahminhood, and "England returned" or "foreign returned" (phrases used for one who has been in England or abroad, for education, or for some other purpose) is also interesting in their own way. Marriage between two different religions is termed as "intermarriage" and two different castes as "inter-caste marriage." Advertisements, I sometimes feel, even has the power to convert a one word "Marriage" into "a sentence" later on if it ceases to be a sentence (a life-sentence) Some ads mention them as "innocently divorced after brief marriage, issueless". Innocently divorced perhaps means that person had no fault on his/her part and the word "issueless" is simply used instead of saying childless. "High school drop out, knows computer", "degree holders" such terms are used to define ones educational qualifications. Other demands like "God fearing grooms wanted", "highly religious and traditional", "send bio data with horoscope" are also common. Now with the exception of linguists, few people pay any close attention to the language and the problems associated with such usages in an advertisement. As far as language is able to serve the purpose of communication, the intension of an advertisement gets fulfilled forgetting the fact that these ads may hurt the feelings of certain section of the Indian population. If one can go to the extent of categorizing Indians on the basis of matrimonial ads, India should be called caste-ist, religion-ist, class-ist, and even sexist and of course one racist country. But we all know that this is not exactly what India is. Yet, for a long period, this trend has been established and the reputed newspapers come up with them every time for a handful of so-called well-read, English educated, Indian citizens. I would say why bother English language with these age-old idiosyncrasies? Thomas Babington Macaulay in his Minute on Indian Education (1935) willfully intended to create "a class of people, Indian in blood and color, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals and in intellect"? Indians found it offensive then. But now why after 62 years of our (in)dependence the matrimonial columns still demands bridegrooms who should be very Indian in blood but English in colour, traditional in opinions and morals but English in intellect and why men and woman no more find them insulting? |
Published on 05 Feb, 2010 Readers can send their comments on this feature to : feature@tripurainfo.in
