"Unnatural" Gender in Hindi by Kira Hall

HINDI: ''Unnatural'' Gender in Hindi

### Author: Kira Hall, University of Colorado at Boulder, USA

1. Introduction

  • Hindi is recognized as a national-official language in India, claimed as the mother tongue by approximately 40% of the Indian population.

  • Over 450 million first- and second-language speakers globally, making it one of the most widely spoken languages alongside English and Mandarin.

  • When including Urdu speakers, the figure increases, since Urdu shares its basic syntax with Hindi but draws much of its vocabulary from Perso-Arabic sources.

  • Hindi serves as the official language in several Indian states such as Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Delhi, where it is used along with English in governmental functions.

  • Internal opposition to Hindi's dominance exists in regions like southern India, where Dravidian languages such as Tamil and Telugu predominate.

  • There is also increased opposition among Urdu speakers due to the push by Hindu fundamentalist groups for a more Sanskritic form of Hindi, which rejects Perso-Arabic influences.

  • Scholars suggest this political climate has contributed to the divergence between Hindi and Urdu dialects (Shapiro & Schiffman 1983; King 1999).

  • 18th and 19th-century grammars began to classify the Indo-Aryan languages, with Beames' (1872-79) and Kellogg's (1875) works being pivotal in establishing a taxonomy for Hindi.

  • The debate on language versus dialect classification continues, as it is difficult to make distinctions based solely on linguistic criteria.

  • Dialects of Hindi are often categorized into Eastern (e.g. Avadhi, Bhojpuri) and Western (e.g. Braj, Bundeli) Hindi, with Standard Hindi based primarily on the Western dialect known as kharhi boli.

  • Local varieties of Hindi such as bambaiya Hindi in Bombay and bazaru Hindi in Calcutta have emerged as contact languages.

  • Previous sociolinguistic work has mainly focused on caste as a key variable, often neglecting gender, despite early studies considering both variables in linguistic behavior.

2. Gender in the Hindi Language System

2.1 Grammatical Gender: Assignment and Agreement

  • Hindi features a grammatical gender system with masculine and feminine categories, though this operates differently across dialects.

  • Variability in gender assignment exists; for example, the noun 'dahi' (yogurt) is masculine in eastern dialects and feminine in western ones.

  • Influences from urban dialects show a trend of assigning masculine gender to nouns traditionally classified as feminine (Bhatia, 1992).

  • Standard instruction in gender agreement is observed mainly among speakers of kharhi boli; speakers from eastern dialects may find minority gender agreement marked.

  • Verbal agreement in Hindi corresponds to gender, number, and person, with different suffixes for each category.

2.2 Generic Masculines

  • The use of masculine forms often serves as a generic reference that includes both male and female referents.

  • Feminine terms are rarely used generically and instead refer to specific female individuals, revealing an asymmetry in Hindi's grammatical gender system.

  • Pronouns can reflect the gender of the subject or object; masculine agreement denotes an inclusive reference while feminine agreement specifies a female subject.

2.3 Gender Reversal: Terms of Endearment and Insult

  • Some instances of gender reversal denote affection, as seen when parents may address daughters with masculine terms like 'beta' (boy) as a term of endearment, emphasizing the perceived value of sons in Indian culture.

  • Occasional usage of masculine address (e.g., 'bhai' for friend) among women signals informal camaraderie, while masculine terms used for women, such as 'memsahib', convey respect and uplift their status.

  • Conversely, masculine terms for men perceived as effeminate (e.g., 'hijra') serve as insults, indicating the unequal implications of gendered language.

3. Uses of the Gender System by Hindi-Speaking Hijras

3.1 Language in Hijra Socialization

  • Hijras often shift their language as part of their socialization process within the community, learning to speak in a more feminine manner (zanana boli) as opposed to masculine (mardana boli).

  • Rupa, a hijra transitioned from a male background, exemplifies the challenges in changing speech patterns, emphasizing the need for practice in adopting feminine forms.

3.2 The Exploitation of Grammatical Gender in Everyday Hijra Conversation

  • Hijras adhere to feminine reference as a social norm, employing masculine references selectively to denote hierarchy or express dissatisfaction.

  • The gender system plays a critical role, with feminine forms used for equals and masculine forms for superiors or subordinates, further enhancing a community’s complex social structure.

3.3 The Use of Masculine Self-Reference

  • Hijras may use masculine forms to recount their childhood or emphasize specific conversational points, demonstrating a complex, layered understanding of gender identity that isn’t strongly enforced in interaction.

  • Examples include Sulekha using masculine references in arguments or stating facts about hijra lifestyles, while also seamlessly switching to feminine forms when discussing fellow hijras.

4. Conclusions

  • While the morpho-syntactic shifting in hijra language may be unique, similar gendered negotiations are expected among women and men in non-hijra communities as well.

  • Ideals of femininity and masculinity play significant roles in how gender is constructed through language, often reflecting cultural expectations.

  • Hijras negotiate their gender identity through unique linguistic strategies, paralleling broader gender discourse evident in wider Hindi-speaking populations.

Appendix

Transcription Conventions

  • Superscripted \/indicates feminine morphological marking

  • Superscripted m indicates masculine morphological marking

  • (0.5) length of pause within/ between utterances, in tenths of a second

  • a - a dash denotes a short pause

  • ( ( ) ) double parentheses enclose nonverbal movements or commentary

  • [ ] words added for clarity

  • Bold print indicates syllabic stress

  • : a colon indicates sound lengthening

  • An apostrophe denotes a flat-palmed clap, a characteristic of hijra speech

Notes

  • Acknowledgements for the fieldwork and references concerning data sources and significant studies in gender and Hindi linguistics are included, providing context for the research referenced throughout the text.

References

  • A comprehensive list of literature cited throughout the document, detailing the work of various scholars in the fields of sociolinguistics, grammar, and gender studies within the Hindi context.