Critical Discourse in Bangla (original) (raw)
Related papers
The author has introduced a new disciplinary technology called “Silence Studies” within the ambit of macro-linguistics. The term ‘silenceme’ is coined in analogy with phoneme, morpheme etc.(cf. http://search.gmane.org/?query=Silenceme&author=Debaprasad+Bandyopadhyay&group=&sort=revdate&DEFAULTOP=and&xP=grand%09petite%09narrative%09bharat&xFILTERS=Abandyopadhyay-Adebaprasad---A, http://linguistlist.org/issues/17/17-2149.html#, http://www.scribd.com/collections/3355082/SILENCEME-THE-SILENT-%E2%80%9COTHER%E2%80%9D-IN-LINGUISTICS-SILENCE-STUDIES) Instead of writing a technical paper on it, the author composed a pseudo-novel/fiction (how do we distinguish between fact and fiction?) following feminist type of representation in Bangla:http://www.scribd.com/doc/50661072/META-PETITE-NARRATIVE-OF-BHARA. It was subsequently translated into English at the Silence Digest (John Cage site), VirginiaUniversity: http://search.gmane.org/?query=Grand%2Fpetite+Narrative+of+Bharat&author=Debaprasad+Bandyopadhyay&group=&sort=revdate&DEFAULTOP=and&query= After that it was translated into Italian, thanks to Stefano Pocci and Diaforia group, Milan, Italy. The Psychology of Silence : English & Italian Translations:http://diaforiasinecondicio.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/diaforia-n%C2%B05-debaprasad-bandyopadhyay/ The same Diaforia group, who took a lengthy academic interview, where the author explained Indian Psycholinguistics and a different type of communication system(s)related to “Corporeal Studies”( another disciplinary technology introduced by the author. cf.http://www.scribd.com/collections/3361033/Corporal-Studies): Cf. Interview in English: http://diaforiasinecondicio.wordpress.com/2011/08/19/qa-with-debaprasad-bandyopadhyay/ Interview in Italian: http://diaforiasinecondicio.wordpress.com/2011/08/19/intervista-a-debaprasad-bandyopadhyay/ The Psychology of Silence : English & Italian Translations:http://diaforiasinecondicio.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/diaforia-n%C2%B05-debaprasad-bandyopadhyay/ also see: http://www.scribd.com/doc/61227834/The-Psychology-of-Silence-The-Story-of-Bharat http://isid.academia.edu/DebaprasadBandyopadhyay/Papers/802793/The\_Psychology\_of\_Silence\_The\_Story\_of\_Bharat One might accuse the author that he was deviating from the rigor of strict “scientific” writing. In this case, the author must reiterated the present position of Julia Kristeva, who had influenced the author much to frame my anti-chomskian “Crippled Linguistic Creativity Hypothesis”, which was also subscribed by Chomsky himself(personal correspondence, 1994-95). Cf. http://www.scribd.com/collections/3353492/Crippled-Creativity One may also see : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfqRo7YD10M&context=C3949d1eADOEgsToPDskJnBnZTqRZHiE468sXccjbP http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVIn0KPmucU&context=C3949d1eADOEgsToPDskJnBnZTqRZHiE468sXccjbP and Permalink: http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.music.john-cage/4230 Colophon: Stefano Pocci,Diaforia; Silent Digest, Virginia Univ
The Linguistic Landscape of Bangla Sadhu & Cholit and Swami Vivekananda
The paper traces the debate on the two diglossic styles in Bangla or Bengali - 'Sadhu' (Archaic) and 'Çholit' (Modern/Colloquial) from the account of J.D. Anderson, Dinesh Chandra Sen and Bankim to Tagore's poignant observations. It finally tries to see how Swami Vivekananda reacted to and contributed to the emergence of today's Bangla style
pd-1982-To develop terminology in Bangla.doc
Independent India resolved to maximize the deployment of its own languages in public domains where English alone was in use. This paper considers the case of higher education in Bangla, and focuses on the introduction and dissemination of appropriate technical terms. In this context, the paper argues that the development of terminological carriers of modernity needs to be seen not as a spinoff of the general practices of development or modernization, but as central to it. It is argued here that the task of coming up with appropriate technical terms needs to be turned into an opportunity to decolonize our minds and our practices. The phrase ‘decolonize our minds’ in this abstract, of course, invokes later writings. The paper was presented in 1982, without any abstract.
This panel comprises 04 (four) essays, each reading select Bangladeshi literary writings in Bangla (also known as Bengali) against the planetary literary arena called World Literature. Acknowledging both the postcolonial dimension of the term ‘World Literature’ that overcomes the alleged Eurocentricity of Comparative Literature and the problem of uncritical transcendence of spatiotemporal situatedness that the phrase ‘World Literature’ suggests, this panel considers ‘World Literature’ as a convenient comparative term that designates (i) an inventory of world’s national literatures, (ii) a canon of great authors with transnational impact, (iii) a planetary disciplinary practice, and (iv) a transcultural nexus that affects the circulation and reading of books across the world. The panel in its comparative readings of Bangladeshi Banglophone literature addresses in varying degrees all these aspects of World Literature. . The panel has three dimensions, which both explain what this panel meant by ‘Bangladeshi Banglophone Literature’ and the three modes of comparative reading that this panel employs. 1. Geographical dimension of “Bangladeshi”: Each paper addresses writings composed by the Bangladesh-born writers including the ones who settled in Bangladesh and the diaspora. The panel broaches the complicated mix of nationalism, ethnicity, and linguistic identity that the term ‘Bangladeshi’ invokes. 2. Linguistic dimension of “Banglophone”: In each paper, one of the ‘comparanda’ is composed in Bangla while the other (originally or in translation) in another language: Chakma (the language of a ‘minority’ ethic community in Bangladesh), English, and French. It is pertinent to mention here that this panel delimits its focus on the literary writings originally composed in Bangla. Therefore, it does not include the Bangladeshi Anglophone writings that have recently gained considerable space and currency throughout the world. The reason of this delimitation and exclusion is clear: acknowledging the severely limited recognition of Bangladeshi Banglophone literature in comparison with Bangladeshi Anglophone literature, we intend to explore, first, whether increasing translation into different languages may help Banglophone literature attain the substantial planetary recognition it deserves, and, second, whether Bangladeshi Banglophone literatures, with or without any genetic relation with other literatures, share the transcultural planetary nexus of ideas and praxis. 3. Thematic dimension of “Literature”: The panel approaches Bangladeshi Banglophone writers through three disciplinary paradigms of comparative literature: comparative poetics, comparative criticism, and comparative translation. Thus, it includes Banglophone literary criticism and theories, Banglophone writings ranging from poetry to fiction, and literary translation of Banglophone writings. . Being small in magnitude, this panel does not claim to be representational nor does it intend to reduce Bangladeshi Literature into any homogenous rubric. Its chief aim is to initiate the necessary task of situating Bangladeshi Literature against a planetary scenario. Therefore, the panel has two broad objectives. . First, it is premised upon a conviction that it is pertinent in this globalized world with increasing trans-cultural and inter-lingual exchange that we inquire and evaluate the paradigms that affect the recognition and reception of Bangladeshi Banglophone writings as World Literature. The evaluation takes into account two questions: the first question, ‘Is Bangladeshi Banglophone Literature a World Literature’ invites the second, rather unsettling question, ‘What motivations underlie this desire to be a World Literature’? . Second, the panel explores the status of Bangladeshi Banglophone Literature on a planetary scale by reading its relation to the world and world literature on three fulcrums: invisibility (e.g. the range or lack of reception and recognition in the world of Bangladeshi Literature composed in Bangla), inter-animation (e.g. if and how Bangladeshi ideas and writings interact with the ideas and writings of the writers from the other parts of the world either through genetic relations or through polygenetic parallelism),and affinity (e.g. if and how Bangladeshi writings, even ‘minority’ literatures, share any planetary ideology nexus). The panel wishes to initiate a dialogue on the potential and problem of situating Bangladeshi Banglophone Literature in the wider ambit of World Literature.
Negotiating Binarisms: Representations of Identity in Postcolonial Bangla Fiction
2009
The objective of this dissertation is to examine representations of ‘identity’ in postcolonial Bangla fiction, and study the ways in which these negotiate with binarisms. The hegemony of certain ‘established categories’ and ‘fundamental oppositions’ upon contemporary representational strategies cannot be denied. These binarisms train us to polarise ‘identity’. Difference is reified, and homogeneity is forced upon a ‘culturally diverse’ nation in the name of ‘political unity’. On the other hand, the different ways in which individuals experience ‘postcoloniality’ refuse to give in to definitive categorisations of social identity. The ‘identity’ of a postcolonial Indian is the contentious product of an unequal cultural exchange and a troubled synthesis. Multi-dimensional reflections of this are contained in postcolonial fiction. This dissertation concentrates specifically on community and gender identity, and also explores fictional descriptions of socio-political resistance to investigate whether binaries are undermined here. The configuration of the Bangalee (Bengali) ‘identity’ is first explored through a Bangla historical novel. The ways in which representations of lived experience ‘resist’ this undifferentiated abstract ‘identity’ are noted. Next, certain binarisms like masculinity-femininity, public-private, etc. are probed to reflect on strategies and practices of representing gender in fiction. A set of novels by a popular mid-twentieth century female novelist is used to see how the ‘identity’ of the Bangalee bhadramahila was hegemonically imagined, and investigate the impact this has on the representation of their real lives. Finally, fictional representations of two resistance movements in Bengal are read to uncover reuse of the language of dominance. Alongside the critique of stereotypical inversions, ‘other’ kinds of resistances are also examined. In a nation that still carries residues of its colonial past, the relation of both the writer and the reader with English is a troubled one. Studies of native language texts, when allowed to intersect the hegemonic domain of English literature, could open up concealed dimensions of the colonial encounter, or other ways of representing it. The rich history of cultural exchange embedded in Bangla, and the mixture of pre-colonial and colonial traditions in it, makes it ideal for a contrapuntal engagement with representations of ‘postcolonial identity’ in fiction. This has enabled the dissertation to examine the specific histories behind certain predetermined notions and cultural stereotypes. Expected responses to the novels have been unpacked to expose concealed nuances and gaps in the text.
The crisis of the 'Other': Introspecting Bangaliyana
. The problems of irreducibility, untranslatability, non-generalized existence of language are there as there persists always something irreducible in the interactions between the self and the other. Considering the Bengali society, perspectivally deliberated through the intellectual lenses of the bourgeois, the self-culture predicates the normative paradigm that structures what should and what should not constitute the essential with regard to socio-political identity. The conflictual cultural implication opposes whatever is non-standard and heterogeneous. Even within the group, the notion of the ‘other-self’ segregates the cultural variants that are marginalized as non-standard and imperfect.