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'Below English Line': an ethnographic exploration of class and the English language in post-liberalization India

[journal article]

Jayadeva, Sazana

Abstract

Anthropological studies of India's post-liberalization middle classes have tended to focus mainly on the role of consumption behaviour in the constitution of this class group. Building on these studies, and taking class as an object of ethnographic enquiry, I argue that, over the last 20 years, clas... view more

Anthropological studies of India's post-liberalization middle classes have tended to focus mainly on the role of consumption behaviour in the constitution of this class group. Building on these studies, and taking class as an object of ethnographic enquiry, I argue that, over the last 20 years, class dynamics in the country have been significantly altered by the unprecedentedly important and complex role that the English language has come to play in the production and reproduction of class. Based on 15 months of ethnographic fieldwork - conducted at commercial spoken-English training centres, schools, and corporate organizations in Bangalore - I analyse the processes by which this change in class dynamics has occurred, and how it is experienced on the ground. I demonstrate how, apart from being a valuable type of class cultural capital in its own right, proficiency in English has come to play a key role in the acquisition and performance of other important forms of capital associated with middle-class identity. As a result, being able to demonstrate proficiency in English has come to be experienced as a critical element in claiming and maintaining a space in the middle class, regardless of the other types of class cultural capital a person possesses.... view less

Keywords
education; ethnology; social mobility; learning; development; social advancement; social inequality; folklore; social class; labor market; middle class; foreign language teaching; social stratum; structure; English language; school; India

Classification
General Sociology, Basic Research, General Concepts and History of Sociology, Sociological Theories
Sociology of Communication, Sociology of Language, Sociolinguistics

Free Keywords
Gesellschaftsentwicklung; Gesellschaftsstruktur; Soziale Ausgrenzung; Bangalore

Document language
English

Publication Year
2018

Page/Pages
p. 576-608

Journal
Modern Asian Studies, 52 (2018) 2

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0026749X16000639

ISSN
1469-8099

Status
Published Version; peer reviewed

Licence
Deposit Licence - No Redistribution, No Modifications

With the permission of the rights owner, this publication is under open access due to a (DFG-/German Research Foundation-funded) national or Alliance license.


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© 2007 - 2025 Social Science Open Access Repository (SSOAR).
Based on DSpace, Copyright (c) 2002-2022, DuraSpace. All rights reserved.