|
Passions of the Tongue: Language Devotion in Tamil India, 1891-1970 (Studies on the History of Society and Culture , No 29) | 
 enlarge | Author: Sumathi Ramaswamy
Publisher: University of California Press
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
Buy New: $15.00
You Save: $11.95 (44%)
New (16) Used (21) from $9.10
Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 776457
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 343
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 0.9
ISBN: 0520208056
Dewey Decimal Number: 494.8110954
EAN: 9780520208056
ASIN: 0520208056
Publication Date: November 20, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Why would love for their language lead several men in southern India to burn themselves alive in its name? Passions of the Tongue analyzes the discourses of love, labor, and life that transformed Tamil into an object of such passionate attachment, producing in the process one of modern India's most intense movements for linguistic revival and separatism.
Sumathi Ramaswamy suggests that these discourses cannot be contained within a singular metanarrative of linguistic nationalism and instead proposes a new analytic, "language devotion." She uses this concept to track the many ways in which Tamil was imagined by its speakers and connects these multiple imaginings to their experience of colonial and post-colonial modernity. Focusing in particular on the transformation of the language into a goddess, mother, and maiden, Ramaswamy explores the pious, filial, and erotic aspects of Tamil devotion. She considers why, as its speakers sought political and social empowerment, metaphors of motherhood eventually came to dominate representations of the language.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Must read. Tamil is classical and Tamils are passionate July 12, 2004
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book is just plain facts. Not even a little exaggeration. Well researched and well written book. The book gives tremendous amount of facts on the anti-Sanskrit, anti-brahminical and anti-Aryan passions of Tamils and great savants of Tamil from 1860 to till date. Clearly answers the reason for the passion. Tamil as mother is given great importance and (tamilthai) `mother Tamil', symbolizing Tamil as the mother of the entire Tamil speaking community is dealt in great detail. The struggle against the Sanskrit in pre independence and against Hindi in the post independence time is dealt in great detail. All great poets, political leaders, the erudite are mentioned; the author herself shows immense passion in bringing out the passions of the Tamils. The symbolization of Tamil as mother, lover and child, both in classical Tamil poems and by latest Tamil poets is shown as the main reason behind the passion, especially by the male dominant society, certain examples of female patrons are also provided. The passion for Tamil is ignited not only by the symbol of Tamil as mother (tamilthai) but symbolizing Sanskrit and the Hindi as daemons disrupting the valor, greatness and the beauty of `Tamil mother' both as symbolic pictures in the print and as well as the rhetoric of various Tamil political leaders and others is also stated as a reason for the passion. The renaming of Madras State as TamilNadu and the anti-hindi protest during the 1960's are also dealt in detail. A great work by `Sumathi Ramaswamy'. A must read not only for Tamils, but also for people who don't understand the passion of Tamils and the classicality of the language.
|
|
|
This amazon.com affiliate Store Owned and Operated by Silkroad Retail Group
Accepted Payment Methods:
American Express, Diners Club, Discover, JCB, MasterCard, Eurocard, Visa, Visa Check Cards, Amazon.com gift certificates, payment directly from your bank account, and checks, money orders, or cashier's checks denominated in U.S. dollars and drawn on a U.S. bank, Borders Gift Cards and Waldenbooks Gift Cards as payment for qualifying orders. More information about Shipping & Handling, Delivery Date, Return Policy, Special Offers/Savings etc is available at the time of Secure CheckOut.
© 2006 ChindiaLounge.com All Rights Reserved | Powered by Silkroad Web
| |
