LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF THREE GUJARATI FOLKTALES

Abstract

This study represents an attempt to place linguistic analysis in the cultural setting. The linguistic aspect of this study is presented in the framework of discourse grammar following the model developed by Longacre (1976, 1983). Three Gujarati folktales are analyzed for their overall discourse structure, for their verb and sentence structure and relative importance of information in narrative discourse, and for the participant reference. A distinction is made between participant oriented narrative and event oriented narrative. In the analysis of the cultural setting the models of Levi-Strauss (1963, 1967, 1969, etc.) and Bastien (1978) are followed. In this section, on the basis of the binary oppositions found in the structure of the three folktales as seen in the participants and events, it is demonstrated that there is organized hierarchical structure at every phase of Hindu society. In the last chapter an attempt is made to correlate the linguistic structure of the texts with the cultural information. This is done mainly in two areas: participant reference in the narratives and overall narrative structure. It is shown that the cultural information, the message presented in a folktale and the structure of a narrative are interrelated. Satisfactory analysis of the narrative structure is not possible purely on linguistic basis. Linguistic analysis needs an added perspective into deeper level, more abstract level, to relate the language to society and to culture of which it is a part.