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This study is an attempt to describe the ways in which Hindi written by the Malayalam speakers is different from standard Hindi. It is based on the original (literary and creative) works in Hindi written by the Malayalam speakers like Viswanatha Iyer, Bhaskaran Nair, Krishnan Kutty, Kesavan Nair. The January-February 1971 issue of the Prakar magazine provides a statement regarding the Hindi books of the non-Hindi speakers have written about 40 original works in Hindi and a considerable number of translations from Malayalam to Hindi have been done. Not all the books were available for this study and hence it is based on works available to us. These writings are as follows:

Definition of Bilingualsim:

Fishman defines Bilingualism as the demonstrated ability to engage in the prolonged discussions concerning activities of daily life in more than one language or its standardized variety (Fishman 1966 : p. 122). This feature is so common in India that a large number of people are found to be bilingual. Mackey defines Bilingualism as follows: "as long as there are different monolingual communities, there is a likelihood of contact between them; this contact results in Bilingualism" (Mackey 1968 : p. 555 in Readings in the Sociology of Language, ed. Joshua A. Fishman). Such a language contact results in the transfer of elements from one language to another which is called 'interference phenomena' or 'phenomena of transfer' (Weinreich, 1967 : p. 1). Contact between two or more languages and cultures results in a socio-cultural situation wherein the same individual learns elements from the other linguistic system with which he comes into contact. Such a situation is called the 'language contact' and the learning process involved is 'bilingualization'. The individuals involved are 'Bilinguals'.

Mackey says that study of the phenomenon of bilingualism should be considered as entirely relative. He further suggests that in such a study, the inclusion of only two languages is not sufficient and therefore the total number of languages spoken by the individuals involved in the study should be considered as the alternate use of two or more languages by the same individual (Mackey 1968 : p. 555) in Readings in the Sociology of Language.

The 'transfer phenomena' or the 'phenomena of transfer' could be conveniently studied under two main heads -
(i) Cultural and Social patterns and
(ii) Language structure.

The latter covers all the levels -phonic, grammatical, lexical and semantic - of a language, the style ranges, etc. are also to be included under (ii).

Aim of the Study:

As mentioned in the introduction, the main aim of this study is to describe the ways in which Malayalam - Hindi (hereafter referred to as MH) is deviant or different from Standard Hindi (hereafter referred to as SH) as used by the native Hindi speakers. This study discovers the areas of interference either due to the influence of mothertongue (Malayalam in the present case) or due to the regional culture (Malayalam culture, in this case).

It may be mentioned that although the number of Hindi speakers in Kerala is very small when compared to its total population, not less than 75 per cent of the Keralites can speak and understand Hindi.

Interference Phenomena:

The phenomena of interference or the transfer phenomena could be studied under two main headings:
(i) cultural patterns and social settings and
(ii) language structure.

Considerably large number of Malayalam speakers can understand, speak and / or write Hindi and therefore all such people may be considered as MH bilinguals. They may be classified under three heads based on their proficiency in Hindi. Such a classification will be helpful for the present study. The three of bilinguals are
(i) non-proficient
(ii) semi-proficient and
(iii) proficient.

These three categories correspond to the 'measuring points' of Kachru in the 'cline of bilingualism' ( = scale) adopted by him in his study on 'Indianness in Indian English' (Kachru 1965 : Word, Vol. 21, NO. 3, Dec. 1965).

(i) Non-Proficient MH bilinguals:

A large number of Malayalam speakers have some competence in Hindi but it is not sufficient for proper communication through Hindi. Thus the Hindi spoken by shop keepers, tailors, businessmen, etc. may be called 'ba:za:ru: hindi:'. Hindi expressions of MH bilinguals of this category are unacceptable to SH speakers although they may or may not be intelligible.

It would be necessary to conduct a field study to collect data if any and analyze them before something definite could be said about this category of MH bilinguals.

(ii) Semi-Proficient MH Bilinguals:

MH bilinguals of this category have some knowledge of written and /or spoken media of Hindi but their proficiency in Hindi is not up to the mark. Clerks in post offices, railway stations, etc. may be classified under this heading. For example, ‡EòiÉxÉä ‡±É¢òÉ¢òÉ ¨ÉÉÄMÉiÉä ½éþ etc. instead of ‡EòiÉxÉä ‡±É¢òÉ¡äò ¨ÉÉÄMÉiÉä ½éþ etc. Such expressions are intelligible but not acceptable to SH speakers.

(iii) Proficient MH Bilinguals:

Hindi used by MH bilinguals of this category is not only intelligible and acceptable to other MH bilinguals but also to SH speakers. Their Hindi, however, may contain grammatically 'deviant' expressions which may express culturally and / or socially 'new' situations. Those Malayalam speakers who have had higher education in Hindi (particularly in the North) and who teach Hindi in Kerala may be categorised under this heading.

Features of MH as different from SH:

Features of MH which are different from those of SH may be studied in terms of 'deviations'. Such deviations could be studied and understood by relating the linguistic factors, cultural patterns and social settings of the Kerala State with those of Hindi speaking area. The basis for the determination of the Malayalamness of MH are those linguistic factors which are observed in any language contact situation. The 'transfer' phenomena should be carefully studied in such a study.

Transfer of Context:

Cultural patterns and social settings which are typically Keralite and which are 'new' or deviant' from the patterns of SH may be considered under this heading.

But unfortunately only one item that could come under this heading is found in the MH books available for our study, viz.,

1. =kÉ®úÒ wÉÖ¤ÉEòÒ ªÉɪɴÉÉ®ú VÉɇiɪÉÉÄ iÉÖ¹ÉÉ®ú-|ÉɱÉäªÉ Eäò ¨É®úhÉÉÆiÉEò "ÉèiªÉ ºÉä ‡´É{ÉzÉ ½þÉäEò®ú nù‡IÉhÉɇ¦É¨ÉÖJÉ ½Öþ<Ç*
-- tÖ‡iɸÉÖ‡iÉ´Éɇ½þxÉÒ, {ÉÞ. 1

Not much data are available with respect to the cultural patterns and social settings of Kerala which may be different from those of the Hindi region. Therefore this aspect can be studied only after appropriate work is empirically done.

LANGUAGE STRUCTURE

Phonology:

The phonemic pattern of MH will be discussed after the data pertaining to spoken Malayalam-Hindi are collected and analysed. However, certain peculiarities of MH at the phonological level are found in the printed word also which are obviously due to the interference from Malayalam to Hindi. Thus the unaspirate sounds in SH change over to aspirates in MH

For example,

MÉÖ°ü MÉÉ䇴Éxnù˺ÉPÉ xÉä EòÉ´ªÉ ¨Éå ªÉÖªÉÖiºÉÖ-+ÉäVÉ {ÉènùÉ ‡EòªÉÉ*
-- tÖ‡iɸÉÖ‡iÉ´Éɇ½þxÉÒ, {ÉÞ. 18

In the above example, the underlined word should be MÉÉ䇴Éxnù˺ɽþ and not MÉÉ䇴Éxnù˺ÉPÉ. Of course, the latter is true in SH pronunciation.

The other phonological features of MH which may be different from those of SH will be discussed later.

MORPHOLOGY

Number:

Quite a good number of examples are found in the literary and creative writings of MH bilinguals of the 3rd category viz., proficient, in which appropriate inflexions are not adhered to the thus the 'number concord' is absent.

For example,

¨É±ÉªÉÉ±É¨É ¦ÉɹÉÉ EòÉä ºÉ¨ÉÖzÉiÉ iÉlÉÉ ºÉ¨ÉÞrù ¤ÉxÉÉxÉä#ä EòÉ ¸ÉäªÉ ‡VÉxÉ-¨É½þÉxÉÖ¦ÉÉ´É EòÉä |ÉÉ{iÉ ½èþ, =xÉEòÉ {ÉÉ´ÉxÉ xÉÉ¨É ½èþ - iÉÖÆSÉkÉÖ ®úɨÉÉxÉÖVÉ BVÉÖiÉSSÉxÉ
-- ‡½þxnùÒ +Éè®ú ¨É±ÉªÉÉ±É¨É ¨Éå EÞò¹hÉ ¦ÉÎCiÉ EòÉ´ªÉ, {ÉÞ. 51

The correct form of the above should be

¨É±ÉªÉÉ±É¨É ¦ÉɹÉÉ ......... ¸ÉäªÉ ‡VÉºÉ ¨É½þÉxÉÖ¦ÉÉ´É ......... =xÉEòÉ {ÉÉ´ÉxÉ xÉÉ¨É ½èþ .........
1. ]õÒ{ÉÚ ºÉÖ±ÉiÉÉxÉ Eäò +ÉGò¨ÉhÉ <x½þÓ ®úÉVÉÉ Eäò "ÉɺÉxÉ EòÉ±É ¨Éå ½ÖþB lÉä
-- º´ÉɇiÉ ‡iÉ°üxÉɱÉ, {ÉÞ. 30

The correct form should be

]õÒ{ÉÚ ......... <ºÉÒ ®úÉVÉÉ Eäò .........

In Malayalam, there is no plural demonstrative pronoun and every word is free from the other in the sense that the question of concord or agreement does not exist at any level. The reason for the above usages seems to be that the MH bilinguals use honorifics before expressions like ®úÉVÉÉ without considering whether such usages are permissible and acceptable in SH.

Gender:

Malayalam does not have a gender system whereas Hindi has a grammatical gender. As already mentioned under the heading 'number', concord or agreement does not exist in Malayalam. Therefore the gender concord in Hindi is not properly maintained by the Malayalam writers while writing in Hindi and expressions like the following are found in Hindi written by the Malayalis.

1. ¨ÉÖJÉ EòÒ >ð{É®úÒ ¦ÉÉMÉ SÉxpù ºÉä iÉlÉÉ ‡xÉSɱÉä ¦ÉÉMÉ EòÒ Eò¨É±É ºÉä iÉÖ±ÉxÉÉ EòÒ MɪÉÒ ½èþ*
-- ‡½þxnùÒ +Éè®ú ¨É±ÉªÉÉ±É¨É ¨Éå EÞò¹hɦÉÎCiÉ EòÉ´ªÉ, {ÉÞ. 284

Its correct form should be

¨ÉÖJÉ Eäò >ð{É®úÒ ¦ÉÉMÉ EòÒ SÉxpù ºÉä iÉlÉÉ ‡xÉSɱÉä ¦ÉÉMÉ EòÒ Eò¨É±É ºÉä iÉÖ±ÉxÉÉ EòÒ MɪÉÒ ½èþ*

2. {ÉÖ®úÉxÉÒ MÉÉÄ´É ¨Éå BEò ¤Égø<Ç EòÉ ±Éc÷EòÉ ®ú½þiÉÉ lÉÉ*

The correct form is

{ÉÖ®úÉxÉä MÉÉÄ´É ¨Éå BEò ¤Égø<Ç EòÉ ±Éc÷EòÉ ®ú½þiÉÉ lÉÉ*

Phrase order:

Change in phrase order is found to be prominent in Malayalam-Hindi also as it is in the case of TH, Kh etc. Following are some of the examples which illustrate this point:
1. .........xÉÒ±ÉEÆò`ö ½þÒ lÉä =xÉEäò MÉÖ°ü´ÉªÉÇ
-- ‡½þxnùÒ +Éè®ú ¨É±ÉªÉÉ±É¨É ¨Éå EÞò¹hÉ ¦ÉÎCiÉ EòÉ´ªÉ, {ÉÞ. 52

2. ......... ºÉ®úÉäVÉ Eäò ºÉ¨ÉÉxÉ ½éþ {ÉnùªÉÖMɱÉ
-- ´É½þÒ, {ÉÞ. 68

3. ......... iÉÒxÉÉå MÉÖhÉÉå ºÉä ªÉÖCiÉ ½èþ ´É½þ
-- ´É½þÒ, {ÉÞ. 85

4. ......... SÉɱÉÒºÉ ´É¹ÉÉç EòÉ |ÉiªÉIÉ +xÉÖ¦É´É <ºÉ EòɪÉÇ ¨Éå ±ÉäJÉEò EòÉ ºÉ¤É±É ®ú½þÉ ½èþ*
-- ®úɹ]Åõ¦ÉÉ®úiÉÒ EòÉä Eäò®ú±É EòÉ ªÉÉäMÉnùÉxÉ, {ÉÞ. 98

5. ......... b÷ÉEò, BEò ‡´ÉJªÉÉiÉ nùÉ"ÉLJxÉEò, ºÉÉäSÉiÉÉ lÉÉ VÉxɺÉÉvÉÉ®úhÉ Eäò ‡±ÉB*
-- tÖ‡iɸÉÖ‡iÉ´Éɇ½þxÉÒ, {ÉÞ. 3

6. ......... +½ÆþEòÉ®úÒ, §É¹]õÉSÉÉ®úÒ ¤ÉxÉ, +iªÉÉSÉÉ®ú føÉiÉÉ ½èþ ‡xÉ®ú{É®úÉvÉÒ ±ÉÉäMÉÉå {É®ú*
-- ´É½þÒ, {ÉÞ. 3

In Malayalam, word order within a phrase is observed but phrases within a sentence have no specific order. it seems that MH influence is carried forward to Hindi by the MH writing in Hindi.

Although such change in phrase order is found in spoken standard Hindi, it is found in Hindi writings of the Malayalis that in some cases, the expressions are unacceptable even in SH to such an extent.

Postpositions:

As is observed in TH, KH etc., improper use of postpositions is found in Malayalam-Hindi. it is also noticed that certain postpositions are unnecessarily used in quite a number of examples.

For instance,
1. ..................+ÉvªÉÉi¨É®úɨɪÉhÉ EòÉ ¨ÉÚ±É EòÉ OÉxlÉ iÉä±ÉÖMÉÖ ‡±É‡{É ¨Éå ½èþ*
-‡½þxnùÒ +Éè®ú ¨É±ÉªÉÉ±É¨É ¨Éå EÞò¹hɦÉÎCiÉ EòÉ´ªÉ, {ÉÞ.52

In the above example the use of EòÉ after ¨ÉÚ±É is unnecessary. There should be no postposition after ¨ÉÚ±É*

2. ....................... =iºÉ´É EòÉ ¨É‡½þ¨ÉÉ EòÉ ´ÉhÉÇxÉ Eò®úiÉä ½ÖþB
-- º´ÉɇiÉ ‡iÉ°üxÉɱÉ, {ÉÞ-. 55

The first postposition in the above example should be EòÒ and not EòÉ*

It may also be noted that in some examples, necessary changes in adjectives etc., in accordance with the postposition are not made. This seems to be due to the fact that adjectives etc. are indeclinable in Malayalam.

Translation:

In the literary and creative writings of MH bilinguals, certain typical Malayalam expressions are found to be translated from Malayalam to Hindi. Some such translations are unacceptable to native Hindi speakers.

For example,
1. ®úÉVÉÉ xÉä +ÉYÉÉ nùÒ =xÉ iÉÉb÷ {ÉjÉÉå EòÉä ªÉ½þÉÄ ±ÉÉ+Éä*
-- ‡½þxnùÒ +Éè®ú ¨É±ÉªÉÉ±É¨É ¨Éå EÞò¹hɦÉÎCiÉ EòÉ´ªÉ, {ÉÞ. 72

2. EÖòUô ´É¹ÉÉç Eäò +xnù®ú-+xnù®ú BäºÉä ºÉ½þɪÉEò OÉÆlÉÉå EòÒ ¤ÉÉfø ºÉÒ +É MɪÉÒ*
-- ®úɹ]Åõ¦ÉÉ®úiÉÒ EòÉä Eäò®ú±É EòÉ ªÉÉäMÉnùÉxÉ, {ÉÞ. 53

3. Eäò"É´É uùÉ®ú iÉÒxÉ ´ÉMÉÉç ¨Éå ‡EòªÉÉ MɪÉÉ ´ÉMÉÔEò®úhÉ ={ɪÉÖÇCiÉ iÉlªÉ EòÉ ºÉ¨ÉlÉÇxÉ Eò®úiÉÉ ½èþ*
-- |ÉÉSÉÒxÉ Eò‡´É Eäò"É´ÉnùɺÉ, {ÉÞ. 38

The correct forms of the above examples are:

1. ®úÉVÉÉ xÉä +ÉYÉÉ nùÒ ‡Eò =xÉ iÉÉb÷ {ÉjÉÉå EòÉä ªÉ½þÉÄ ±ÉÉ+Éä*
2. EÖòUô ´É¹ÉÉç Eäò +Ænù®ú BäºÉä ºÉ½þɪÉEò OÉxlÉÉå ¡òÒ ¤ÉÉfø ºÉÒ +É MɪÉÒ*

Lexical Transfer:

Some lexical items from Malayaalam are transferred to Hindi by MH bilinguals while writing in Hindi and are used in the same sense as they are in Malayalam. Such transfer causes great difficulty for the native speakers of Hindi in understanding them. However other MH bilinguals understand such items.

For example, Malayalam words

¤ÉVÉxjÉÒ - ®úɹ]Åõ ¦ÉÉ®úiÉÒ EòÉä Eäò®ú±É EòÉ ªÉÉäMÉnùÉxÉ, {ÉÞ. 5
nùºiÉÉ´ÉäVÉ - ´É½þÒ, {ÉÞ. 5
‡¤ÉVÉªÉ - |ɪÉÉhÉ - |ÉÉSÉÒxÉ Eò‡´É Eäò"É´ÉnùɺÉ, {ÉÞ. 90

Idiosynchratic expressions such as the following which are not acceptable to SH speakers, are also found in MH bilinguals writings. The reasons for such expressions cannot be determined.

Examples:

1. +Éè®ú iÉÉä +É®ú =xÉ ‡nùxÉÉå EòÒ MÉt - ¦ÉɹÉÉ EòÉ =nùɽþ®úhÉ <xÉ nùÉäxÉÉå OÉxlÉÉå ¨Éå ‡¨É±É ºÉEòiÉÉ ½èþ*
-- ®úɹ]Åõ¦ÉÉ®úiÉÒ EòÉä Eäò®ú±É EòÉ ªÉÉäMÉnùÉxÉ, {ÉÞ. 97

2. ±Éc÷EòÉ ´ÉÉ{ÉºÉ xɽþÓ +ÉxÉä EòÉ
-- ®úɹ]Åõ¦ÉÉ®úiÉÒ EòÉä Eäò®ú±É EòÉ ªÉÉäMÉnùÉxÉ, {ÉÞ. 103

Conclusions:

On the basis of the above observations the following features of MH may be pointed out:
1. At the phonological level, it is observed that the MH writers use aspirated sounds in place of unaspirated ones as in MH. This can be attributed to hyper-corrections.

2. Humber and Gender concord in MH is not properly maintained.

3. Due to the influence of Malayalam, the appropriate phrase order is not maintained in MH.

4. Due to the fact that adjectives etc., are not declinable in Malayalam, the declinable adjectives in Hindi fail to show appropriate forms in MH.

5. In MH, use of certain postpositions is inappropriate. This may be due to the fact that in Malayalam (as in the case of other Dravidian languages) a subject never takes a postposition or a case marker whereas the subject may have different postpositions in Hindi depending upon the type of verbal construction and tense of the verb.