Linguistic exclusion through divergence: A case of Mappila Malayalam’s resistance against social exclusion

Abstract

The study explores the implications of social exclusion in the context of sociohistorical development of Mappila Malayalam, a sociolect spoken by the Muslim community in the Malabar region of Kerala. Mappila Malayalam developed as a distinct variety of Malayalam in the setting of certain social exclusions, and the study identifies this stage of development as the first wave variation of Mappila Malayalam. The analysis further explores how Mappila Malayalam diverges from the existing system of Malayalam, a conscious means of linguistic exclusion, realised as resistance against social exclusion, and thereby ultimately helped the speech community to obtain social inclusion. The article seeks to address the contest of identities mediated by language variations in a social system with explicit norms in categorising the members that lead to social exclusion by exploring the instance of Mappila Malayalam.