Overview- the ‘F-Style’ communication:
We know very well that the Genesis of Human Race and Communication were inseparable which later on evolved as SCRIPTS and WORDS. The communications at primitive ages were only sound and caricatures. The masculine nature of outfit was masked when linguistic phenomenon evolved. The communication has been engulfed by the world of men when governance and administration became parts of anthropological evaluation. The power and strength of language as pronounced louder in a masculine voice all over the globe. The feminine aspect of communication had been always as crippled as ornamental decoration. There were no specific respectful rights for the female in communication which lasts till this millennium.
The Research and Analysis about the ‘F-Style’ (Female Style) communication, female linguistic application, the voice of female in digital communication modules and their methods of conversation or discussion are amazingly sparkled among Researchers and Social activists only after i) the boom of digital technology, ii) evaluation of 2G, 3G and recent 4G revolution in communication science, iii) the availability of cheaper and user friendly Hi-tech smartphones to common man. The common man and poorer group of users are not only using these gadgets for TALK rather than using for TASK based application for their business transaction and communication etc. The Lifestyle of common man in this digital communication era has been changed enormously likewise entertainment and celebration irrespective of time and space.
This Social – Linguistic Research and Analysis work reveal the status and evaluation of language and its application among female users in Tamil Social Media in Platform – Facebook. This paper is the first of its kind in the digital communication of Tamil female groups.
The Facebook:
If the Facebook is a geographically bounded country, it will become third-largest size in the world next to China and India. The Population of Facebook is larger than American continence in which dense users are in India and America. But due to the geographical demography, environmental and social differences the languages are always variable. Most of their Facebook posts and uploads seem to be daily wishes and compliments, poetic quotes, music media uploads parenting and spiritual advises, captions of rational revolutionists, native medical practitioner’s propagations, serious left and right ideological arguments etc. ‘Unicode’ – the astonishing language tool by which all information can be transferred and communicated in all Indian languages. As quoted by Dhamayanthi, one among the important female writer of Tamil, “Facebook is the place where female talks and pronouncing have been used at higher freedom conquering all hurdles!” 1
Structures and differences of conversational orthography on the basis of sexuality:
This is the main criteria to understand this communication research. Mr.K. Rajanarayanan – a Senior and renowned Tamil Writer once said - ‘when script evolved, conflicts were started in language, script or letter did remarkable history’.2 The Language has variable and distinctive tone. This tone determines the slang and the slang expresses the corresponding geographical structure and social morphology. In Tamil, we can see the different kinds of slang according to our different kinds of geographical structure. The slang and the tone of language construct the power, passion and love and equality in its culture. Also, the slang differentiates the meanings of sounds and voices of men and women. The conversation between people had been functioned within them and not tends to archived till yesterday. But today, in this virtual world, the communication and expression of two individuals, for example in the Facebook, are expressed beyond the boundaries of society and become notable in public, which facilitates others also to mingle and participate in it. Importantly, Facebook facilitates archiving the voice of the users. Thus we can easily discriminate the ‘M’ (male) and ‘F’ (female) style of communication in a particular language, the slang and the method.
In general, we can categorize the conversation of female users of Tamil community in Facebook into three:
Style 1: The typical family bounded conversation, mostly using this platform to share the information and celebrate their family happenings – like a trip to a temple, first daughters distinction in board exams, summer tour, matrimonial arrangements of cousins and even they share the culinary varieties & methods of preparations. Interestingly they post compliment comments for an exclusive dish variety like ‘super aunty…’, ‘pickle missing…’etc.
Style 2: The Intrinsic thinkers! They are serious activists of Social, Political, and Creative bases. They strappingly express their opinions on all issues & activities all around the world. They always intensify the feministic approach in any conversation. Most of them are against the men and male dominating ideology.
Style 3: The Mid- Players between the styles 1 and 2. Actually, they are not very serious on feministic views. Mostly they post like semi-professional encounters. They share some good poetries sometimes as well they post making of delicious curries in another side. They also share most of other people status rather than their own.
Apart from these three categories, numerous Facebook users are there (we have not included them in this study) who post and share sceneries, flowers, baby photos – whether they are indigenous or extraneous - and selfies3 etc.
Basic forms of Facebook conversations and the ‘F’ style participation:
We can categorize these into TWO on the basis of application (or) usage:
(a) STATUS
(b) COMMENTS
Here, we are not considering the other forms like ‘SHARE’ and ‘MESSANGER’.
Male Dominancy that is the ‘M’ style of conversation also plays a predominant role in Facebook. Most of them are using general Tamil as in speaking and writing style of their status. Apart from this some of them are using the local slang and even voice or quotes of celebrities. Comparatively Male users are more in this pattern than Female users. Now we can see the usage of Language among the above categorized.
We can find three types of Female groups in Tamil Facebook network as depicted below:
Style 1:
Status: Their statuses usually not more than five lines of passage and using mostly colloquial Tamil and formal language intermittently. And even English words are also appearing between the words or sentences. They are not very worrisome about their language tool like Unicode Tamil. Instead, they are using the Phonetic type of language tool for typing Tamil directly through English keys.
Examples:
Thenmozhi Rajendran
Kalyani Ilamaran
Akila Asokan
Comments: The comments of this category which usually depend on the uploading or posting status or sharing the status of others from their Facebook friends list. If the status of a friends is in five lines, their comments also reflect not more than that. Their Language in usage also seems to be mimicking such a style. For an example, we can see the Facebook user Akila Asokan4 has received an enumerative reply comment for profile picture from her friend Veda Vignesh5 like ‘Enna therigiradha..?6 is an English phonetic meaning as ‘Do you recognize me?’ for Tamil words. Akila replied like – ‘Mazhai varappogiradhu’ (It’s about to raining) etc. We can observe many of this kind of Female Facebook friends on this category who are using the similar type of conversational language and form in general.
Style 2:
Status: This kind of women is playing on serious ideological base, more on Feministic approach. Their statuses denote and analyze intrinsically on political strategies, Communal & Religious conflicts, Contradictions in creative world such in Arts & Literature. Most of them are fluent and sound linguistically in both languages Tamil & English whose statuses sometimes exceeding more than hundreds of lines- like an article or composition. Most of them became well known in public sphere only after using Facebook. Tamil writer Ms. Dhamayandhi’s quote that ‘participation of Female in Facebook which is facilitating a grand space to open their mind and views’ - is justifying our current digital revolution.7
This space not only gives such crude culinary conversations (‘I cooked brinjal curry today’) rather than open up their views on Socio – Political., Communal., Interpersonal., Ideological and Individual Human Rights aspects also like the issues of Sankar, the Dalit young man brutally murdered by atrocious upper caste elements, harassments of male colleagues in professional and working environments, homosexuality, antagonizing the institution of marriage, adopting a girl child as a single parent, quitting her own religion, blasting with a conscience by words on suicide of Rohit vemulla and JNU crisis. ‘Facebook sheltering all views of Female to express ‘- said by Ms. Jothimani sennimalai – an AICC member and TN – women’s wing activist.8
Jothimani Sennimalai, Kutti Revathi, Sumathy Thangapandian, Kotravai, N Amudha Thamizh, Jeyarani Mayilvahanan, Kavin Malar, Ranjani, Puthiyamaadhavi, Sukirtha Rani, Mu.Vi. Nandhini, Kavitha Sornavalli, Prema Revathi, Kavitha Muralidharan, Tha. Jeevalakshmi, Bharathi Selva, Hemavathy, Lakshmi Dhamayanthi Nizhal, Vijaya Lakshmi, Manushi Bharathi, Uma Mohan, Padmaja Narayanan, Padmavathy, Meena, Geeta Ilangovan, GeethNarayanan, Geetha, Geeta Charusivam, Viji's Palanichamy, Brindha Sethu, Brindha Srinivasan, Parimala, Panju Manjula, Maha Manian, Maha Sambooranam, Mohana Somasundram, Naachiyal Suganthi, Elamathi Sai, Karuppu Amudha, Veeralakshmi, Saravanajothi, Parameswari Thirunavukkarasu, Maria Sivanandam, Tharmi Ni, Pushparani, Sithampari, Dhayamalar, Jeevasundari Balan, Jeeva, Priya, Thamizhnathy Nathy, Tamizachi, Vilasini Ramani, Swathi, Shanthi, Samandha Samantha, Ks Ramani, Sagunthala, Varthini Parvatha, Usha Balasubramaniam Usha Nathan and Pa. Malathy are some examples in this style of Facebook users.
Comments: The comments of this group of users are always furious. So a lot of argumentative appreciations and reactions are flashing. Their opposing views on approach on social and personal agony also elongate the number of lines. Most of the Male had been made unfriend by this type of Female when they get exposed as Anti – Feministic ideological conflict. These Female users more on interest to share and maintain their friendly relationship maximum with the same kind of Female or similarly thinking Men. We can notice such a conflict revelation evolves in Facebook on the very recent strategic propagation promoted by ippodhu.com (ippodhu.com) on the issue of latest caste based cold blooded murder issue of Udumalaipet Shankar by using the statements and profile pictures of Kottravai9 and Kutty Revathi.10 On the other hand, like Kavitha Sornavalli - expressing another face of conversational approach in Facebook. She could manipulate at any critical conversational crisis by using her own style of mind blowing language.11
Style 3:
Status: They are very mysterious to understand at most of the times on their status. Sometimes they post their status seriously in the very grammatical language like the shared status of Vidhya Vijayaragavan: ‘Avanukku Thamizhum Aangilamum theriyathu; enakku Hindi Theriyadhu. Aanalum kaadhal valarkkirom; Google Translater-n udhavi kondu (He does not know Tamil and English; I don’t know Hindi; But we grow our love with the help of Google Translator).12 When the user sharing such kind of poetry usually published in popular women supplements of Tamil Newspapers like Dinamalar or Dinathanthi, she also posts a very serious and decorative linguistic satire on Seeman, the leader of ‘ Naam Thamizhar Iyakkam’ the popular political movement like this: ‘Vandherikalai Viratti Adippom; Tamilar marabou kaappom; Ivan muppattanar murugan pethi, Naam Tamilar Sadhura Seyalar, Kongu Mandalam’ (Let us drive away the intruders; Let us save the tradition of Tamil; By the granddaughter of the grandfather, Lord Muruga, the Square Secretary of Naam Tamilar Movement, Kongu Zone)13 The same way, one Ms. Thamizhselvi Nicolus posts a comment in short form as ‘Maalai Vanakkam; Porumaiyaga irundhal perumai adaiyalam; Unmai; Thamizhin mudhumozhi’ (Good evening; If you have patience you can attain the gratitude; True; Proverb of Tamil). Followed by this, she herself posts a very long statement on the importance of a person’s enlightenment on his ancestors.14 See, how their attitude differs from one statement to another statement!
Dr. Jeeva, Nangai Mathy, Subhasri Shriram and Esakki ammal are some examples of this style.
Comments: The comments also seem to be a mixture of Styles 1 & 2. The satire statement of Vidhya Vijayaragavan receives a very long and aggressive reaction from the circle of ‘Naam Tamilar Movement’. The same satire also receives a single line comment as ‘Superb Sister!’ We can acknowledge these types of mixed comments in such ‘F’ style of communication.
Inference:
There is numerous research and analytical observations & conclusions exist about the difference between Male and Female conversational approach in Linguistics & Literature. The research works on this field of Lakoff (1975), Thorne and Henley (1975), Tannen, (1990) are some outstanding examples. Among others, Jennifer Coates (1993) is the pioneer in this research explaining with categorization of eight splash points: verbosity, importance of topics (which she includes in her discussion of verbosity), minimal responses, hedges, tag questions, commands, swearing and taboo language, and compliments.15
These eight characteristics are very closely associated and resonance my categorization of above said three types of Female users on Facebook. An exciting and important aspect of Facebook, we can explain that the Male is not interestingly participating when 4-5 female initiates furious arguments. The deliberately quits with the status like ‘Vaazhthukkal Sagothari...’or ‘Ungal karuthai vazhimozhigiren!’ (‘Wishes sister’ or ‘I ratify your opinion’) likewise.
On another hand, Female will never quit like Male surfers in a controversial ideological, socio – political arguments in Facebook. If necessary, they will face and handle these conflicts even by using ‘Taboo Language’ – (which has been usually used by Men). As said by Tamil writer Ms. Dhamayandhi, “The freedom of expression in Facebook depends on how we are using and utilizing it, not on Gender base’16. ‘Padhagam seibavarai kandaal modhi mithithuvidu paappa: Avar mugathil umizhndhuvidu paapaa’ is a popular poetic dream of Mahakavi Bharathiyar17 on the freedom of female. It means, ‘Daughter, when you find the people who do harm to you, just hit and smash them on land and spit on their face!’ This research indicates that the dream of Mahakavi Bharathi has come to alive and concurrent for women in this Digital Communication era.
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Foot Notes:
1. Telephonic interview on 07-03-2016
2. Interview held on 22-12-2015 on the topic of Pondicherry Tourism and Development, at his residence, Pondicherry.
3. A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and shared via social media.
5. https://www.facebook.com/vedha.srinivasan.3
7. Telephonic interview on 07-03-2016
8. Telephonic interview on 04-03-2016
13. Ref the link given above.
15. JENNIFER COATES is Emeritus Professor of English Language and Linguistics at Roehampton University. Her published work includes Women, Men and Language (originally published 1986, 3rd edition 2004), Women in their Speech Communities (1989) (co-edited with Deborah Cameron); Women Talk. The conversation between Women Friends (1996), Men Talk: Stories in the Making of Masculinities (2003) and The Sociolinguistics of Narrative (co-edited with Joanna Thorn borrow). As well as many chapters in edited books and articles in refereed journals.
16. Telephonic interview on 07-03-2016
17. The iconic poet of Tamil who had written enormous progressive poems in the period of Indian freedom movement.
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