A Study on Forms of Greeting and Taking Leave in Kalikote Dialect and English

Abstract

Multiethnicity, multiculturalism and multilingualism are considered the special characteristics of the cultural heritage of Nepal. There are 123 different languages spoken in Nepal. Among them, Nepali language is used by almost 44.6 people (CBS, 2011) residing in different parts of the country. Having been used by almost half of the population, Nepali language has various dialects. The topology of the country decides the forms of the dialect used in various parts of the nation. The dialect used in the Eastern region entirely differs from that used in the western region. The overarching aim of the present study entitled A Study on Forms of Greeting and Taking Leave of Kalikote Dialect and English Language is to find out forms of greeting and taking leave in Kalikote dialect, a regional vernacular used in Kalikot district in western Nepal. It also comparatively delineates those forms of greetings and taking leave with English forms system. Both primary and secondary sources of data were used in the study. The respondents that comprised of 20 male and 20 female were selected from Kalikot district using quota sampling procedure. Interview and questionnaire were used as research tools in order to elicit the data. The major finding from the research indicated that the forms of greeting and taking leave in Kalikote dialect used indirect and politeness of language; of low solidarity, high status and high formality. It was also found that the Kalikote dialect serves referential function and it uses more forms of greeting and taking leave compared to English. It was also found that the Kalikote dialect is more of a gestural language and also is highly based on gender from that of English. The thesis consists of five chapters. The first chapter deals with the background of the topic, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, significance of the study, delimitations of the study and operational definition of the key terms. The second chapter includes reviews of related theoretical literature: review of related empirical literature, implication of the review for the study and conceptual framework. Similarly, the third chapter incorporates with method and procedure of the study under which deign and method of the study, population sample and sampling strategies, study area, data collection tools, technique of procedure is mentioned. The fourth chapter deals with data analysis and interpretation of results, summary and findings. The fifth chapter includes conclusions and recommendations at three different areas: policy related, practice related and further related. Finally, this chapter is followed by references and the appendices.