English as Instrumental Capital and Tamil as Literary Habitat: Investigating the Comparative Invisibility of Writers of Tamil Origin in English
J. John Sekar *
Research Department of English, The American College, Madurai – 625 002, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The rise of Indian Writing in English marks a significant transformation in postcolonial literary history, where English evolved from a colonial administrative language into a powerful medium of creative and cultural expression. Despite Tamil Nadu’s long-standing engagement with English education and bilingualism, the comparatively limited visibility of Tamil-origin writers in Indian English literature reveals the complex influence of regional literary traditions, cultural identity, and institutional canon formation on literary production. This study explores the paradox of the invisibility of Tamil-origin writers in Indian Writing in English in the context of the long history of English education in Tamil Nadu and its strong tradition of bilingualism. The central aim of the investigation is to explore/understand how wide availability of English-medium education and resource in English did not result in a corresponding presence of canonically recognized Tamil-origin writers in English literary traditions. The study examines how vernacular literary continuity, language ideology, translation practice, canon formation and regional literary ecologies collectively contribute to literary (in)visibility and shape literary production. Theoretically, it draws from sociology of literature, postcolonial theory, and language ideology. Specifically, the analysis is informed by Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of the literary field and cultural capital, Homi K. Bhahba’s concept of hybridity, and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s deconstruction of linguistic and cultural representation. Methodologically, it takes an interpretive qualitative perspective relying on critical textual analysis within a comparative regional framework informed by the interdisciplinariness of literary, sociolinguistic, and cultural studies. The findings indicate that the literary ecology of Tamil Nadu is one with a layered linguistic hierarchy, with English being the language of instrumental capital while Tamil remains the language of symbolic, affective and creative articulation. The study also contends that translation asymmetries, canon formations, and disparities in literary circulation shape the exposure of writers of Tamil origins in English. Instead of signifying literary void, the Tamil case unfolds the intricate negotiations through which literary value and recognition are articulated within multilingual and asymmetrical systems of culture.
Keywords: Vernacular resilience, literary field theory, poly-system dynamics, cultural capital, bilingual stratification, canonical visibility, translation asymmetry