Abstract

The study aims to explore the role of Hindi dubbed cartoons in instilling linguistic patterns and culture among primary school students of Lahore. The study verifies the hypothesis that Hindi dubbed cartoons are instilling linguistic patterns and culture among children. The measures for collecting data included an indigenous demographic sheet, questionnaire for school going children, and questionnaire for parents. The sample of the current research comprised of 200 respondents (students=100 and parents=100) from Lahore city through convenient sampling. The data was analyzed through SPSS version 21.00. Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to analyze the relationship between watching Hindi dubbed cartoons, instilling linguistic pattern and culture. The findings revealed that there is significant correlation between watching Hindi dubbed cartoon and instilling linguistic pattern and culture. The findings cater insight for future researchers.

Key Words

Dubbed Cartoons, Linguistic Patterns, Hindi Language, Culture, Urdu Language, Pakistani Culture

Introduction

Entertainment is described as the action of providing or being provided with amusement or enjoyment (Oxford Dictionaries). Cartoons are the major source of entertainment for kids and they like the cartoons they understand. Majority of children in Pakistani love to watch Hindi cartoons these days as they can understand them due to Hindi language being similar to Urdu which is Pakistan’s national and official language (Mahsud et al., 2009). Indian and western thoughts are slowly and gradually dominating in Pakistani society. Almost every child in Pakistan is spending more than 5 hours in front of TV daily, from afternoon till night in watching cartoons and animated movies that being translated in Hindi language or are in a foreign language, due to which they are getting a dose to contradict their belief, faith, culture & traditions. The foreign media are   

doing this purposefully so that no one could go against western and Indian secular ideologies in future (Afzal, 2010).

Hindi dubbed cartoons are increasingly affecting the language and life style of the students as they try to speak and act like cartoon characters. Words like sundar, sapnay and other Hindi words are being increasingly used by kids. As children are quick learner, the Hindi language and Hinduism that is promoted in dubbed Hindi cartoons has started to evolve in Pakistani society (Anis, Ashfaq & Mujtaba, 2012). Zakia (2016) found that children are influenced by foreign cartoons and the content of these cartoons differ from the Arab culture and value. According to Ahsan et al. (2015) cartoon series especially Chota Bheem and Doraemon greatly influenced the children’s linguistic pattern and their behavior. In Bajwa et al. (2015), the findings of the study pointed to a positive correlation between media violence witnessed and verbal and physical aggressions observation in the children. The findings also say that children learn swear words (abuse) from Indian cartoons and films. According to Yousafet al. (2015), cartoons are not only affecting children’s behavior in aggressiveness but also instilling linguistic patterns. The study also analyzed how children are spending more time in front of T.V. than indulging in physical activities. Nasir and Malik (2014), found that the majority of the children like to watch the Hindi animated movie Karishna and they are more familiar with the Hindi religion and their heroes than their own.  They also found that children had more knowledge about Karishna’s power, its religion and other things.

The current research study is specifically designed to find out the influence of the Hindi dubbed cartoons like Doremon, Ben Ten, Pokemon and Oggy and Cockroaches, that are being shown on different cartoon channels, on the students of the Lahore city of Pakistan regarding their culture and linguistic patterns.




Significance of the Study




This Study is significant as it gives awareness about the dangerous effect of Hindi language and culture. In older studies the researchers have talked about the language and culture separately but in the present study the researchers talk about the possible change of linguistic and cultural patterns in the school children. It is also an effort to alert policy makers regarding the harmful effects of Hindi language and culture.




Rational of the Study




The major focus of this study is to check the role of dubbed Hindi cartoons in instilling linguistic patterns and culture among students of Lahore. According to Bonnie Rochman (2011) watching television decreases parent-children interaction time and children spend less time in communicating with their parents. As a result they develop poor communicative competence and performance. School children aged from 5-10 are quick learners. They are responsive and their intellectual abilities are also in a development process and their learning ability is faster than adults (Mahsud et. al., 2009). The researcher has selected those cartoons that are dubbed in the Hindi language, in present Hindu culture, and are shown on various cartoon channels. The researcher wants to study how much children are influenced by those cartoons and to what extent these cartoons have their role in instilling Indian language and culture among school children.




Statement of the Problem




Hindi dubbed cartoons give too much projection of Indian culture, language and religion. Hindi dubbed cartoons are famous among Pakistani children these days and they spend their most of time in front of T.V. while watching these cartoons. The researcher aims to investigate the role of Hindi dubbed cartoons in instilling linguistic patterns and culture among students of Lahore.




Objectives of the Study




• To examine the Hindi dubbed cartoons’ role in changing linguistic patterns in the school children.

• To investigate whether cartoons like Doraemon, Ben Ten, Pokemon and Oggy and Cockroaches are effecting the culture of children.




Research Questions




RQ1. Are Hindi Language cartoons effecting school children’s linguistic patterns?




RQ2. Are children adopting Indian culture, promoted through Hindi dubbed cartoons?




Hypotheses




H1: The more children watch Hindi dubbed cartoons, the greater will be the effect on their linguistic patterns.




H2: There is significant relation between watching Hindi dubbed cartoons and the adoption of Indian culture in terms of lifestyle.

Methodology

To study the “Role of Hindi Dubbed Cartoons in Instilling Linguistic Pattern and Culture among Students” the researcher has used a cross sectional survey research design. In the current study, the survey research method is used for the collection of data. The researcher has done a descriptive survey for this study. The population of this study consists of school children and their parents of Lahore.

The sample for the current research was taken from four different private schools of Lahore (Allied School, Bricks School, Al-Ilm School and Govt M.I. Happy High School) and the children’s age ranged between 5 to 10 years. The current sample of this research is selected through convenient sampling. The sample size of the current research consists of 200 respondents (students=100 and parents=100) from the selected Schools.

In order to investigate the different dimensions of data, an indigenous demographic information questionnaire was developed. An indigenous scale was developed for measuring the ‘Effects of Hindi Dubbed Cartoons on Children’ and parents’ opinion about it was obtained. In order to collect data two (one for student and one for parents) different questionnaires were used. Data collection was done by the researcher herself by personally visiting the selected schools and explaining all the things to the participants as to how to answer all the items in the questionnaire. Data analysis was done through SPSS version 21.




Operational Definitions




Children: According to children’s right alliance a child is a person who is under the age of 18 Years (UN Convention, 2010, p 4). In the present research school children are defined as persons who are aged from 5 to 10 years.

Culture: Culture is an integral part of human beings, their belief system, life and behavior and it is transmitted generation to generation as knowledge. 

In the current study, culture is described as the lifestyle of the children including school accessories, dressing and religious events. Invasion in another’s culture is a way of changing society and habits of the particular group of people. Hindi dubbed cartoons are also being used for this purpose to inject the Hindi culture in the Pakistani children through cartoons.

Dubbed Cartoons: Dubbed cartoons are those cartoons which replace the original language and are translated in any other language (Merriam-Website, n.d.). 

In the present research Dubbed Hindi cartoons are those cartoons which are translated from any other language into the Hindi Language. These cartoons use pure words of the Hindi language. There are special promos, teasers, and advertisements on Hindi events through which children adopt things. 

Linguistic Patterns: Language is a vehicle of meaning. People communicate meanings through language. Language is made of agreed upon signs which are called meaningful words. Patterns are defined as a reliable sample of traits, acts, tendencies, or other observable characteristics of a person, group, or institution. It is a usual manner of behaving or doing something (Merriam-Website, n.d.).

In the present research, linguistic pattern means the use of Hindi language words by the children in their routine life which they learnt from cartoons. As children are spending most of their time in front of television while watching Hindi Dubbed cartoons like Doraemon, Ben Ten, Pokemon and Oggy and Cockroaches.

Findings of the Study

Table 1. Effect on Linguistic Patterns

		I use following words in my daily routine life conversation that I hear in Hindi dubbed cartoons.	I know the meaning of following Hindi words	I learn new words and culture from Hindi dubbed cartoons.
I watch Hindi dubbed cartoons.	Pearson Correlation	.161*	.077	.424**
	Sig. (2-tailed)	.023	.279	.000
	N	200	200	200

Correlation is significant at 0.01 level (2-tailed)._**

Correlation is significant at 0.05 level (2-tailed)._*

 

It is clearly shown in Table 1, that watching Hindi dubbed cartoons has significant relation with two dependent variables which are use of Hindi words in daily routine life conversation (.161 P = .023), and learning of new words from Hindi dubbed cartoons (.424 P = .000). One dependent variable did not have a significant relation:knowing the meaning of Hindi words (.077 P = .279). Therefore the hypothesis “The more children watch Hindi dubbed cartoons, the greater will be the effect on their linguistic patterns” is confirmed.

Table 2. Adoption of Indian Culture in Terms of Lifestyle

		I watch following Hindi events in Hindi dubbed cartoons.	I wish to participate in following Hindi events	I learn new words and culture from Hindi dubbed cartoons.
I watch Hindi dubbed cartoons.	Pearson Correlation	.178*	.166*	.424**
	Sig. (2-tailed)	.012	.019	.000
	N	200	200	200

Correlation is significant at 0.01 level (2-tailed).**

Correlation is significant at 0.05 level (2-tailed).*

 

It is evident from the Table 2, that watching Hindi dubbed cartoons has a significant relation with three dependent variables which are, watching of Hindi events in cartoons (.178 P = .012), wishing to participate in Hindi events (.166 P = .019), and learning of new culture from watching Hindi dubbed cartoons (.424 P = .000). The researcher’s hypothesis “there is significant relation between watching Hindi dubbed cartoons and the adoption of Indian culture in terms of lifestyle” is supported.

Discussion and Analysis

Results of the study reveal significant a correlation between watching Hindi dubbed cartoons and the effect on children linguistic patterns. When the researcher asked about the usage of Hindi words in routine life, most of the children said yes, they use different words in their routine life. When the researcher asked the children about learning new words, the majority agreed that they learn new words. The results of the finding were more than expected as children not only learn new words from Hindi dubbed cartoons but they are also using these words in their daily life and that is not a positive sign for the national language Urdu as children (new generation) are adopting the Hindi language. Hassan, Shehzad and Yousaf (2015) concluded that cartoons are effecting children’s behavior as well as theirlinguistic patterns. Ahsan, Bajwa, Bashir and Sehar (2015) also found that Cartoon series, especially Chota Bheem and Doraemon, greatly influenced the children’s linguistic patterns. Hassan and Daniyal (2013) established that Cartoon network has a very strong impact on the language of the school children. The findings of the current study suggests that Hindi dubbed cartoons have a role in instilling linguistic patterns among school children and it further strengthens the notion that children as quick learners learn new things from what they observe through media content and that they are learning new words from cartoons and using them in their routine life.

The results of this study reveal a significant relation between watching Hindi dubbed cartoons and the adoption of culture in terms of lifestyle. When the researcher asked about the watching of Hindu events in Hindi dubbed cartoons, and wishing to participate in Hindu events and learning new culture from Hindi dubbed cartoons, the majority of children responded positively in response to these questions, which suggests that there is a strong impact of the promotion of Hindu events and culture through Hindi dubbed cartoons and children like to adopt that culture as shown in the cartoons. Anis, Ashfaq and Mujtaba (2012) concluded in their study that there is a strong impact of modeling shown through the media on the children. Children are quick learners, they observe things from models and try to copy these acts ,and as a result of watching Indian cartoons Indian culture and values are developing in Pakistani children too. The findings of the current study also suggested that Hindu culture is rapidly evolving in Pakistani culture and the children are showing their interest in Hindu culture and wishing to adopt it, which is against the values of Islamic values and Pakistani culture. Through the current study we can imagine very well how much Indian media is successfully promoting their culture and religion through these cartoons and putting a negative impact on the children in the adoption of their own culture.

Conclusion

Cartoons are the main source of entertainment for children and they spend  most of their time in watching cartoons. For more than a decade Indian media has been translating different foreign cartoons in Hindi. They are telecasting cartoons related to their Hindu events, too. Due to the heavy amount of translated cartoons into the Hindi language, Indian media gets more power so that new episodes of cartoons like Doraemon, Ben Ten, Pokemon and Oggy and Cockroaches are being promoted during Hindu events with promos exhibiting Hindi events like Dewali, Holi and Raksha Bandhan. The researcher conducted the current study to investigate the role of Hindi dubbed cartoons in instilling linguistic patterns and culture on students. For the present study, the researcher used Social Cognitive Theory due to quick learning and adopting patterns that are observe from cartoons. The current research was done through a questionnaire survey method in which 100 children aged from 5 to 10 years of three private school and one public school and 100 parents of the children were taken as sample.

The results of the study show that children try to adopt things that they watch in the cartoons and they are very quick learners to act according to the cartoon character models. Our children are now using the Hindi language in routine life and are using words like Namastay, Sapnay, Vishwash, Chinta, Sunder, Maan, and other Hindi words instead of using Muslim greeting words and other Urdu language related words. Children are also learning a new culture from Hindi dubbed cartoons and they wish to celebrate events like Dewali, Holi, Raksha Bandhan and other Hindi events. The use of Hindi words by children in their daily routine and adoption of Hindi culture is a serious and alarming situation for the Urdu language and Pakistani culture.

The conclusion of the study is that Hindi dubbed cartoons have great influence on the linguistic patterns and culture on children and they are adopting Hindi language and culture which is harmful for the future generation. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) should make sure that all cable operators and service providers are following the code of conduct 2015 for the protection of children. PEMRA should make sure regarding children’s content that is being aired on the T.V that it is not affecting their general well-being. The authority should not give permission to any T.V. channel, cable operator and service provider who are showing content that is being misleading or against the Pakistani social values.

Limitations and Suggestions

The current study consists of only four schools of Lahore including private and public sector, which can be extended to different schools of the Lahore city and further research can be done on provincial and national level. The sample size of the study was limited so this study cannot be generalized. As the sample contains school children of Lahore only and the sampling technique was purposive, so the results may not be generalized. 

References

• Afzal, A. (2010). Negative effects of foreign media Retrieved from
• Ahsan, A., Bajwa, N., Bashir, S., & Sehar. (2015). Effects of Indian Cartoons on Children's Language and their Changing Behaviour. Unpublished Thesis, Punjab University, Lahore. Retrieved from
• Anis, F., Ashfaq, A., & Mujtaba, A. (2012). Promotion of Hindusim in children through cartoons in Pakistan. Cross-cultural Communication, 8(1), 86-90. Retrieved from
• Bajwa, S., Khan, E., Chaudhry, G., & Khan, E. (2015). The effects of media violence on children's expressed aggressiveness: A case study of a secondary school in Islamabad. Sci.int.(Lahore), 27(4), 3807-3809 Retrieved from
• Bashir, A. (2015). Effects of cartoons on children Retrieved from
• Children. (2010). The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, p.4 Retrieved from
• Culture. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved from
• Dubbed Cartoons. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved from
• Entertainment. (n.d.). In Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved from
• Hassan, A., & Daniyal, M. (2013). Cartoon network and its impact on behavior of school going children. International Journal of Management, 6-11.
• Mahsud, N. M., Rawan, B., & Yaser, N. (2009). The effects of TV cartoon network on the aggressive behaviour of school going children. Global Media Journal, 2(1). Retrieved from
• Nasir, Malik. (2014), Impact of Hindu religious animated movie on children, Ma'arif Research Journal Retrieved from
• Ocharo, M & Karani S. (2015), Effects of Mass Media on the Academic Development of Children in Primary Schools in Kenya: A Case Study of St. Alloys Junior Academy, International Journal of Novel Research in Education and Learning. 2(2), 11-18 Retrieved from
• Patterns. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved from
• Retrieved from Dictionary. Retrieved from
• Rochman, B, Author, A. A. (2011, September 18). 'Educational TV' for Babies? It Doesn't Exist. Time. Retrieved from
• Yousaf, D. Z., Shehzad, M., & Hassan, S. A. (2015). Effects of cartoon network on the behaviour of school going children (a case study of Gujrat city). International Research Journal of Interdisciplinary & Multidisciplinary Studies (IRJIMS), 1(1), 173-179. Retrieved from
• Zakia, L. Dr. (2016). The Negative Effect of Cartoons on Children. Journal of Humanities, ISSN 1112-9255 Retrieved from