A SOCIOLINGUISTIC INVESTIGATION OF SOCIOLECTS AND LANGUAGE VARIATION AMONG YOUNG PROFESSIONALS IN FAISALABAD

Abstract

This study investigates how young professionals in Faisalabad use Sociolects and linguistic variants. It addresses both Urdu and English as well as code-switching the simultaneous use of two languages in everyday and professional contexts. Understanding the languages spoken, the causes of language shifts, and the social implications of gender, class, and occupation on language choice are the goals of the study. Ten young professionals in the domains of business, healthcare, and education were asked to complete a standardized questionnaire. The results show that even in official settings like offices, job interviews, group projects, and online communication, English is extensively spoken. Professionalism, self-assurance, and high social standing are all associated with English. Most people speak Urdu informally, such as at home, in public places, and at social gatherings. It is friendship, emotional closeness, and cultural identification. In situations like online communication, workplace conversations, and group discussions, code-switching between English and Urdu is done. The study makes use of Labov's Variationist Theory, which holds that language use varies depending on social and situational contexts. Because sociolects are influenced by social variables, the work environment, and personal identity, the results show that there is no possibility that they can be random. In a bid to form their cultural identity, young practitioners in Faisalabad have tactfully employed the use of different languages in order to move between official and informal environments. The investigation contributes to the development of the knowledge of the social identity manifestation through language, the representation of professionals and cultural values in a bilingual city, and so on. It makes us realize what scholars, linguists, and teachers of code switching, language diversity, and sociolinguistics in Pakistan need to know.