A DESCRIPTION OF THE EFFECTS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IMPERIALISM ON PUNJABI AND URDU LANGUAGES

Abstract

The goals of the study are to analyze the effects of English language imperialism on the socio-cultural status of local languages spoken in the Punjab province of Pakistan such as Urdu and Punjabi languages. It links with Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory as a theoretical framework to examine the status of languages spoken in the Punjab province and its aspects through which one language holds the power and becomes a superior language and then plays an important role in construction of identity. By using a mixed-method approach this research examined and explored the societal and cultural factors which give status to any language. The data is collected from public and private sector university students and instructors, one hundred students made up the whole population and were asked to fill out a semi-structured Likert scale questionnaires consisted of 30 items and ten instructors were selected for the interviews. The results of this study determine that English language is an overwhelming language and has become an inevitable need in a Punjabi socio-cultural environment. Moreover, this imperialism effects local languages status and this linguistic imbalance contribute to loss of identity among Punjabi speakers. Therefore, the study has concluded that, to preserve local languages status, it should be promote in academics or there must be certain seminars, cultural shows and movements for engaging local languages so that Punjabi speakers achieve a balanced linguistic socio-cultural landscape.