MAPPING HEGEMONY: A THREE-DIMENSIONAL CDA OF URDU-CENTRIC MUNICIPAL SIGNAGE AND STATE DISCOURSE IN PUNJAB

Abstract

This study investigates the linguistic landscape of Gujranwala, Pakistan, analyzing how municipal signage functions as a discursive mechanism for state-sanctioned linguistic homogenization. Although Punjab is a multilingual province, municipal installations in Gujranwala demonstrate a rigid commitment to Urdu-only typography, reflecting an administrative drive toward linguistic uniformity. Utilizing the three-dimensional Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework developed by Fairclough (1995), this study dissects the semiotic choices, institutional production processes, and social implications of signage implemented by the Punjab Horticulture Authority (PHA). The analysis reveals a systematic "semiotic erasure" of regional scripts, which functions as a form of symbolic violence that marginalizes the cultural capital of the local Punjabi-speaking population. By synthesizing Bourdieu's (1991) theory of symbolic power with Landry and Bourhis's (1997) research on ethnolinguistic vitality, this study argues that the observed Urdu-centric landscape is not an incidental byproduct of administrative oversight, but a deliberate outcome of top-down state policy. The findings demonstrate that public signage in Gujranwala serves as a precise indicator of the state's efficacy in implementing national linguistic homogeneity at the expense of regional cultural preservation. The study concludes by advocating for a decentralized approach to urban design and the adoption of inclusive signage policies that acknowledge the demographic realities of diverse language groups. This research offers a critical contribution to sociolinguistic discourse, particularly within post-colonial urban settings where state ideology and regional identity remain in constant negotiation.