TRANSLANGUAGING AT PUBLIC PLACES IN KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA, PAKISTAN

Abstract

With almost 70 different languages spoken there, Pakistan is a linguistically diverse nation. Code switching and translanguaging are two common multilingual approaches in such an environment. The current study focuses on translanguaging in the public places in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The local markets in Peshawar, Mardan, and Charsadda provide the statistics. Along with gathering data from the shopkeepers, observation and documentation of their interactions with consumers are also conducted. Interviews that are semi-structured and observations are used to gather data. According to Shah, Pillai, and Sinayah (2019), the gathered data is transcribed. The transcribed data is then analyzed by Conversation Analysis by Auer (1984).

 The results demonstrate that the speakers interacted with individuals mostly in Pashto. But both the participants mixed different words from Urdu and English in the conversation. The mixing of these languages in their conversations is common because English is the official language of the country while Urdu is the national language. So, both the languages have influence on the mother language, Pashto. The results of the study showed that the participants unintentionally combine Pashto, Urdu, and English languages.