MA ELT

Sociolinguistics (Eng510)

Spring 2019
Assignment No. 1
Total Marks: 20
Lectures: 1-12

Instructions:

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Q1.Variation is a characteristic of a language, i.e. there are more than one ways of saying
the same thing. Variation is a principal concern in sociolinguistics. The pronunciation
(accent), word choice (lexicon), morphology (word formation) and syntax (sentence
structure) of a language may vary from speaker to speaker. Keeping in mind the above
discussion, answer the following question:

Is variation present in Urdu Language? If yes, support your response with five examples.

(5+5 =10 Marks)

Answer:
Variation in Urdu Language
Variation is a characteristic of language. In our everyday communication, we use different
varieties of language for to meet up with our daily communicative needs. These variations help
us to recognize different ethnic, social, culture, religious, geographical and gender groups
Yes, language variations present in Urdu language. Here I am going to explain
some examples of language variations in Urdu language.

In Pakistan, there are so many languages and distinct ethnic groups with
their own culture. Therefore, people of Pakistan might use language slightly
differently. I will focus on three regions - Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, and their
Urdu language regional variation.
1. The city of Karachi is known for its Urdu speaking population. The
people in Karachi speak Urdu with a special accent, which is very distinct.
The pronunciation of the Urdu consonants and vowels is normally done using
a lot of the throat. Secondly, they have their own words that you will not find
in other regions.

People in Karachi use specific words quite often. Some of them include:

I. Example 1: “Aray Mian” meaning “Oh respected person” and “Abay”

which means “Oh you”, for example.

II. Example 2: Some of the words commonly used in certain sentences

also differ. For example, “where are you going?” normally is translated
as “Kahan ja rahay ho?” However, if you are in Karachi, you will hear
“Kaha ja ria hai?”

2. Lahore is a typical Punjabi city. People here speaking Urdu often speak
it in Punjabi style or sometimes mix some Punjabi phrases with Urdu as well.
Therefore, Lahori Urdu is a bit different from the Urdu used in Karachi.

III. Example 3: One of the distinct features of spoken Urdu in this city is
that people sometimes omit vowels. For example, some people would
say “Lahorre” rather than “Lahore” This is one distinct feature of Lahori
Urdu.

IV. Example 4: Literally, “acha” means “nice.” In reality, though, it can have
dozens of meanings when used in everyday conversation. It can be
used as a “yeah, yeah, whatever.” It can mean “OK,” and when used
with a certain tone, it can be used as the exclamation “Really?!”
Another inflection in tone could translate it to “Ohhhhh, I see.” It is
used as a filler of silence in conversation (“hmmm”), is often used to
praise children—“acha bacha” (good/kind/well-mannered child) and to
admire everything from cloth, to food, to people.

3. The Urdu spoken in this city, and the Urdu of the KPK province in
particular, which is where Peshawar is located, is generally very different
from other areas of the country. One of the most obvious changes is that they
often get the gender wrong while speaking Urdu.

The people of this city speak Pashto as their native language. In Pashto, the
gender differences are not so clear when it comes to nouns or general words.
In addition, Urdu is only taught in specific grades at school, so there is some
confusion around grammatical gender

V. Example 5: The word “weather” is masculine in Urdu. However, in

Peshawari Urdu, weather is treated as feminine. For example, “How is
the weather of Peshawar” is translated as “Peshawar ki mosam kaisi
hai?” ‫؟‬. In official Urdu it would be “Peshawar ka mosam kaisa hai?”

Q2. “Speaking the ‘same language’ does not depend on two speakers speaking the identical
languages, but only very similar languages.” With reference to the above quote, distinguish
between the standard language and dialect with relevant examples. Also, explain in detail
are they similar or majorly different from each other?

(5+5 =10 Marks)

Answer:

What is a Language?
According to the Oxford Dictionary of Current English, the definition of language is:

The method of human communication, either spoken or written [or signed], consisting of the use
of words in a structured and conventional way.

[Author’s note: I added “or signed” above, since sign languages are considered proper languages
in their own right, and share many of the same key features that spoken and written languages
do.]

The term “language” is the umbrella term that covers all human communication systems that
meet the above specifications. From French, to British Sign Language, to Klingon, Esperanto,
Haitian Creole, African American Vernacular English, and even the variety of your native
language that they speak specifically in your city or town—these are all languages.

However, as you surely know, not all of these are considered languages for official purposes.
Unless you live on an international border, the language spoken in your town is likely considered
the same language as that of the next town over, regardless of any differences. On a larger scale,
the de-facto languages of the United States, Britain, Canada, and Australia (American English,
British English, Canadian English, and Australian English, respectively) can be quite different
from one another, but are not officially considered four separate languages. Instead, they are
considered four separate dialects of the same language.
 What is a Dialect?
Oxford lists the definition of dialect as:

A particular form of a language, which is peculiar to a specific region or social group.

This is a good general definition of a complicated term. There is just one problem however.

How do we define region or social group?

Regions can be as small as your home and as large as a continent. A social group could be as
small as your family or as large as a nation.

Without a definite boundary on either term, we can only truly define dialect as a variety of
language.

Moreover, that, in essence, is all dialects are; a variety of language that has, for sociopolitical or
linguistic reasons, been determined to be separate from the language varieties around it.

In addition, here is the kicker: Excepting certain linguistic reasons, the criteria that separate a
language from a dialect are completely arbitrary.

How Research Differentiates Languages and Dialects

As we have observed above, the terms language and dialect often converge and diverge
confusingly based upon both subjective and objective factors.

How, then, is it possible for researchers to determine how many languages there are in the world?
In spite of everything, how can boil down all of the linguistic variety of the world into a number
that makes qualitative and quantitative sense on both a linguistic and sociopolitical scale?

It is not easy. However, the exact number is still a matter of heated debate, an organization
known as SIL has endeavored to come up with the most definitive number of living languages
possible. Their efforts are codified in a language database known as Ethnologue, which currently
counts 7,099 languages alive today.

To divide the world’s spectrum of languages into the clearest possible units, Ethnologue adheres
to rigid standards of language definition known as the ISO 639-3 denotation.

ISO 639-3 defines a language based upon three main criteria, which we will now examine, with
appropriate examples:

Two related varieties are normally considered varieties of the same language if speakers of each
variety have inherent understanding of the other variety (that is, can understand based on
knowledge of their own variety without needing to learn the other variety) at a functional level.
This criterion explains why Standard American English & British English or Mexican Spanish &
Iberian Spanish are not considered separate languages. Each pair of languages is so closely
related to the other that they can inherently understand each other without difficulty.

2. Where spoken intelligibility between varieties is marginal, the existence of a common

literature or of a common ethnolinguistic identity with a central variety that both understand can
be strong indicators that they should nevertheless be considered varieties of the same language.

A good example of a language that meets this criterion is Arabic. Despite the fact many of the
“dialects” of Arabic (Egyptian Arabic, Lebanese Arabic, Gulf Arabic, Syrian Arabic) are called
as such, most are not mutually intelligible. However, all of these “dialects” are linked by a
common ethnolinguistic identity, as well as a “central variety” (Modern Standard Arabic, used in
news, literature, and official domains), which leads to their classification as one language.

3. Where there is enough intelligibility between varieties to enable communication, the existence
of well-established distinct ethnolinguistic identities can be a strong indicator that they should
nevertheless be considered to be different languages

Good examples of pairs of languages that meet this criterion are Iberian Spanish & Iberian
Portuguese, and Norwegian & Swedish. Though each language in the pair is the official language
of a separate nation, the languages actually remain highly mutually intelligible, and could be
considered dialects of the same language if sociopolitical identity did not divide them.