English Is Considered As Lingua Franca English Language Essay

English is considered as lingua franca around the globe. People mostly communicate across cultures in English all over the world. During the process, it is natural that many words of the local languages get their way in and become part of that particular variety of English spoken in that region. This paper aims at finding Urdu words that have become part and parcel of the English language spoken in Pakistani scenario. It is a study of Urdu loan words that got their way in English in everyday communication. For the study, the language of newspaper was chosen as it represents the language in use. English daily the Dawn was selected for the purpose as it is most circulated newspaper in Pakistan. The paper elucidates that there are a large number of Urdu words which are part of English.

Chapter I

INTRODUCTION

Newspapers have become an essential part of modern life. The modern man starts his day by reading over the news with a cup of tea. Equally unimaginable is a morning without the daily newspaper for some people. It is because newspapers are seen everywhere in the world. They are printed and published in each and every language known to man all over the world. Newspapers are called ‘the mirrors of the world’. They reflect and report the trends and happening from all parts of the world. Usually, they cover every aspects of life- national, international, local, social, political, cultural etc.

Reading English Newspaper can improve EFL students’ ability of vocabulary and the skill of reading. But it doesn’t mean that they need to look over the all content in the newspapers. First, they can find the topics they are interested. Then, just read these topics they scan. They also don’t finish every paragraph of them. If the content is really interesting for students read it thoroughly. So they may get good mood to read what they are interested. Gradually, they are able to absorb many kinds of new information and have good storage of vocabulary.

Language teachers can use the newspaper as an effective tool for demonstrating the concepts of reading and writing, as well as the structure of the English language. Using newspapers in this way helps students see realistic examples of the practical applications of grammar and comprehension that they can utilize in their reading and writing experiences in and out of the classroom.

It is an observation in Pakistan that when we analyse the content of English newspapers we often find such words that are emerged from English into Urdu or other languages due to the culture association or bilingualism. The profession of news reporting and editing is totally about interpretation of words and phrases. One cannot interpret it until he has command over news language as well as general language.

Where English enjoys a very prestigious status in Pakistan, It is essential that Pakistani news reporter and editors function effectively in English.

This research presents an analysis of language conversion in Pakistani English newspapers due to culture association or bilingualism. Based on the empirical data from Pakistani English newspapers and magazines, this research aims to show the English words that have been converted into Urdu or other local languages of Pakistan. It also presents the brief overview of the use of English as a non-native variety. This research suggests that variations and changes in a language are an integral part of bilingualism and multilingualism.

This research centers on the variations in the English language due to language conversion in Pakistan and also shows the significant role of the Urdu and other local languages in the formation of Pakistani English. Only those features that are found as a result of conversion have been discussed. In this research, only that data has been taken into account where Urdu phrases and clauses have been used. This research is interested in describing different aspects of language change in English when used in a non-native context i.e. Pakistan. First and foremost a great deal of interest has been generated in the English language as a result of its spread around the world and its use as an international language.

Now-a-days English has become a global language. English is used all over the world by millions of native and non-native speakers because of its dominant position. There are approximately 430 million L2 users and 330 million L1 users. So the non-native speakers use English more than the natives ones. Being an international language, it is used almost in all the countries of the world. When people started using English in non-native contexts because of its growing popularity, it developed as a transplanted language.

Its prevalence and power in Pakistan is growing very much. For many Pakistanis, English has become not only a practical necessity but also the language of opportunity; social prestige, power, success as well as social superiority. Such power is vividly seen in Pakistan where people tend to switch from Urdu to English to create special effect. Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and one of the two official languages of Pakistan. It is the most important language of literacy in the country.

In Pakistan, Urdu-English conversion is a common characteristic of educated Pakistani bilinguals. Conversion occurs when two languages come in contact. English has assumed a linguistic and cultural identity of its own. This identity manifests itself throughout the language at the word level, the phrase level and the sentence level. It is the natural consequence of its regular contact with the Urdu language. A large number of borrowings from Urdu and the regional languages of Pakistan have entered in Pakistani English. Urdu-English conversion at the level of the phrase and clause is available; this research is likely to bridge the gap. The conversion data in this research focuses on the use of Urdu phrases and clauses in the English newspapers.

The data has been collected from the following printed Pakistani English newspaper and magazines:

1. Dawn (daily) (Lahore)

2. The news

Statement of the Problem:

This research is based on the analysis of English newspaper and to check the frequency of words occurred in Urdu or other local languages.

Objective of the Study:

This study aims to find out the words of other Pakistani languages that have been occurred in English newspaper, in Daily Dawn and The news.

To compare the common words occurred in both newspapers.

Significance of Study:

This study of newspaper provides us a thorough survey to what extent the Urdu words have been used in English newspapers. This is a beneficial research for language improvement of policy makers, teachers, students and assessment institutions.

Limitation:

We have studied thoroughly the reasonable amount of English newspaper “Dawn Daily Lahore” and “The News”. We have classified the section of newspaper. On the basis of this classification we have checked the frequency of the Urdu words occurred in English.

Delimitation:

We have studied ten newspapers of both “Daily Dawn” and “The News” on daily basis due to the time cost constraints and because they are the oldest source of information.

Design of Study:

This study is qualitative in nature. It is based on the Meta analysis of newspaper. The use of this method is appropriate with the purpose of this study. Research is conducted while using qualitative approach. Because the result of the data analyze is in the descriptive phenomenon such as words and sentences.