An Analysis of English Words Used in Urdu Novels of Qurat-Ul-Ain Haider: A Descriptive Study of Code Mixing

Abstract

This paper discusses the application of the English words in the Urdu novel Chandni Begum by Qurat-ul-Ain Haider by application of Critical Discourse Analysis(CDA). The paper examines the manner in which Haider incorporated English and Urdu as a way of intermingling the customs of the English and Urdu language, as a means of conveying the social strata, identity and cultural diversity within the Pakistani community in the postcolonial era. The objective of the study is to bring out how language can be viewed as a communication tool as well as an expression of power and social values.The approach that is used in this research is a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis of the text as well as frequency analysis. Passages picked at the novel were examined to determine English lexical items, their contextual meaning, and discourse functions. The information was divided into themes like social status, education, modernity and cultural influence. Frequencies and distributions of English words frequency and distribution across narrative settings were also kept in numerical form. The results indicate that English words in Chandni Begum are not employed arbitrarily, but they demonstrate the status of social prestige, power, and modern consciousness, Urdu words show feelings, cultural affiliation, and traditionality. The code-mixing in the novel is reflective of the bilingualism and biculturalism of the Pakistani society in which English is the representation of the modern power and Urdu is the cultural background. This interaction of languages is the feature that points to the persistence of the colonial past and the strength of the indigenous identity. The work finds that Chandni Begum is a strong example of linguistic hybridity as it shows how the combination of English and Urdu builds social meaning and creates xv identity in postcolonial South Asia. The stylistic code-mixing of Qurat-ul-Ain Haider is a depiction of the changing nature of the Urdu literature and the concept that language is highly related to culture, ideology and social change.