LANGUAGE SHIFT IN YOUNG SPEAKERS OF CROSS -CULTURE MARRIAGES IN PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Peshawar is a multilingual city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The three major languages articulate in Peshawar are Pashto, Hindko and Urdu. The present study investigates the problem of language shift in young speakers of cross-culture marriages in Peshawar. Language shift is the phenomenon of replacing one’s native language with the second language for social, political and economic reasons. The study aims to figure out the adapted language of young speakers of cross-culture marriages and the reason behind the adaption. The study is based on descriptive-qualitative methodology. The research site selected for this study is a private sector university where students come from diverse-lingual backgrounds. The data was collected from 50 male/female participants of cross -culture marriages from the age group of (20-25) through the medium of questionnaire. The result of the study shows Pashto language adaptation in much amount in young speakers of cross-culture marriages in Peshawar as compare to Urdu and Hindko. The reason behind Pashto adaptation is the larger population of Pashto speakers in Peshawar. This study will help to understand the idea of language shift in Peshawar and will also provide an insight in the reasons behind the language shift in young speakers.