LANGUAGE APPROPRIATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITY IN PAKISTANI ENGLISH LITERATURE: A NARRATIVE ANALYSIS OF ‘MEATLESS DAYS’ BY SARA SULERI

Abstract

This article analyzes the use of language appropriation for cultural representation and identity construction in Sara Suleri's work 'Meatless Days'. The article employs a narrative analysis method for analyzing the content of the first two chapters of 'Meatless Days'. The framework of Kachru (1983) and Ashcroft (2003) has been used to analyze the strategies of language appropriation that highlight the representation and construction of a separate identity. Most of the
strategies of language appropriation like; Glossing, Untranslated words, Syntactic Fusion, Lexical innovations, and Translation equivalence were predominantly found in the text of Sara Suleri. These strategies, on one hand, reflect the degree to which language has been appropriated by the post-colonial writers, and on the other hand, assert their identity. Secondly, the framework also included Bucholtz and Hall (2005) and their theory of identity construction through language coupled with Kachru's Three Circles Model of World Englishes. Suleri creates a unique Pakistani identity by highlighting the various nuances of Pakistani culture like frequent use of local names, first names instead of surnames, honorifics, national cuisines, and religious festivals celebrated in Pakistan. The analysis highlights that Meatless Days is a work that effectively uses language to reclaim and construct a Pakistani identity in terms of culture and language. The study is an academic endeavor towards looking at the language appropriation and identity in Pakistani literature which can be extended to the current literary works in Pakistani literature, and how they are being influenced by the neo-imperialist culture in a globalized world. Moreover, new strategies of language appropriation may be explored through further research in this area, as this study only utilizes the already established strategies of language appropriation.