An Exploration of code-switching in Umera Ahmad’s ‘Peer e Kamil’ (PBUH): A Sociolinguistic Perspective

Abstract

The present research is based on the conjuncture of literature and sociolinguistics which has taken into account code switching in written text of an Urdu novel ‘Peer-e-Kamil (PBUH)’ written by Umera Ahmed in 2004. This study explores the phenomenon of Urdu to English code switching in the said novel. Code switching has been analyzed in the selected novel on the grounds of loan words, multilingual identity and its types. This study is of qualitative research design based on the content analysis. The key concepts of Poplack (1980), Wardhaugh and Fuller (2015), and Hudson (1996) have been used to investigate multilingual identity and loan words, respectively. However, the study is delimited to the intra-sentential code switching as distinguished by Poplack (1980). This research focusses on examining the prevalence of code mixing in both spoken and written language. The study aims to quantify the ratio of pure loan words to cultural loan words, shedding light on the impact of code mixing on language preservation in written form. The researchers strongly advocate against unnecessary code mixing, emphasizing the importance of using Urdu equivalents when available to prevent language endangerment. The current study provides an insight for the future researchers to contribute in these novel aspects to analyze the phenomenon of code switching.