A Study of Code-switching Strategies in Pakistani Anglophone Writings

Abstract

This study examined the different code-switching strategies used in the works of Pakistani Anglophone writers. Using a three-step process that comprises text selection, text coding and classification, and text analysis and interpretation, the researchers used the textual analysis approach. The research found that the use of code-switching in Pakistani Anglophone writingss ranged from the extreme fusion to the very modest, clear, and glossed use of Pakistani languages. Examples from the works—Kartography (2001) by Kamila Shamsie, Maps for Lost Lovers (2004) by Nadeem Aslam, The Diary of a Social Butterfly (2008) by Moni Mohsin, and In Other Rooms, Other Wonders (2009) by Daniyal Mueenuddin—support the assertion. The study found that Pakistani Anglophone writers extensively used code-switching strategies, which, on the one hand, filled in the lexical gaps in Standard English and, on the other, intentionally strived to create a Pakistani idiom in English.