A Journey from Standard to Hybridised Urdu: Tracing the Evolutionary Impact of English Code-Switching on Urdu Language Standardization in Urdu Literary Novels

Abstract

The current research examines the impact of the increasing prevalence of English codeswitching practice in Urdu literary novels on the standardization of the Urdu language. The study compares the frequency of English code-switching in the older novel Aangan (1962) by Khadija Mastoor with that in the modern novel Aab-e-Hayat (2017) by Umera Ahmed to analyze changes in linguistic practices over time, particularly the evolution of standard Urdu into hybridized Urdu. The study further highlights the local and global elements—such as social status, urbanization, globalization, and cultural exchange—that contribute to the phenomena of code-switching and code-mixing. The impact of English on the Urdu language is investigated through a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, drawing on linguistic theories including Communication Accommodation Theory, Hudson's Concept of Loan Words, Wardhaugh and Fuller's Multilingual Identity Framework, and Poplack's CodeSwitching Theory. The results show a notable rise in the usage of English code-switching in Urdu novels, raising concerns about the need to preserve and maintain the linguistic legacy and standardization of the Urdu language in the face of social and global factors.