Factors Responsible for Varieties of Language found in Pakistan

Abstract

This paper revolves around the factors those are responsible for the people using different
varites found in Pakistan under the term of Sociolinguistics. There would be a complete
description of each factor with respect to the number of vaieties and how the people swtich
between them in different situations. Moreover, such varieties can be considered as the
languages used for communication in different regions of Pakistan. The paper also explores the
areas where the people speak only one variety and the possible reasons in this regard can be
horizontal multilingualism; i.e. low or very little social contact. Therefore, the people are often
restricted to only one language that they had been speaking since birth that was a sort of
inheritace from their forefathers. In addition, other factors like no education, cross-cultural
interaction or no exposure make the speakers limitied to a single variety.

Introduction:

There have been many places around the world where people speak only one language to
communicate with their peers and people around their community. Such people do not have any
education to cater them towards speaking a more formal and defined language; instead they keep
on using the language their forefathers have taught them. In this regard, these people are not
living according to the new standards of life and are just living like they are forced to lead their
progeny determined by their geographical and educational factors.

Moreover, there are places like those of Pakistan, India, Africa, etc. where people
actually speak only one language and do not find comfortable interacting with others because
they do not find others comprehensible. They do follow certain domains of register and genre
according to their context but most often they switch from their degrees of formality and
informality. There are more than 30 varieties spoken in Pakistan but most of the speakers can
speak ony a few of them.

Literature Review:

The following literature review is conducted on the varieties of language that are found in
Sociolinguistic and are induced due to different social factors. The literature review focuses on
different factors such as social situations, gender, age, occupation, geography, education, social
status and ethnicity. The review is conducted in order to develop an understanding of the
different varieties of languages that are observed in the society and to understand the reasons or
factors behind these variations.

Language and situations have a link that is highly interlinked. Every situation or
interaction takes place due to language and it is language that defines a situation or interaction.
Gregory, argues in his book related to language and social situations that it is the social situations
that define our use of language and the language which we choose to utilize is solely dependent
on the social situations we are a part of (Gregory, 2018). Moreover, language fulfills or
completes any social situation or interaction and we try to choose the most suitable language that
includes vocabulary and grammar according to the social situation. For instance, a person X is
subjected to a social situation that is rather informal. Such social situation puts the person at ease
and during the interaction of person X with person Y and Z who are part of the informal social
situation will result in the person X using language that is informal, friendly and much more
relaxed with vocabulary that is chosen with ease and comfort without much thought and care.
Similarly, the grammatically part of the language is of not much concern either during such
social situations and mistakes are often made which are ignored and do not concern the person to
great extent. However, in a social situation that is of formal nature or one that is related to
achieving success, resources, praise, position, any benefit or any other type of reward would
result in a completely different variety of the same language from the same person X as
mentioned above. The reason for the production of this variety is the new social situation that
demands something from the person and they have the need to prove themselves in order to
achieve what the situation has to offer. This results in a completely different variety that consist
of well thought vocabulary, proper pronunciation and great care to grammar is paid. Therefore, it
becomes quite clear that language varieties depend on social situations and the variety produced
are the result of the social situation directly.

Another factor upon which language varieties highly depend on is gender. It is observed
that gender plays a huge role in the variety of language that is utilized or produced. Anjum,
argues in their research that it is observed that the language that is utilized and produced by both
genders is quite different from one another. The language of female is observed to be apologetic
and emotional. While, the variety of language that is produced by the male gender is much more
aggressive and authoritative in nature, especially in societies that are patriarchal. Furthermore, in
their research they argue that the variety of language indeed depends upon the gender (Anjum,
2018) but at the same time it depends upon how the gender perceives the world and their
experiences play an important part in this variety of language being produced and it is not only
the biological reason behind this variation. Also, it is observed in their research that the variety
of language that females produce is much highly sophisticated. While, the variety of language
that is produced by males lacks generally the characteristic of sophistication.

Similarly, another factor that plays an important role in creating language variation is the
factor of age. Age plays a highly significant role in the kind of language that we utilize for our
communication and other purposes. It is known without doubt that language is acquired with age
and till a certain age which according to the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) being 13 to 14
years is the optimal age for acquisition of language but acquisition of language does not
necessarily mean different variations of language, it is merely acquisition but the variation
indeed depends on age as with growing age we tend to change the same language over and over
again. For instance, during teenage and early years the variety of language that is produced is
highly inclined towards use of slang language and not much attention is paid to grammatical
structure of the language even though it has been acquired by the individual but still the variety
that is produced lacks grammar and proper vocabulary. However, as the age increases and the
individual develops a sense of representation of themselves in the society and they acquire
maturity the same language is produced in a different variety. This variety is much more
organized and presentable as it includes proper vocabulary and at times highly complex
vocabulary as an attempt by the individual to showcase their language skills along with as
perfect grammar as possible. Therefore, language varieties also result due to the factor of age.

The next factor that is of great significance in language variation is the factor of
occupation and Heidary explore this factor in detail in their research. They state that occupation
defines the variety of language that is observed or expected from a person. A person produces a
specific variety of language according to their occupation. Language is highly influenced by the
occupation of an individual (Heidary, 2019) and it demonstrates their use of language and their
skills regarding a language which ultimately results in variation in language. Each occupation
requires a specific amount of language output that is necessary for the person to be able to
remain part of that occupation. However, this use of language varies widely from occupation to
occupation. For instance, it is argued in the research that the person belong to the occupation of
construction labor would produce a variety of language that lacks proper vocabulary and
grammar because their aim is not to utilize the language in proper way but only to communicate
and get their intended meaning across to others in whichever way they can which the minimum
requirement of their occupation but at the same time a person belonging to the occupation of
corporate business would have to be fluent and eloquent in their language skills because their
occupation depends highly upon their use language. Therefore, the variety of language that is
produced is highly sophisticated and well developed, highly practiced and one that is highly
efficient, effective and complete. Moreover, certain occupation have their own variety of
language that is produced due to the occupation itself and it remains exclusively to that
occupation and is utilized only by the people belonging to that occupation.

Haig states in their research regarding language variation as a result of education that
education is the key aspect due to language variation occurs and it can be observed in our daily
life that language varieties are greatly due to education. It is easy for people to tell whether
someone is educated or not solely because of their language variety and the way they utilize their
language because it is evident thag education plays a huge role in how we utilize language and
how we produce it. Therefore, education is one of the key aspect that triggers language variation.
(The Effects of Education & Socioeconomic Status on Language) Socioeconomic status and
education can also impact how language develops over time as well as people’s patterns for
expressing themselves. Across languages and language groups, people with more access to
education tend to use more formal language, proper grammar, and complex vocabulary than
people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Accents and types of slang can also vary
depending on socioeconomic status. However, it is important to understand that these are broad
generalizations, and plenty of individuals and families in all socioeconomic and educational
circles use language in a variety of ways and with a variety of skill level. More-highly educated
speakers and, often, those belonging to a higher social class tend to use more features belonging
to the standard language, Educational differences between speakers strongly affect the extent of
their vocabulary. It is also quite common to determine the social status of a person because of
thw way they speak and that is because social status is another factor that plays a huge role in
variety of language. Each social status has its own variety of the same language. The language
remains the same but they way it is utilized and produced by the speakers changes depending
upon their social status. A prime example of this factor can be observed in researches carried out
on students belonging to different socioeconomic classes and institutions. It is observed quite
easily that the student belonging to higher social class and belonging to families having higher
social status produced English language in their own variety that is quite strong in vocabulary
and accent. Meanwhile, the students belong to lower social status families produce the same
English language in a different variety which is not complex in terms of vocabulary and lacks an
accent altogether. Therefore, it is easy to determine the social status of a person by their speech
and variety of the language that they produce.

From the above literature review, based on different already existing scholarly articles it
can be concluded that language varieties result due to number of social factors such as age,
gender, occupation, social status and education and these factors play crucial rule in the
generation these different varieties of a same language found in a society or community.

Methodology:

The research quite qualitative in nature as it deals with the varities found in
sociolinguistics and their usage or application found in Pakistan. The data would be collected
from different sources to find a conclusion of the factors affecting these varieties in Pakistan.

Data Collection and Data Analysis:

Pakistan is a country that has a very rich culture and cultural values. They can be
determined by means of customs, languages, tradition, etc. of a specific culture. Moreover, since
each culture contains there own language, one can utilize it in terms of their cultural value and a
different variety of language. These varieties together bring about the existence of many
languages those can be studied under some factors promoting their existence. These factors are
as follows (Levin, 2022);

1. Educational Factors: It has always been a very significant idea in making the students
learn more and more in terms of philosophical and linguistic content. Where a student
learns about the world, there he or she has the ability to learn new languages. It gives the
 students an insight of learning and undderstanding others, therfore, they go to schools and
learn the language that sounds formal and appropriate to them. Education is common in
Punjab where people can speak different varities and do understand the difference
between their register and genre; i.e. they understand when to switch between different
varieties. For example, they would speak Urdu in public places like bus stops, banks,
schools, etc. where would understand that their classrooms also require a different variety
and so their homes do. Therefore, they would speak Urdu, English, Punjabi and Saraiki
with respect to their situation (Levin, 2022).
2. Social Factors: These factors would be based upon the social class, socioeconomic status
and even education of the people. Therefore, the people of different social classes have
different ideologies towards language varieties; i.e. the people of big cities understand the
phenomenon of learning different languages because of their social class. For example,
the citizens of Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, etc. would understand that they would need to
have different language varities for different purposes as they would have businesses,
schools, or connections with people from different areas of the world. On the other hand,
the people living in small towns, cities or villages have very low social standards and
they would be not in the favour of learning different varieties and would only stick to
their own because they would lack in higher connections, frequent interactions with
people other than their community. Moreover, they would somewhat lack education as
well which the main factor in helping them acquire more languages. They would speak
certain dialects like Punjabi, Saraiki, Pushto, etc. Likewise, the people of middle classes
would be suspended between the two classes; i.e. they would either want to be a part of
the higher class (to learn more varieties) or stick to their own language (be someone from
the lower class) (Levin, 2022).
3. Regional Factors: These factors arise due to the geography of a certain area; i.e. the
people would be affected by their geography (their surrounding or the people living in
their areas) to learn more varieties. For example, the people who would live in smaller
towns where no other person in learning different varieites would influence them to be
the same. But in some town or cities, if a person moves away for education or for
achieving the status of an educated person, he would likely be a reason for the the people
he left behind to learn more varities. Or the situation can be contrasting, i.e. if he moves
 to some place he would learn a new variety being spoken there. But if he does not move
to some other place, he is likely to retain his own language (Levin, 2022).

In short, people speak different varities there is a need to. They do not learn new
languages without any fixed concern. Such varities when learnt by many tend to be the same but
the major differences arise in their grammatical constructions, accent, vocabulary, syntax or
pronunciations. Moreover, these elements when change altogether, they tend to give birth to a
new variety as a new dialect of some existing langauge. The good example of this variety is the
origin of Saraiki from Punjabi in some parts of Punjab (Levin, 2022).
References

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