PAKISTANI ENGLISH Short forms PakE, PE. The English language as used in Pakistan, a variety of SOUTH ASIAN ENGLISH close to that of northern India. English has had co-official status with URDU since independence in 1947, but the constitution of 1959 and the amendments of 1968, 1972, and 1985 recognize URDU as pre-eminent and restrict the use of English, the aim being its eventual replacement. Both are minority languages. In 1981, the president appointed a study whose report recommended that ‘Urdu should continue to be the only medium of instruction at the school level, with no exception’ (1982), but that English and ARABIC be introduced as additional languages from class six (sixth grade: age 11); a federal agency should ensure that the policy is implemented. English is an important medium in a number of leading educational institutions. It is the main language of technology, international business, and communication among a national élite, and a major element in the media. The constitution and the laws of the land are codified in English, and the Pakistan Academy of Letters recognizes works in English for its literature award. It also has a considerable influence on the vernacular languages; S. Hands notes that in personal interaction, ‘the use of an English word is believed to add a note of refinement and elegance to conversation in the “lower” languages’ (Pakistan: A Country Study, 4th edition, The American University, Washington, DC, 1983).

Pronunciation and grammar

(1) PakE is RHOTIC, tends to be syllable-timed, and shares many features with northern INDIAN ENGLISH. (2) Some pronunciation features are typical of speakers of regional languages: for example, speakers of Punjabi have difficulty with such initial consonant clusters as /sk, sp/ (saying ‘səport’ and ‘səkool’ for sport and school); Urdu speakers also have difficulty with initial consonant clusters (saying ‘isport’ and ‘iskool’ for sport and school); Pashto speakers have no such difficulty, but use /p/ for /f/ (‘pood’ for food). (3) Distinctive grammatical features relate to uses of the verb, article, relative clause, preposition, and adjective and verb complementation, all shared with IndE. Features of the indigenous languages influence use of English and CODE-MIXING AND CODE-SWITCHING are common, including among the highly educated.

Vocabulary

(1) BORROWINGS from Urdu and the regional languages: atta flour, tehsil district, ziarat religious place. (2) LOAN TRANSLATIONS from these languages: cousin-brother. (3) Terms shared with Indian English: crore ten million, lakh one hundred thousand, -wallah a word element denoting ‘one who does something as an occupation’, as with policewallah. (4) Hybrids of English and local languages: biradarism favouring one's clan or family, gheraoed surrounded by protesters in an office or similar place and unable to leave, goondaism hooliganism, thuggish behaviour. (5) English words, especially compounds, adapted for local use: age-barred over the age for (particular work), load-shedding intermittently shutting off a supply of electricity.

Media and literature

Pakistan has a strong English-language press. Most major cities have daily and weekly newspapers; in all, there are 20 dailies, 35 weeklies, 33 fortnightlies, 152 monthlies, and 111 quarterlies. They include The Muslim, Daily News, Dawn, Morning News, Star, Pakistan Times, and Khyber Mail. Pakistani literature in English is developing in various genres and several writers have acquired national and international recognition, such as Ahmad Ali, Bapsi Sidhwa, Zulfikar Ghose, A. Hashmi, and Hanif Kureishi. The educated variety used by Pakistan radio and television serves as the model for teaching and learning English throughout the country.