An investigation into the code choices and request strategies of Punjabi speakers
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Date
2014
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University of Management and Technology Lahore
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to determine the preferred code choices and request strategies adopted by Punjabi speakers, while requesting their friends, seniors and subordinates. The following questions were formulated to investigate the current studies; Is there any association between age, education, gender, family income and type of occupation with the choice of language? Is there any association between age, education, gender, family income and type of occupation with the type of request strategy? What is the preferred language of Punjabi speakers according to their age, education, gender, family income, and type of occupation? What is the preferred request strategy by Punjabi speakers, according to their age, education, gender, family income, and type of occupation? In order to collect the data, a Discourse Completion Test was designed, under five variables, which are already mentioned in the research questions. A total of 168 respondents (males=83, females=85) were selected from different areas of Lahore, covering the above said variables, through random stratified sampling. The research was purely quantitative in nature, so the data was analysed through SPSS, by applying chi-square test and by finding the variation within variables. The results concluded that Punjabi has never been the preferred code of the respondents, under any social variable, accumulatively. It is only “age” that has not marked any significant change in respondents’ choice of language and request strategy. On the other hand, gender, level of education, type of occupation and financial condition, do mark significant changes in the speaker’s choices. The results explain that females have totally abandoned Punjabi, while requesting their subordinates. Overall, with friends and subordinates, respondents (males and females) have chosen bald on strategy, with Urdu as their medium of communication. Moreover, English is used for seniors in aggregate, with negative politeness, as a strategy to be polite. It is suggested that government should take actions at provincial level to maintain the dignity of Punjabi, and save it from getting further stigmatized. Furthermore, in second language context, use of modal verbs must be taught accurately for communication in educational institutes.
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M.Phil Thesis, Applied Linguistics