Open AccessThe Linguistic Landscape of Peshawar: Social Hierarchies of English and its Transliterations
Author(s) -
Riaz Hussain,
Muhammad Javed Iqbal,
Hina Saleem
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
univeristy of chitral journal of linguistics and literature
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2663-1512
pISSN - 2617-3611
DOI - 10.33195/jll.v6ii.363
Subject(s) - linguistic landscape , signage , sign (mathematics) , socioeconomic status , perception , geography , class (philosophy) , social class , linguistics , sociology , psychology , visual arts , political science , demography , population , art , computer science , artificial intelligence , law , mathematical analysis , philosophy , mathematics , neuroscience
This article explores the English and transliterated signs in the linguistic landscape of Peshawar. A total of 900 signs were selected out of 5000 signs collected from 36 different locations across the city. Sign locations were further categorized as rural, urban/semi-urban, and posh. The study also included twenty-one interviews with citizens featuring shopkeepers, students, teachers, waiters, and sign-writers. Informed by the signage, public perceptions, and policy documents, the study provides fresh insights into the study of English in the LL as a marker of socioeconomic status. More importantly, the Urduized transliterations suggest not only a glocalised form of language but a linguistic phenomenon indirectly proportional to the social class of the inhabitants where the signs occur.