Language Shift and Maintenance: The Case of Dhatki and Marwari Speaking Youth

Abstract

Many languages are endangered or facing extinction in this rapidly globalized world. A major cause of language death across the world is language shift (Dweik & Al-Refai, 2015; Campbell, 1994). Pakistan is home to various ethnicities and languages. Many indigenous languages are spoken in Pakistan; however, with English being the official language and Urdu being the national language, many minority languages face the risk of extinction, as language shift towards the more dominant languages occurs in the indigenous communities of the country. This paper aims to investigate the process of language shift and language maintenance among Dhatki and Marwari speaking youth living in Hyderabad, Pakistan. The participants were students and recent graduates of the University of Sindh, Jamshoro. A total of 10 Dhatki speakers and 10 Marwari speakers were interviewed for this study. Semi-structured interviews were administered to collect in-depth information about their language proficiency, language use in various domains, language representation and language attitude. The findings of the study revealed that Dhatki and Marwari languages are used in home settings for various functions. These indigenous languages, however, are not used in educational institutions. Moreover, traditional and digital media representation of these languages is quite limited. Dhatki and Marwari speaking youth, nonetheless, are proud of their ethnic and linguistic heritage and continue to make efforts to maintain their language in various domains. Keywords: Dhatki, language maintenance, language shift, Marwari, youth