English Loan Words in Urdu: A Cross-Linguistic Analysis

Abstract

This paper considers English's influence on the Urdu language that ultimately became a reason for a shift in Urdu vocabulary. This shift occurred consciously and unconsciously; however, it substantiated the fact that English as a language remained in constant contact with Urdu and impacted Urdu in varied ways under diverse circumstances-both before and after partition. The paper further discusses the attitude of people living in the Subcontinent towards English and the circumstances that gave English its current status in Pakistan. The study also examines the factors that contributed to the inclusion of English lexis as loan words in Urdu and how the phonetic compromises Urdu as a language made on the borrowed words.