Volume 18, No. 6, 2021
Effect Of Cultural Specific Vocabulary On Pakistani English Literature; A Case Study Of Moth Smoke By Mohsin Hamid
Muhammad Imran Saeed , Muhammad Hussain , Dr. Naveen Javed
Abstract
Pakistani English has become an independent variety of English because of its style, choice of words and recognition of Indo-Pak culture. The current study examines the impact effect of using cultural specific vocabulary on Pakistani English Literature; for this purpose, selected the text of the novel Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid as a sample. Researchers used the notes-taking technique to find out the evidence of cultural specific vocabulary, the reasons behind using these words and the effect of these vocabulary items. It shows that the novel's writer has used borrowing, hybridization, code-mixing and word-to-word translation to highlight Indo-Pakistan culture, including religion, dressing, eating, history and social norms. In Pakistani English literature, a large number of words are transferred from Urdu and Punjabi. The reasons behind this process are that the writers did not find the equivalent of these words and maintain the fluency and structure of the text. The other reason is that the writer used this cultural specific vocabulary to introduce his culture and distinctive features of Pakistani English that are absent in other languages. So, Pakistani English literature greatly depends on Pakistani culture and native languages. The current research is limited to the effect of cultural specific vocabulary on Pakistani English literature; the other researcher can explore the role of other local languages in Pakistani English literature.
Pages: 7187-7197
Keywords: Effect, Culture, Pakistani English, Literature, Moth Smoke.