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Title "The Effect of Metrolingual Context on The Language Practices & Identities of Students: A Sociolinguistic Study"

Author(s) Tehreem Aisha

Abstract Title: THE EFFECT OF METROLINGUAL CONTEXT ON THE LANGUAGE PRACTICES AND IDENTITIES OF STUDENTS: A SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDY The study analyzes the metrolingual practices of university students in Islamabad. When students move from their hometowns to metropolitan areas, it greatly influences their language practices and identities. They interact with people from different backgrounds and cities with different languages and dialects, which affects their language practices, repertoires, and identities. The study aims to explore the effect of metrolingual context on the language practices and identities of university students. Both quantitative and qualitative methods have been employed for analyses in this descriptive research. 200 questionnaires were distributed to the students of NUML, FAST NUCES, Air, and Quaid- i-Azam University. The conversational data was collected through group discussions among students. The model of metroligualism presented by Pennycook and Otsuji (2015) has been used as a framework to analyze the data. Qualitative data has been analyzed thematically. Students’ responses and discussion recordings demonstrated that the language practices and identities of students were modified because of the universities’ diverse and dynamic urban environment. It has been identified that students’ language practices and identities have become localized and modernized. They transcended the traditional boundaries of languages and pre-defined fixed identities. They started using a hybrid language with fixed and fluid language practices and identities. Their language differs in both speed and manner than in rural areas. They mostly mix and switch languages unconsciously. English has been enhanced in their language repertoire among other languages. The study concluded that by employing different linguistic strategies and through the context of interaction, students’ language practices and identities modify and reconstituted in various ways. It reshapes students’ language repertoires, which then become the spatial repertoire of the university spaces. The study suggests a new way of examining students’ language practices and identities. It discloses the students’ language repertoires that help to improve the communication process and develop a friendly environment in the highly diverse spaces of universities in Islamabad. It proposes further study on the metrolingual language use of employees in the workplace.

Type Thesis/Dissertation

Faculty Languages

Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2023-04-06

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