Abstract
Communication and language policies have far-reaching educational, economic,
and political effects. In multiethnic countries, like Pakistan, language policies
can determine who has access to schools, who has opportunities for economic
advancement, who participates in political decisions and who has access to jobs.
In Pakistan, Urdu language has been given the status of the national language
whereas English is the official language. In a country where more than 35
languages are spoken, privileging two languages over indigenous language can
marginalize people whose mother-tongues are other than Urdu and English or
who cannot speak these two languages. This paper critically analyses the
communication and language policy of the government of Pakistan. Through the
case studies of the government of Pakistan’s 2009 educational policy and the
media system in Pakistan, the authors explore how the current language policy
further marginalize the already less-privileged ethnic groups in the smaller
provinces. The authors argue that the problematic language policy curtails the
cultural advancement of the indigenous groups, and deprives them of economic,
political, and social opportunities. The authors recommend that government
should give official status to the indigenous or native languages of Pakistan, and
promote those languages by making them a part of the educational system and
popular culture.
Faizullah Jan. (2016) Communication and Language Policy in Pakistan, Putaj Humanities And Social Science, Volume-23, Issue-2.
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