Attitudes of Punjabi Speakers towards their Mother Tongue in Dilawar, Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate attitudes (perceptions, feelings and thoughts) of educated and uneducated Punjabi speakers towards their native language. Researcher made use of quantitative method and the data was collected with the help of questionnaires, from the population of Dilawar, Punjab. Total number of participants were 100; 50 were educated and 50 were uneducated. Out of these 100, researcher had 50 male and 50 female participants. The data was analyzed though SPSS and it was seen that Punjabi speakers disown their mother tongue in Pakistan because it does not give them access to power and job opportunities etc. The negative attitudes of Punjabi speakers towards their language are the reason behind language shift of educated Punjabis Their reasons behind holding negative attitudes are quite instrumental as the state does not give prestigious status to Punjabi language when it comes to academics and jobs. In Pakistan, Punjabis are in the majority but, their language is not having any linguistic right. Therefore, this perception of Punjabis is right in a way that Punjabi is not a bread winning language.