Abstract:

The study aims to investigate the lexical changes in the Punjabi films, exploring factors responsible for the language shift. Punjabi are replacing Punjabi language with English and Urdu in their everyday language (Abbas & Iqbal, 2018), influencing the language “in use”, and bringing about a lexical shift in the Punjabi language (Weinreich, 2010). For the purpose, the study applied qualitative research design. The purposively selected sample consisted of film scripts for an original Punjabi and its remake within a span of 40 years, and scriptwriter interviews. A corpus of the word categories was created, the were interviews analyzed thematically. The findings of the study reveal that the classical Punjabi lexicon are being overwhelmed and replaced with Urdu. Factors involved in the change process include negative attitude towards Punjabi language fueled by other reasons like loyalty to language, varying economic, influential media discourse and a noticeable absence of institutional, educational and cultural support. The study concludes that the reality of the declining lexical features is shaped by a combination of factors, is not just an assertion but a testimony to the claim of the depleting essence and soul of Punjabi language. This paper fulfills the need to identify language shift in lexicon of the Punjabi films. Future research on Punjabi could focus on the changes at other levels of language and categories like technology, business and animates to expand the domain for exploring the lexicon changes influence on the Punjabi vocabulary over the time

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