CODE PREFERENCE IN LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE: A FORENSIC APPROACH TO THE TOP-DOWN SIGNBOARDS

Abstract

The present study is an endeavor to examine the linguistic landscape of Islamabad and Lahore in the light of the existing language policy as vividly written in the Constitution of Pakistan 1973. The language policy and code preference are clearly visible through the signboards deployed at various public places to inform, guide, warn and direct the viewer. A sample of three hundred top-down signboards was photographically collected through purposive sampling technique. The theoretical frameworks of Spolsky and Cooper (1991) and geosemiotics by Scollon and Scollon (2003) have been employed to uncover the underlying competition that exists between Urdu and English for dominance. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis show that Urdu is the preferred code but often found embellished with English vocabulary. The names of the public offices are in English which highlights the inefficiency of the government authorities to implement Urdu as an official language in true letter and spirit. Keywords: Linguistic landscape, top- down signboards, language policy, code preference