Humorous side of the Punjabi-Urdu marriage

Researcher discusses the role of language in cultural biases.

A variety of marked Punjabi features are mapped onto speech that is perfectly understandable to Urdu-speakers. These are used to deploy the characteristic of “Punjabi-ness” which has a certain negative or humorous connotation when used during Urdu utterances.

This was stated at a lecture titled “Karachi Weds Lahore: Urdu-Punjabi language mixing and the performance of ethnolinguistic identities in Pakistani TV comedy” by Gwen Kirk, visiting research fellow, American Institute of Pakistan Studies here on Friday.

It was organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), according to a press release.

She spoke about her study on language, identity, and stereotyping with a broader understanding of the Pakistani sociolinguistic situation.



The lecture shared the result of a study on a comedic television serial that aired during Ramadan 2012, which revolved around the culture clash between a Mohajir family from Karachi and a Punjabi family from Lahore as their attempt to arrange a marriage between their families.

In her remarks, Gwen highlighted that the study investigates the characteristics of “mock” Punjabi in Pakistani popular media

She also discussed the issues of ethnicity, inter-city rivalry and gender biases due to cultural differences.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2013.