Marked Code-Switching and its Functions in the Pakistani Fashion Journalism

Abstract

Code-switching is a common phenomenon that means a shift from one language to another during a discussion, conversation, and writing. The aim of the present study was to find out the trends of Urdu-English code-switching in Pakistani Fashion Journalism. For this study, the data was collected from Pakistani electronic and print media. Twenty-five Dunya Sunday Magazines, from the year 2018, and only six recordings of Good Morning Pakistan shows from the ARY Digital channel from the year 2017, were selected. Myers-Scotton's (1993) Markedness Model was applied as a theoretical framework to analyze the type of marked code-switching and functions (reprimand, expansion, emphasis, humor, clarification, confirmation, and finding difficulty in words) of Urdu-English code-switching. Eight examples of marked code choices were found out from electronic media and only one from print media. The findings demonstrated that codeswitching was not only an impact of colonization but also a trend of fashion in Pakistani society; rather it was considered a valuable method to perform particular functions during a conversation.