Jargon in Military: A Comparative Analysis of English Varieties in Pakistan based on Hallidiyan’s Functional Perspective

Abstract

Pakistani English is (also known as Paklish or Pinglish) is the group of English language varieties that are spoken or written in Pakistan. It was recognized in terms of different varieties and forms first time in the 1970s and 1980s. This paper elucidated the phenomenon of transition that Pakistani English was undergoing in the current scenario because of its contact with other Pakistani languages in general, Urdu and Punjabi in particular.  This study attempted to explore and interpret the varieties of Pakistani English in the Military at two different levels i.e. Officers to Officers Communication and Officers to Rank (Soldier). These constantly diverging forms and functions of English may not have reached stability and recognition among its users probably bilinguals or multi-linguals as Pakistan is a multi-lingual state. This study endeavored to use a Qualitative approach and data will be collected through observation from Pakistani English varieties used in the Military. This paper aimed to apply Halliday’s (1960) theory of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to conduct a comparative study of varieties of English to describe, interpret and explain the forms and functions of Pakistani English at two different levels. The findings revealed that the variations of Military language were unique and distinct from all other varieties of English. In addition, these variations were acceptable by the whole language community shared by individuals in the Military.