ON THE HIGHWAY: A SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDY OF THE PATROLLING DISCOURSE

Abstract

It is always interesting to move beyond the classroom walls and apply theory to real life phenomena. Sociolinguistics invites researchers to explore linguistics in our ever-changing modern world.The current research aimed to analyze the discourse of the Punjab Highway Patrolling Police (PHP) to explore the linguistic features used in the department. The data were collected from four Patrolling posts located in the Bahawalpur district. Semi-structured interviews (Annexure) were used for data collection. The collected data were analyzed through thematic analysis and The Speaking model, a framework for analyzing communication, proposed by Sociolinguist Dell Hymes in 1974. The analyzed data suggested that patrolling police officers on duty employed all features of the register, frozen, formal, informal, and consultative in different situations. In wireless communication and in written language, they used formal language and jargon, which are intelligible for all the members and unintelligible for the interlopers. They use jargon on official duty and slang in daily conversation.  Patrolling police jargon and slang functions through English, Urdu, and regional languages. Thus, the Patrolling Police Punjab discourse combines diverse languages and diverse sociolinguistic varieties.

Keywords: Sociolinguistics, Register, Jargon, Highway Police, Patrolling Police, Formal and Informal Language, Slang, Linguistic features