Unstable Bilingualism between Hindko and Pashto in Hazara

Abstract

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Hindko and Pashto languages belong to the Indo-European language family, belonging to subgroups Indo-Aryan and Indo-Iranian respectively. In North West Frontier Region Pashto and Hindko co-exist side by side, gaining numbers of bilingual speakers. But the bilingualism between these two languages is not of a stable nature. Survey-based research was conducted in five different localities across Hazara Division districts. Results from the statistics collected from five hundred bilinguals' questionnaires data provided the results of the research. The study provides substantial evidence in proof of Unstable Bilingualism. The bilinguals do not exhibit equal competency in both languages, with some exceptions. However, majority of the bilinguals have more competencies in mother-tongue rather than the 2^nd language. The circumstances and factors involved in language acquisition and learning have a great impact on the competency in language; the domains and usage of specific language also affects the competency in the language.  Study further pointed out that the areas in which both languages exist, the use of one language in more domains leads to the dominance of that language in overall impression and accent of other language. Like in the locality of Dhodial most of the speakers showed that the impression of Hindko accent is dominant on Pashto accent and vice versa in areas where Pashto has impact on Hindko accent. These results pointed out stable groundings to prove that bilingualism between Pashto and Hindko is of unstable nature.