Are the majority of upper class KP Pashtuns compromising their culture and language?

[BLS_1919v2.0]

1. By Yusafzai dialect, I mean the modern day "Pukhto" spoken in the areas in and around Peshawar, which is influenced by Urdu and English.

2. I do not mean all KP Pashtuns, but mainly the KP Pashtuns call themselves "Pathans" when speaking to non-Pashtuns because I know many Panjabis who have no clue what Pashtun/Pakhtun is.

3. I have been to Karkhanai and talked with Sikhs. It is a fact that they speak better Pashto than most of us.

4. Yusafzais are the largest tribe in KP.

well for the first point well that is obvious peshawar is multi-ethnic city so they have borrowed from english and urdu. Lets not forget that english and urdu are given more preference in terms of education and media so in those areas it has an upper hand. Now if you go to the villages in PATA and FATA that is a different story. I know Yousafzais are considering that I am one myself wrora.

[tor_khan]

I kind of sense what Da Kunar Ghro is saying, though I wouldn't call it elitist, which is more the worry because everyday Pashtoons in Pakhtunkhwa are affected - at the rural as well as urban level.

Socio-economics, politics and education together create the language 'need' - and the media too plays a big part. As a consequence, in Pakistan Pashto suffers because other forces dominate. The truth is that those openly and those who even passively resist creeping Urdufication are likely to be political 'separatists'. And in Pakistan, that spells trouble.

If your trading partners are Urdu speakers and the education systems doesn't support Pashto, then Urdu wins and it works its way into your language.

Similarly with English - if English is the desired language, it pretty much kills all else. Just take a contemporary look at Pakistani or Indian TV, a chat programme if you like and observe for about 5 minutes - the English is sometimes very overbearing. Chopped up Hindi-English is just everyday talk now - and I often ask, is there a way of going back? I can't imagine what Hindi/Urdu purists must be thinking by observing these kinds of conversations, rubber stamped by the Indian and Pakistan media.

Urdufication is interesting. I met a Ghazniwal tailor a year or so ago who having lived in Karachi for some 14 years mixed his Urdu numbers into his Pashto. I remember saying something to him like "pinza atiya" in reference to some length and he asked me to repeat in Urdu. I did a quick translation in my head and I said "panchj asee" (wrong, but plausible). He looked confused, and so I said "eighty-five" as per English before switching back to Pashto while I scribbled down eight (atta) and five (pinza).

"Youniwarsity". Oh yes ... pass me the bucket everytime I hear that. Similarly, I can't quite get over why the ANP calls itself that (Awami? National? Party?) - where's the Pashto in that? Or how they sit in Pakhtunkhwa House ?!?!?

[Toramana]

These are not just the socioeconomic, education, or political factors...Islam is also a reason....Urdu has a kind of religious sanctity in Pakistan where it is emphasized as the language of Islam/Muslims...

[tor_khan]

These are not just the socioeconomic, education, or political factors...Islam is also a reason....Urdu has a kind of religious sanctity in Pakistan where it is emphasized as the language of Islam/Muslims...

The bold type indicates your words not mine. You have your own personal agenda. The truth is that there is no language that auto-qualifies you as a Muslim.

There have been phases of importance given to languages. Prior to the arrival of the Brits, Farsi, was the desirable language to learn in the subcontinent. You could argue that it was elitist, but it worked its way into old Hindi and eventually gave rise to Urdu.

Urdu, whilst strong, is increasingly giving way to a mish-mash of media-backed Urdu-English. It's a very strong social force and affects the local languages.

Pashto does not enjoy the same status as Urdu and English and we are compelled to operate in other languages* for economic survival. Keeping Pashto intact and unaffected is the challenge.

*For the men in our society this is almost definitely the case and in all my time I've only met one man who ONLY speaks Pashto (so his Pashto aught to be "pure"). (Coincidentally, I'm seeing him now, as soon as I log out.)

[Toramana]

The bold type indicates your words not mine. You have your own personal agenda. The truth is that there is no language that auto-qualifies you as a Muslim...

Tor_Khana Bacha, you have mis-interpreted (or dis-interpreted) my words. I didn't gave any definitive statement regarding language as a criterian for acceptance in Islam. However, it is a fact that there is an ideological element in Islam (concerned with sovereignty, statehood, personal/collective view of life, unity of Muslim community, etc.) that links it to politics and many times becomes useful to (authoritarian) regimes to impose things of their chosing on masses.

You may know the perception of Arabic as a kind of a sacred language in Muslims beyond and above its utilitarian value as a medium of expression for religious injunctions and teachings.

Personally, I think, a religion which claims to be universal should not be bound to any geography or language or ethnic group. In Pakistan, there is a notion of a good and bad Muslim---good Muslims being those that adhere to the official state ideology, which emphasizes the centrality of Islam and Urdu in the nationhood of Pakistan;---bad Muslim on the other hand is the one who underlines the multicultral character of the state. In Pakistan, if you question the status of Urdu or say anything in support of a space to regional languages, you can be easily labeled as an agent of Hindus, Jews, etc. One should just go and talk to the political right (e.g. Jummat-i-Islami, Muslim League, etc.) in favour of local languages or against Urdu and then one can see how do they reacr.

See the following article by Dr. Tariq Rahman a prominent linguist of Pakistan.

"Generally, however, Urdu became an identity symbol of Muslims of India. It also took on the character of a religious language as the ulema started using it in the madrassas...."

http://www.tariqrahman.net/language/A%20Historical%20Survey%20of%20Language%20Among%20 South%20Asian.htm

http://www.tariqrahman.net/lanmain.htm

[Master Khan]

Two things I can agree with you on:

1. KP women don't wear kali.
2. I find the kheen dialect wierd.

KP women do wear Kali lol

Well the kheem dialect its not weird for us wrora, its just accents.