A Study of Language Preference among the Children of Kashmiri Speech Community Living in Jizan Region, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

“A language dies when nobody speaks it anymore” (Crystal, 2000). He further says that the most common process leading to language death is one in which a community of speakers of one language becomes bilingual with another language, and gradually shifts allegiance to the second language until they cease to use their original, heritage language. Kashmir is a multilingual area where Kashmiri forms the mother tongue of majority of population; Urdu serves as the second language followed by English. This linguistic scenario changes when children reside in an international community. They shift from Kashmiri to other language/s due to less contact with their own speech community. As a result, the language preference changes according to their linguistic requirement. The present study aimed at investigating the linguistic effect on children residing in Saudi Arabia especially in Jizan region. In addition, the research focused on the intergenerational transmission of languages by exploring the reasons which languages, as their first and second, parents wanted their children to learn. The data for the present study was collected online by distributing online structured questionnaires to the target population. Several social media platforms were used to collect data. The preferred method of data collection ensured that there was an equal representation of the target population (children aged 6-16 years). The respondents were the Kashmiri children who study in different international schools in Jizan region of Saudi Arabia. The data was tabulated and analyzed by applying descriptive statistical methods. The research concluded that the target group is bilingual in Urdu and English. Though Kashmiri is the home language of the respondents, but it is not the first language (L1) of all. Urdu is the major language used in home context while as English remains the first choice for outside home situations. The use of Kashmiri is restricted to occasions like interaction with back home relatives.

Keywords: Kashmiri language, bilingualism, intergenerational, speech community, language shift.

DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/13-12-08

Publication date:June 30^th 2023