Code-Mixing and Code-Switching as Sociolinguistic Markers in Bapsi Sidhwa’s Fiction: A Critical Analysis of Identity, Power, and Cultural Hybridity

Abstract

The paper is a critical analysis of the concept of code-mixing and code-switching as essential sociolinguistic identifiers in the fiction of Bapsi Sidhwa and how language implications could be employed in the description of the identity, power dynamics, and cultural hybridity. It is based on sociolinguistic concepts of language alternation whereby the study explores how Sidhwa uses multilingualism practices, especially in switching between English, Urdu, Punjabi and indigenous languages as a way of representing the lived experiences of postcolonial South Asian societies. The results of the close textual analysis of the chosen novels indicate that the concept of code-switching can be utilized not only as a stylistic phenomenon but rather as a strategic one that defines social orders, gendered subjectivity, ethnic identities, and intracommunity conflicts. On the same note, the code-mixing is presented as an indicator of cultural negotiation, which indicates hybrid identities that are influenced by colonial history, migration, and diasporic experience. The discussion identifies the linguistic layering that Sidhwa employs to strengthen the narrative authenticity, to empower the voices of marginalized people and to come out of the monolingual literary conventions. In the end, the paper illustrates that the alternation phenomenon in the fiction of Sidhwa is a strong tool of identity articulation and bargaining across political relations and presents the dynamic nature of the culture limits within the context of a multilingual world.