Semantic Loss of the Selected Words of English Borrowed in Urdu

Abstract

From a pragmatic standpoint, the study looks into how words that are borrowed from English suffer semantic loss when these words are used in Urdu language. 20 bilingual volunteers from grade 12 from a selected class completed a questionnaire that was used to gather data for the study. The study aims to investigate the semantic loss which the words of English language suffer from when these words are used in Urdu by the natives of Urdu. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used in the analysis.  The findings showed that the English terms that were borrowed and used in Urdu had new meanings. Approximately 69% of the terms examined in the study did not imply their definitions as found in English dictionaries, according to the quantitative analysis. Furthermore, the results showed that, for 11 of the 16 words examined, over 70% of respondents selected entirely different meanings for the words when they are used in Urdu. It also reinforced the idea that meanings get formed in context based on the speaker's oblique meaning, rather than being understood as isolated concepts.