Punjabi, Urdu, English In Pakistan

Forget dry grammar drills - this book dives into the messy, passionate language politics of Pakistan, where Urdu, English, and Punjabi aren’t just languages - they’re battlegrounds of identity, power, and colonial hangovers. Ever wonder why a Punjabi-speaking kid in Lahore might stumble over Urdu in class but belt out English pop lyrics? Or why Urdu, the “national glue,” often feels like a dusty heirloom rather than a living tongue?

Why this matters:

• Shows how Pakistan’s language hierarchy (English = elite, Urdu = “unity,” Punjabi = “folksy”) warps classrooms, textbooks, and even self-worth.
• Exposes the irony: schools preach Urdu patriotism while parents obsess over English-medium tutors. Punjabi? Stuck in a cultural purgatory—loved in songs, sidelined in exams.

For teachers:

• It’s not just about lesson plans. It’s about why your students freeze when switching from Punjabi slang at home to “proper” Urdu in essays.
• Packed with “Aha!” moments on how language policies fuel impostor syndrome—or radical pride.

For sociolinguists:

• A goldmine of contradictions: How does a country’s “love” for Urdu coexist with its elite’s English obsession? Why does Punjabi thrive in Sufi poetry but die in bureaucrats’ files?
• Spoiler: It’s not just politics. It’s trauma, nostalgia, and a desperate scramble for global relevance.

The kicker: This isn’t a doomscroll. It’s a call to teachers, policymakers, and language nerds to fix what’s broken - before another generation grows up tongue-tied in their own land.

FORMAT: Hardback