Explanatory study of Phonological Idiosyncrasies in Pakistani English

Abstract

The current research paper investigates the phonemic idiosyncrasies in Pakistani English, that makes this variety of English a distinct variety from other varieties shaped by socio-linguistic and socio-cultural context of Pakistan. The nature of the study is descriptive. The study uses the Optimality based linguistic analysis and field observations, the study finds the system deviations of phonemic idiosyncrasies compared to Standard British English. The key features include substitution of /ɪ/ and /iː/, the conflation of /v/ and /w/, and the use of retroflex and dental consonants influenced by native languages like Urdu, Punjabi, and Sindhi.  The data shows that in Pakistani English, syllable-timed rhythm is different from British Standard English with stress variation and diphthong realization. These phonemic features show the relation between Pakistani English and linguistic system of the Standard English. These phonological features contribute to the unique variety of Pakistani English.