Language Shift in Northern Pakistan : The Case of Domaakí and Pashto

Abstract

The paper is devoted to the phenomenon of mother tongue change, which is known as the most common course of language death. The languages under consideration are Domaakí, with ea. 350 speakers in the Nager and Hunza Valleys, and Pashto, as spoken by permanent migrants in ea. 150 households scattered all over the Northern Areas. By analysing and comparing the social environment of both speech communities the author attempts to illustrate the importance of the speakers' attitude towards their own mother tongue in the process of language shift.