Abstract
<p><em>This qualitative case study is an exploration of the phenomenon of the ways in which Urdu as the national language is represented in discursive practices of senior business academia. The research design, built on Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) model (2009) is of dialectical-relational approach. The participant in this single case study is a senior member of the academia from a business school. Methodologically, the analysis trailed four stages and followed CDA’s transdisciplinary traditional methods of social practices in three semiotic categories: genre, discourse and style. Findings of the study indicated that despite strong emotional links with the national language, the participant recognized the utilitarian value of English in academic and in professional domains; additionally, his perspective was that Urdu was largely marginalized due to its perceived lack of utilitarian value. The participant also expressed the viewpoint that this social injustice was needed by the social order because the business school requires English for academic and professional purposes. The study recommends a more inclusive addition of Urdu courses in business studies. </em></p>
Highlights
National language is a language spoken by the people of a nation and represents their national identity
This study is built around the discursive practices of a senior member of the academia of a business school to look at the ways discourses as social practices become a means of transferring beliefs about languages
The first stage of analysis looked at the ways in which Urdu, as the National language is represented in discursive practices of senior business academia
Summary
National language is a language spoken by the people of a nation and represents their national identity. Clause 73 of the National Education Policy (NEP) mentions the factors that lead to the differences between elite and public schools, the main divide being that of English versus Urdu as the medium of instruction. Elite schools follow the Cambridge or London University O/A levels systems in which the medium of instruction is English; whereas, public schools follow Matric/Intermediate system with Urdu as the medium of instruction This difference leads to professional implications of acquiring white collar jobs for those who have high English language proficiency. Since little is known about the discursive practices as orders of discourse on the status of Urdu as the national language, a critical analysis of discursive practices at institutional level would help in understanding how a senior member of a business school views Urdu. What are the consequences of this positioning in terms of power and authority?
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