Pashto-English Hybridization: Unknotting the knitted Compound Words

Abstract

Hybridization has a significant role in creating words that have the flavor of both the knotted languages. It not only results in the formation of single words but also leads to compound word creation. The present study aims to unveil hybridization in compound words. For this purpose, 5 Pashto TV programmes from Khyber News were selected through purposive sampling. In this study, the framework developed by Kachru (1978) and adapted by Rasul (2006) has been employed. The findings show that hybridization in compounding is a frequently occurring phenomenon that usually has different arrangements of words from both languages, i.e., Pashto words coming before the English word or vice versa depending on the nature of compounding; however, mostly the Pashto words were placed before. Out of the 84 examples of hybridized compounds, there were only two adjectives, and the rest were compound nouns.