The evidence of Embedded Language islands: the case of Pashto-English codeswitching

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigates the function and morphosyntax of English Embedded Language (EL) islands in Pashto-English bilingual data, using the Matrix Language Frame model to explore the role of the two languages in codeswitching and the pragmatic force behind the selection of EL islands. A dataset of 14 hours was collected from AVT Khyber, a YouTube channel covering a wide range of talking shows and interviews. The research question is how EL islands figure in the overall clause structure of Pashto-English codeswitching. The study finds that English EL islands in Pashto-English codeswitching follow the structure dependency rule of the Embedded Language to retain well-formedness with the overall grammatical frame of the Pashto language. Most of the EL islands are fixed expressions and the multiword are collocated with each other. In most cases, EL islands are used as their counterparts in the Pashto language and lack the same pragmatic force. The study provides insights into the pragmatic and morphosyntactic aspects of EL islands in the Pashto-English bilingual context and contributes to the understanding of codeswitching phenomena in bilingual communities.