Family language policy and identity formation among migrant Pashto community in the multilingual context of Lahore

Abstract This study examines the family language policy of the migrant Pashto community in multilingual settings in Lahore, Pakistan. Many languages including English, Pashto, Punjabi, and Urdu are in contact with one another in Lahore. Following the Language Policy Framework of Spolsky (2004) and using a questionnaire to collect data and a quantitative assessment of the results, we investigate the language ecology, language ideology, and language planning adopted by families of the migrant Pashto community to construct their identity in these varied language contact situations. The research population was selected through purposive sampling, yielding two groups: one adolescent and one adult including both males and females. The findings show that Pashto is the desired language of communication among the migrant Pashto families in Lahore. However, their selection of language outside their home domains depends on the situations and interlocutors. For them, Urdu and English are the languages of utility, social mobility, and opportunity. Pashto is maintained at home and in the Pashto community with intervention by the parents and the community. We conclude that multilingualism is a linguistic practice and a resource through which migrant Pashto speakers construct and negotiate their identities, temporary and enduring ones.