Power Dynamics in Education Language Policy: A Discourse-Historical Analysis of the Impact of Pakistani Education Language Policy on the Marginalization of Regional Languages

Abstract

Language planning and policy is the deliberate effort of the governments to regulate and manage language use, development, and maintenance within a society. This study aims to identify the power relations and hidden linguistics ideologies in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2018. The Discourse Historical Approach by Wodak (2015) was used to analyze the NEP (2018) documents. A comprehensive framework was developed containing four major elements i.e. discursive strategies, historical context, power relations, ideology, and hegemony. It was found that English is the most dominant educational language in Pakistan followed by Urdu. It is because English is coined with social prestige and economic growth, and termed as the language of power. The NEP (2018) significantly marginalizes the regional languages (i.e. Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi, etc.) which in the long run leads to their decline and loss of culture and identity among vast cultural and linguistic groups in Pakistan.