Morphological analysis of gender allocation through pronouns in Pakistani English and Haryanvi Languages

Abstract

The gender system shows variation in gender assignments. It is an essential part of Indo-European and Dravidian languages, whereas it is absent in Uralic languages. This study aims to evaluate the allocation of gender through pronouns in Pakistani English and Haryanvi languages. The study is theoretical and descriptive in nature. Corbett’s Gender Assignment System (2006) has been used as a theoretical framework. The gender assignment system consists of two types of information: its meanings (semantic assignment system) and its form (formal assignment system), as well as agreement. The data has been gathered through purposive sampling from Pakistani speakers of English and Haryanvi through semi-structured interviews. Later on, the data were analyzed using Corbett’s Gender Assignment System. In English, gender mainly shows up in third-person singular pronouns like he, she, his, or her. Haryanvi, on the other hand, uses gender much more widely. It’s not only present in pronouns for people, but also in possessive pronouns for both singular and plural. This means that everyday speech in Haryanvi naturally reflects gender in a way English does not. So, while English keeps gender markings limited, Haryanvi weaves them deeply into its grammar.