X – Bar Theory: A Study of Code Mixing and Code Switching in Urdu

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to highlight the mixing and switching of codes of English into Urdu through Chomsky’s (1970) x – bar theory and to clearly provide the mixing and switching point at syntactic level. Urdu allows mixed approach to prepositional phrase unlike Spanish/English code mixing (see Pfaff, 1979; Bokamba, 1988; Muysken, 2000) as Urdu prepositional phrase is mostly identical to English prepositional phrase from syntactic point of view; whereas, nouns, adjectives and adverbs match with surface word order of both the languages in context (Pffaf, 1979). The shifting of the verb in Urdu always follows the derivational suffix (see Bokamba, 1988) of Urdu infinitive کرنا (Kәrna) changed to suffix کرتا (Kәrta:) and کرتے (Kәrt eː) and auxiliary ہونگیں (ho:ngĩ:), ہوگا (ho:ga:), ہو (ho:), ہے (ha:), تھے (tha:), تھا (tha:), تھیں (thĩ:) etc. Adjunct from English (see Atawneh, 1992) is also mixed in Urdu as both the languages follow almost identical rules.