Role of Strictly Semantic Properties in Assigning Gender to English Loanwords in the Khattak Dialect of the Pashto Language

Abstract

This study focuses on exploring the strictly semantic properties involved in the assignment of grammatical gender to English loanwords in the Khattak dialect of Pashto. The study aims to investigate how strictly semantic criteria influence the gender allocation process in loanword integration, contributing to a deeper understanding of language contact phenomena in the Pakistani context. Using Corbett's (1991) model of gender assignment as a framework model, a perceptive and innovative research design that best suited the current and continuing research in the Pakistani setting was created. The nature of the current study is qualitative and descriptive. The issues of gender assignment, borrowing, code mixing, and gender marking in the Pakistani context gain prominence in this study. With relation to the interaction of English and Pashto, the researcher believes that this research will not only aid in understanding the nature of these processes in Pakistan but will also raise awareness of the need for more research in the area.