Sajad Ahmad Teli Aejaz Mohammed Sheikh Saima Jan Junaid Yousuf Pala
1,2,3 Department of Linguistics, University of Kashmir, Srinagar & 4 School Education Department, Kashmir Valley.
[Article History: Received: 06 Feb 2024. Revised: 10 Feb 2024. Accepted: 18 Feb 2024. Published: 21 Feb 2024]
Abstract
Language used by a person in different domains of life depicts his/her affinity and attitude towards that particular language. Attitudes towards the vernacular languages changed drastically due to the spread of English and its prestigious position in all sectors of life. Kashmiri is the mother tongue of the majority of the people of Kashmir Valley and in addition to this Urdu and English act as the second language. In this globalized world where technology has affected all sectors of life communication is not an exception to it. One of the amazing tools of communication nowadays is WhatsApp, a social networking site through which people communicate with each other by sharing text, voice, images, and videos. The present study was carried out in the Kashmir valley of Jammu and Kashmiri to check the language preferences of Kashmiri bilinguals while chatting and expressing their emotions on WhatsApp. The study also took into account the script of the language used while using WhatsApp. The findings of the study support the view that the people of Kashmir Valley use WhatsApp often. They use the English language while using WhatsApp frequently and use Kashmiri rarely and Urdu sometimes. The Roman script is the preferred script as compared to the Perso-Arabic script which is rarely used.
Keywords: Language, Kashmiri, WhatsApp, Preference, Chatting