Description

Variation in language is the most common and natural phenomenon found in all languages. It is an inherent property of almost all widely used languages of the world. During the last few decades Sociolinguistics has emerged as an autonomous field of study correlating the dependent linguistic variables with independent social variables for looking into the pattern and structure in variation. Sociolinguistic research on variation not only reveals significant information about a speech community but also provides better insight into the nature of language by characterizing variation as an integral constituent of speech community. Variation in language can be found at all the levels of language and can also be seen at regional, social and ethnic levels. Linguistic hierarchy reflects social structure and social subordination in the group. This creates the ideology of domination which makes the speakers to believe that one variety of language is superior to others. This study is based on the collection of data obtained through questionnaire, interviews, etc. This work provides valuable information regarding regional, social and ethnic varieties of Urdu as spoken in North India.