MAPPING HEGEMONY: A THREE-DIMENSIONAL CDA OF URDU-CENTRIC MUNICIPAL SIGNAGE AND STATE DISCOURSE IN PUNJAB

Abstract

This study investigates the linguistic landscape of Gujranwala, Pakistan, analyzing how municipal signage
functions as a discursive mechanism for state-sanctioned linguistic homogenization. Although Punjab is a
multilingual province, municipal installations in Gujranwala demonstrate a rigid commitment to Urdu-only
typography, reflecting an administrative drive toward linguistic uniformity. Utilizing the three-dimensional
Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework developed by Fairclough (1995), this study dissects the
semiotic choices, institutional production processes, and social implications of signage implemented by the
Punjab Horticulture Authority (PHA). The analysis reveals a systematic "semiotic erasure" of regional
scripts, which functions as a form of symbolic violence that marginalizes the cultural capital of the local
Punjabi-speaking population. By synthesizing Bourdieu's (1991) theory of symbolic power with Landry and
Bourhis's (1997) research on ethnolinguistic vitality, this study argues that the observed Urdu-centric
landscape is not an incidental byproduct of administrative oversight, but a deliberate outcome of top-down
state policy. The findings demonstrate that public signage in Gujranwala serves as a precise indicator of
the state's efficacy in implementing national linguistic homogeneity at the expense of regional cultural
preservation. The study concludes by advocating for a decentralized approach to urban design and the
adoption of inclusive signage policies that acknowledge the demographic realities of diverse language
groups. This research offers a critical contribution to sociolinguistic discourse, particularly within postcolonial urban settings where state ideology and regional identity remain in constant negotiation.