An Insight Into Language Polices And Development In Kohat: A Qualititive Study Of Language Development In Three Dissimilar Families

Abstract

This qualitative case study examines family language policy (FLP) and its role in shaping children’s language development across three socioeconomically distinct families in Kohat, KP, Pakistan. This study is guided by Spolsky’s (2004) framework of language practices, beliefs, and management. In this study, Data were collected through semi-structured parental interviews and home-based observations. The findings reveal clear socioeconomic variations in family language policy. As  the high-SES family prioritizes English for education and social prestige, the middle-SES family maintains Pashto for cultural identity while using Urdu and English for educational purposes and the lower-SES family sustains Hindko as the dominant home language with limited exposure to English. Likewsise, observational data corroborate interview findings, demonstrating that socioeconomic conditions, parental ideologies and access to linguistic resources that shape children’s linguistic environments. Finally,  the study contributes to family language policy research by offering a localized, comparative perspective from a non-metropolitan Pakistani context.