Hybridization and Hegemony: A Critical Postcolonial Analysis of Urdu Slang in the Moth Smoke (2000) (2000)

Abstract

This study deals with how resisting hegemonic power-formation can be achieved through language and cultural hybridization in the novel Moth Smoke (2000) (2000) by Mohsin Hamid. Using the theory of hybridity by Homi K. Bhabha, the paper explores how mixing of English and Urdu in the story alters the dominant discourses and reconstitutes the cultural identity in the postcolonial Pakistani society. The concept of hybridity proposed by him has had a broadly followed impact on postcolonial and cultural studies by helping to challenge the essentialist concept of fixed identity and culture. Rather, it underlines the negotiated, fluid and dynamic character of cultural interaction that is produced in those spaces constituted by the history of colonialism and the current globalization. In this research, the application of Urdu slang, local expressions and language patterns that are inbuilt with the culture are identified through a close textual examination of the novel as they are incorporated into the English text. These are linguistic features that serve to signify a hybrid identity, as they capture the lived experiences of Pakistani society in which there are several cultural forces at cross. This mixing of languages serves as a third space where meanings are re-negotiable and colonial languages of hierarchy integrated in language are covertly questioned. Moreover, the study addresses the way, in which Mohsin Hamid purposefully incorporates Urdu phrases in English prose, disrupts the cultural control of the colonial power and gives a voice to local cultural experiences. This ambiguity of the language adopted in the novel denotes the socio-cultural conflicts in urban Pakistan, especially the conflicts of the class, power and identity in post-colonial state. Through foregrounding these hybrid linguistic practices the text is represented as the reflection of the contemporary Pakistani culture and also criticizes the still-remaining effect of the colonial discourse on the national identity development. This study is relevant to the postcolonial literature theory by illustrating that the linguistic hybridity of the Pakistani English fiction establishes an influential negotiation zone amidst the global and local cultures.