A Comparative Syntactic Analysis of the English and Urdu Newspapers

Abstract

This research examines and analyzes the syntax of English and Urdu languages through the sentences of the languages found in editorial pieces of the newspapers. It aims to understand the relationships and differences in the constructs of sentences through the means of grammatical organization and the dimensions of the word order, tense, mood, and aspect, while also understanding the meaning and functionality in communication. Correspondence sentences in English and Urdu, which are to be analyzed and compared, were collected from ten newspapers written in converted English and Urdu. It was also found that while English predominantly applies the Subject-Verb-Object pattern of structure, Urdu applies the Subject-Object-Verb pattern which informs the structure and order of communication. Furthermore, meaning is usually constructed based on the order of the words in the sentences in English but in Urdu, inflectional morphemes and postpositions of words are used. Such distinction also applies to the syllable constructions of the verb, the contractual limitations, the gender isomorphic, tense, aspect, and mood. The study greatly benefits people interested in comparative syntax, applied linguistics, and syntax in general, and is communicating in Urdu and English from the perspective of translation, cross-cultural communication, and relations.