Skip to main content

Nisar A Koka

King Khalid University, Department of English, Faculty of Languages and Translation, Faculty Member

Followers

68

Following

4

Public Views

Dr. Nisar Ahmad Koka was born in 1971 in Melahura Shopian Jammu and Kashmir, India. He did his M.A in theoretical Linguistics and PhD in Sociolinguistics from Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh, India in 1998 and 2002 respectively. He has been engaged in teaching linguistics /applied linguistics and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in different universities/institutions for the last 18 years or so. He has worked on a couple of research projects and has participated and presented research papers in a considerable number of seminars and workshops related to language linguistics. As a resource person, he has delivered lectures invarious orientation and refreshing courses meant for second language teachers. Dr. Koka has published around a dozen of research articles in different national and international journals covering various themes concerning linguistics and applied linguistics. He has also co-authored 3 published books on ‘Testing and Evaluation’ in Indian Languages. Dr. Koka is currently engaged as an assistant professor at the Department of English, Faculty of Languages and Translation, King Khalid University Abha, KSA. teaching English as Foreign Language (EFL).

less

Ram Chandra राम चन्द्र 51

Cfel Santiniketan

Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, India

International Res Jour Managt Socio Human

AMU,ALIGARH,INDIA

Richard Gauthier

Santa Rosa Junior College

SIL International

Anwar Al-Athwary

Najran University

Waseem Ahmad Dar

Aligarh Muslim University

Uploads

Papers by Nisar A Koka

A sociolinguistic investigation of language variables and language choice in the Kashmiri speech community

of the Ph.D. thesis on "A Sociolinguistic Investigation of Language Variables and Language C... more of the Ph.D. thesis on "A Sociolinguistic Investigation of Language Variables and Language Choice in the Kashmiri Speech Community" During the last few decades sociolinguistics has emerged as an autonomous field of study. It has been recognized all over the world. Sociolinguistics is rightly concerned with the ways in which language varies according to the situation in which the users find themselves and according to social groups to which they belong. Variation is an inherent property of almost all widely used languages of the world. Languages vary according to the social characteristics of speakers. They also vary according to situations in which the users find themselves. Language variation in sociolinguistics refers to variation in linguistic items, in accordance with social variation. The factors such as religion, age, sex education, region and occupation are responsible for variation in language and the resultant linguistic items are called as sociolinguistic or ling...

Perception of Saudi EFL Learners and Teachers Towards the Use of Listening Transcript in the Listening Lessons

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2020

Studying Foreign Language Anxiety with its Causes and Effects: A case of King Khalid University EFL Learn

Arab World English Journal, 2019

The primary focus of the present study is to investigate the anxiety level of Saudi undergraduate... more The primary focus of the present study is to investigate the anxiety level of Saudi undergraduate students learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL). An attempt has been made to find out various possible causes, sources, and effects of foreign language anxiety on Saudi EFL learners. The study aims to answer the main question; if this anxiety affects the learning process of Saudi EFL learners positively or adversely. The study demonstrates some models and strategies related to causes and effects of anxiety. These models and strategies can be applied as potential management tools and strategies for reducing the level of anxiety encountered by Saudi EFL learners. The researchers employed quantitative and qualitative approaches to collecting and analyzing the data. A 33-item questionnaire adapted from Horwitz et al (1986) distributed among 271 subjects has been used as the main tool for the data collection. All the four basic language skills were tested to elicit the data for measuring the level of anxiety in Saudi students learning English as a foreign language. In addition to the above quantitative approach, some semi-structured interviews were conducted with both EFL learners and teachers. The outcome of the present study can significantly contribute to the development of the quality of learning English as a Foreign Language. It can also serve as an effective mechanism to solve problematic issues among EFL learners in general and Saudi EFL learners in particular. The study offers to introduce researchers and teachers with certain reliable scales for the evaluation of Saudi EFL learners' progress in their learning process. Five-point (5-point) Likert scale is one of these major scales used in the present study.

Studying the Role of Media in the Diffusion of English Words Into the Kashmiri Language: A Linguistic Overview

Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 2021

Studying the predominant occurrence and existence of English lexicon in other languages in contac... more Studying the predominant occurrence and existence of English lexicon in other languages in contact with English has emerged out to be of immense interest among the researchers of sociolinguistics and theoretical linguistics. The present study is devoted to demonstrate various English-Kashmiri language contact situations and the subsequent diffusion/ flow of English words into the Kashmiri language. The study attempts to explore the significant role of media in its different forms in enhancing and determining the transport of English words into the speech of Kashmiri speakers. The study seeks to address the motivation and inspiration of Kashmiri speakers behind the English-Kashmiri linguistic shift, and the influence of the prevailing circumstances on this English-Kashmiri linguistic diffusion. The liberality of the English language in handing over such an enormously huge amount of word treasure to the Kashmiri language, and the receptivity of the Kashmiri language in accepting this ...

Sociolinguistic Implications of Language Contact Situation and the Development of Kashmiri-Arabic Common Lexicon

International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation

Sharing lexicon is a direct outcome of a language contact situation. When two or more languages e... more Sharing lexicon is a direct outcome of a language contact situation. When two or more languages exist side-by-side while serving the communicative requirements in a particular social situation, they grow in an envelope and environment of linguistic exchange, and sharing of lexicon among them becomes a natural process. In a language contact situation, the speakers of one language are bound to incorporate linguistic items from their contact languages into their language to satisfy their communication needs. In the linguistically heterogeneous and multilingual situation of the Kashmiri Speech Community, Kashmiri, a member of the Indo-Aryan family, and Arabic, a language of the Semitic family of languages, are two significantly dominant contact languages. The side-by-side existence of these two languages while serving different sociolinguistic purposes and the assignment of different roles to them in various domains of the social life of the Kashmiri speech community have resulted in a ...

A Sociolinguistic Investigation of Social Stratification and Linguistic Variation among the Kashmiri Speech Community

Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 2014

This paper is restricted to the investigation of linguistic variation among the Kashmiri speakers... more This paper is restricted to the investigation of linguistic variation among the Kashmiri speakers at the level of phonology and lexicon of their language in accordance with certain social variables, viz-a-viz. religion, education, region / socioeconomic status, age and occupation. In the present paper, an effort has been devoted to examine as to how the structure of the Kashmiri language varies at the level of phonology and lexicon, in accordance with above mentioned social variables. It also takes into account the possible reasons behind this variation. The present paper explores as to how the social heterogeneity of the Kashmiri speech community is reflected in the linguistic behavior of its speakers, and gives rise to variations in the use of their language at the level of phonology and lexicon. The paper begins with giving a brief introduction about language variation, social variables, and linguistic variables. It also discusses the historical perspective of language variation, and throws light on the related literature by discussing some important studies of variation carried out by different scholars of linguistics from time to time. In this study an attempt has been made to picturize the social structure of the Kashmiri speech community in terms of its social stratification/ and social heterogeneity. The paper also discusses the research methodology adopted in carrying out this study.

Error Analysis of Written English Texts: A case of King Khalid University EFL Learning Students

The last four decades have witnessed a renewed research interest in the area of error analysis. I... more The last four decades have witnessed a renewed research interest in the area of error analysis. It has been the focus of attention, and subject of debate, among scholars of applied linguistics, particularly those of second-language acquisition. Applied linguists have dealt with the subject very seriously. These scholars hold the unanimous view that errors are an integral and unavoidable feature of second-language acquisition. The purpose of the present paper is to analyze and classify the persistent errors committed by Saudi Arabian EFL students at King Khalid University in Abha while composing a variety of written texts in English. In the investigation an effort has been made to uncover the causes and sources of various errors of usage at different linguistic levels, viz.-a-viz., grammar, morphology, syntax, lexico-semantics, spelling etc. The study aims at investigating the frequency of production of these errors of usage, expressing the findings as percentage, mean and standard deviation, across the different levels of learning (levels 1 to 4) under investigation.

SOCIOLINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVES OF THE LANGUAGE CONTACT SITUATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMMON LEXICON IN KASHMIRI-URDU

Arabic a language of the Semitic family of languages, Persian a member of the Indo-Iranian group ... more Arabic a language of the Semitic family of languages, Persian a member of the Indo-Iranian group of languages; and Kashmiri and Urdu, members of the Indo-Aryan family of languages are the most significant contact languages in the linguistically heterogeneous setting of the Kashmiri speech community. Existing side-by-side, these languages serve different sociolinguistic purposes and are assigned different roles. The linguistic amalgamation of these languages has resulted in the development of a considerable amount of lexicon common to all of them in general, but Kashmiri and Urdu in particular. The present paper explores the range of the Kashmiri-Urdu common lexicon. It also examines the extent to which Arabic and Persian have contributed to this shared lexical treasure.Finally,an exhaustive list of Kashmiri-Urdu lexical items used in various social domains of Kashmiri speakers (religion, administration,medicine,education,language and literature, law, and every day conversation) is presented and analyzed.

Code-switching and Code-mixing in Kashmiri: A linguistic overview

Cod-switching and code-mixing has emerged out to be a very dominant feature of a language contact... more Cod-switching and code-mixing has emerged out to be a very dominant feature of a language contact situation. This phenomenon is found to occur in a language contact situation whereby more than one language plays a significant role in the speech of an individual or their group. The present paper takes into account as to how the speakers of the Kashmiri speech community cross their linguistic boundary and switch over from their mother tongue to and incorporate linguistic items from Urdu and English (two dominant and significant contact languages of Kashmiri) The paper begins with a brief introduction about the phenomenon of code-switching and code-mixing. It also presents some definitions of the term code-switching and related concepts, viz-a-viz., code-mixing, language borrowing, bilingualism, diaglossia etc. The paper reviews a considerable portion of literature on linguistic alternation in terms of " code-switching and code-mixing ". An overview of the research methodology adopted in carrying out this study has also been documented. In the present paper an effort has made to prepare, present and analyze an exhaustive list of Kashmiri-Urdu and Kashmiri-English linguistic items and expressions used in the process of exchange and alternation among these languages that makes possible to arrive at the desired results.

Cross-cultural Communication and subsequent Diffusion of Loanwords: A case of Arabic-Kashmiri Linguistic Borrowing

Linguistic amalgamation and subsequent diffusion of loanwords is a direct outcome of language con... more Linguistic amalgamation and subsequent diffusion of loanwords is a direct outcome of language contact situation in an atmosphere of intercultural contact and cross-cultural communication. The present paper begins with a brief introduction of linguistic borrowing and reviews a considerable portion of related literature. The main focus of the work is to explore the extent of flow and transport of loanwords (including nouns, adjectives, and adverbs), compound words, full expressions of Arabic origin, and concepts related to Islamic theology into Kashmiri language. In the paper an attempt has been made to throw light on the main driving force behind this Arabic-Kashmiri linguistic transfer and impact of various factors on Arabic-Kashmiri linguistic borrowing. The paper also takes into account the generosity and cooperation of Arabic language in donating such an enormous amount of lexical stock to Kashmiri language, and hospitability of the Kashmiri language in terms of receptivity, acceptability and adaptability of this vocabulary stock from Arabic at a very large scale. An effort has been made to prepare, present and analyze an exhaustive list of Arabic loanwords used in various domains of social activity of Kashmiri speakers such as: religion, administration, art and learning, medicine, education, literature, legal law, and the domain of daily conversation.

A Sociolinguistic Investigation of Social Stratification and Linguistic Variation among the Kashmiri Speech Community

—This paper is restricted to the investigation of linguistic variation among the Kashmiri speaker... more —This paper is restricted to the investigation of linguistic variation among the Kashmiri speakers at the level of phonology and lexicon of their language in accordance with certain social variables, viz-a-viz. religion, education, region / socioeconomic status, age and occupation. In the present paper, an effort has been devoted to examine as to how the structure of the Kashmiri language varies at the level of phonology and lexicon, in accordance with above mentioned social variables. It also takes into account the possible reasons behind this variation. The present paper explores as to how the social heterogeneity of the Kashmiri speech community is reflected in the linguistic behavior of its speakers, and gives rise to variations in the use of their language at the level of phonology and lexicon. The paper begins with giving a brief introduction about language variation, social variables, and linguistic variables. It also discusses the historical perspective of language variation, and throws light on the related literature by discussing some important studies of variation carried out by different scholars of linguistics from time to time. In this study an attempt has been made to picturize the social structure of the Kashmiri speech community in terms of its social stratification/ and social heterogeneity. The paper also discusses the research methodology adopted in carrying out this study.

A sociolinguistic investigation of language variables and language choice in the Kashmiri speech community

of the Ph.D. thesis on "A Sociolinguistic Investigation of Language Variables and Language C... more of the Ph.D. thesis on "A Sociolinguistic Investigation of Language Variables and Language Choice in the Kashmiri Speech Community" During the last few decades sociolinguistics has emerged as an autonomous field of study. It has been recognized all over the world. Sociolinguistics is rightly concerned with the ways in which language varies according to the situation in which the users find themselves and according to social groups to which they belong. Variation is an inherent property of almost all widely used languages of the world. Languages vary according to the social characteristics of speakers. They also vary according to situations in which the users find themselves. Language variation in sociolinguistics refers to variation in linguistic items, in accordance with social variation. The factors such as religion, age, sex education, region and occupation are responsible for variation in language and the resultant linguistic items are called as sociolinguistic or ling...

Perception of Saudi EFL Learners and Teachers Towards the Use of Listening Transcript in the Listening Lessons

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2020

Studying Foreign Language Anxiety with its Causes and Effects: A case of King Khalid University EFL Learn

Arab World English Journal, 2019

The primary focus of the present study is to investigate the anxiety level of Saudi undergraduate... more The primary focus of the present study is to investigate the anxiety level of Saudi undergraduate students learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL). An attempt has been made to find out various possible causes, sources, and effects of foreign language anxiety on Saudi EFL learners. The study aims to answer the main question; if this anxiety affects the learning process of Saudi EFL learners positively or adversely. The study demonstrates some models and strategies related to causes and effects of anxiety. These models and strategies can be applied as potential management tools and strategies for reducing the level of anxiety encountered by Saudi EFL learners. The researchers employed quantitative and qualitative approaches to collecting and analyzing the data. A 33-item questionnaire adapted from Horwitz et al (1986) distributed among 271 subjects has been used as the main tool for the data collection. All the four basic language skills were tested to elicit the data for measuring the level of anxiety in Saudi students learning English as a foreign language. In addition to the above quantitative approach, some semi-structured interviews were conducted with both EFL learners and teachers. The outcome of the present study can significantly contribute to the development of the quality of learning English as a Foreign Language. It can also serve as an effective mechanism to solve problematic issues among EFL learners in general and Saudi EFL learners in particular. The study offers to introduce researchers and teachers with certain reliable scales for the evaluation of Saudi EFL learners' progress in their learning process. Five-point (5-point) Likert scale is one of these major scales used in the present study.

Studying the Role of Media in the Diffusion of English Words Into the Kashmiri Language: A Linguistic Overview

Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 2021

Studying the predominant occurrence and existence of English lexicon in other languages in contac... more Studying the predominant occurrence and existence of English lexicon in other languages in contact with English has emerged out to be of immense interest among the researchers of sociolinguistics and theoretical linguistics. The present study is devoted to demonstrate various English-Kashmiri language contact situations and the subsequent diffusion/ flow of English words into the Kashmiri language. The study attempts to explore the significant role of media in its different forms in enhancing and determining the transport of English words into the speech of Kashmiri speakers. The study seeks to address the motivation and inspiration of Kashmiri speakers behind the English-Kashmiri linguistic shift, and the influence of the prevailing circumstances on this English-Kashmiri linguistic diffusion. The liberality of the English language in handing over such an enormously huge amount of word treasure to the Kashmiri language, and the receptivity of the Kashmiri language in accepting this ...

Sociolinguistic Implications of Language Contact Situation and the Development of Kashmiri-Arabic Common Lexicon

International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation

Sharing lexicon is a direct outcome of a language contact situation. When two or more languages e... more Sharing lexicon is a direct outcome of a language contact situation. When two or more languages exist side-by-side while serving the communicative requirements in a particular social situation, they grow in an envelope and environment of linguistic exchange, and sharing of lexicon among them becomes a natural process. In a language contact situation, the speakers of one language are bound to incorporate linguistic items from their contact languages into their language to satisfy their communication needs. In the linguistically heterogeneous and multilingual situation of the Kashmiri Speech Community, Kashmiri, a member of the Indo-Aryan family, and Arabic, a language of the Semitic family of languages, are two significantly dominant contact languages. The side-by-side existence of these two languages while serving different sociolinguistic purposes and the assignment of different roles to them in various domains of the social life of the Kashmiri speech community have resulted in a ...

A Sociolinguistic Investigation of Social Stratification and Linguistic Variation among the Kashmiri Speech Community

Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 2014

This paper is restricted to the investigation of linguistic variation among the Kashmiri speakers... more This paper is restricted to the investigation of linguistic variation among the Kashmiri speakers at the level of phonology and lexicon of their language in accordance with certain social variables, viz-a-viz. religion, education, region / socioeconomic status, age and occupation. In the present paper, an effort has been devoted to examine as to how the structure of the Kashmiri language varies at the level of phonology and lexicon, in accordance with above mentioned social variables. It also takes into account the possible reasons behind this variation. The present paper explores as to how the social heterogeneity of the Kashmiri speech community is reflected in the linguistic behavior of its speakers, and gives rise to variations in the use of their language at the level of phonology and lexicon. The paper begins with giving a brief introduction about language variation, social variables, and linguistic variables. It also discusses the historical perspective of language variation, and throws light on the related literature by discussing some important studies of variation carried out by different scholars of linguistics from time to time. In this study an attempt has been made to picturize the social structure of the Kashmiri speech community in terms of its social stratification/ and social heterogeneity. The paper also discusses the research methodology adopted in carrying out this study.

Error Analysis of Written English Texts: A case of King Khalid University EFL Learning Students

The last four decades have witnessed a renewed research interest in the area of error analysis. I... more The last four decades have witnessed a renewed research interest in the area of error analysis. It has been the focus of attention, and subject of debate, among scholars of applied linguistics, particularly those of second-language acquisition. Applied linguists have dealt with the subject very seriously. These scholars hold the unanimous view that errors are an integral and unavoidable feature of second-language acquisition. The purpose of the present paper is to analyze and classify the persistent errors committed by Saudi Arabian EFL students at King Khalid University in Abha while composing a variety of written texts in English. In the investigation an effort has been made to uncover the causes and sources of various errors of usage at different linguistic levels, viz.-a-viz., grammar, morphology, syntax, lexico-semantics, spelling etc. The study aims at investigating the frequency of production of these errors of usage, expressing the findings as percentage, mean and standard deviation, across the different levels of learning (levels 1 to 4) under investigation.

SOCIOLINGUISTIC PERSPECTIVES OF THE LANGUAGE CONTACT SITUATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMMON LEXICON IN KASHMIRI-URDU

Arabic a language of the Semitic family of languages, Persian a member of the Indo-Iranian group ... more Arabic a language of the Semitic family of languages, Persian a member of the Indo-Iranian group of languages; and Kashmiri and Urdu, members of the Indo-Aryan family of languages are the most significant contact languages in the linguistically heterogeneous setting of the Kashmiri speech community. Existing side-by-side, these languages serve different sociolinguistic purposes and are assigned different roles. The linguistic amalgamation of these languages has resulted in the development of a considerable amount of lexicon common to all of them in general, but Kashmiri and Urdu in particular. The present paper explores the range of the Kashmiri-Urdu common lexicon. It also examines the extent to which Arabic and Persian have contributed to this shared lexical treasure.Finally,an exhaustive list of Kashmiri-Urdu lexical items used in various social domains of Kashmiri speakers (religion, administration,medicine,education,language and literature, law, and every day conversation) is presented and analyzed.

Code-switching and Code-mixing in Kashmiri: A linguistic overview

Cod-switching and code-mixing has emerged out to be a very dominant feature of a language contact... more Cod-switching and code-mixing has emerged out to be a very dominant feature of a language contact situation. This phenomenon is found to occur in a language contact situation whereby more than one language plays a significant role in the speech of an individual or their group. The present paper takes into account as to how the speakers of the Kashmiri speech community cross their linguistic boundary and switch over from their mother tongue to and incorporate linguistic items from Urdu and English (two dominant and significant contact languages of Kashmiri) The paper begins with a brief introduction about the phenomenon of code-switching and code-mixing. It also presents some definitions of the term code-switching and related concepts, viz-a-viz., code-mixing, language borrowing, bilingualism, diaglossia etc. The paper reviews a considerable portion of literature on linguistic alternation in terms of " code-switching and code-mixing ". An overview of the research methodology adopted in carrying out this study has also been documented. In the present paper an effort has made to prepare, present and analyze an exhaustive list of Kashmiri-Urdu and Kashmiri-English linguistic items and expressions used in the process of exchange and alternation among these languages that makes possible to arrive at the desired results.

Cross-cultural Communication and subsequent Diffusion of Loanwords: A case of Arabic-Kashmiri Linguistic Borrowing

Linguistic amalgamation and subsequent diffusion of loanwords is a direct outcome of language con... more Linguistic amalgamation and subsequent diffusion of loanwords is a direct outcome of language contact situation in an atmosphere of intercultural contact and cross-cultural communication. The present paper begins with a brief introduction of linguistic borrowing and reviews a considerable portion of related literature. The main focus of the work is to explore the extent of flow and transport of loanwords (including nouns, adjectives, and adverbs), compound words, full expressions of Arabic origin, and concepts related to Islamic theology into Kashmiri language. In the paper an attempt has been made to throw light on the main driving force behind this Arabic-Kashmiri linguistic transfer and impact of various factors on Arabic-Kashmiri linguistic borrowing. The paper also takes into account the generosity and cooperation of Arabic language in donating such an enormous amount of lexical stock to Kashmiri language, and hospitability of the Kashmiri language in terms of receptivity, acceptability and adaptability of this vocabulary stock from Arabic at a very large scale. An effort has been made to prepare, present and analyze an exhaustive list of Arabic loanwords used in various domains of social activity of Kashmiri speakers such as: religion, administration, art and learning, medicine, education, literature, legal law, and the domain of daily conversation.

A Sociolinguistic Investigation of Social Stratification and Linguistic Variation among the Kashmiri Speech Community

—This paper is restricted to the investigation of linguistic variation among the Kashmiri speaker... more —This paper is restricted to the investigation of linguistic variation among the Kashmiri speakers at the level of phonology and lexicon of their language in accordance with certain social variables, viz-a-viz. religion, education, region / socioeconomic status, age and occupation. In the present paper, an effort has been devoted to examine as to how the structure of the Kashmiri language varies at the level of phonology and lexicon, in accordance with above mentioned social variables. It also takes into account the possible reasons behind this variation. The present paper explores as to how the social heterogeneity of the Kashmiri speech community is reflected in the linguistic behavior of its speakers, and gives rise to variations in the use of their language at the level of phonology and lexicon. The paper begins with giving a brief introduction about language variation, social variables, and linguistic variables. It also discusses the historical perspective of language variation, and throws light on the related literature by discussing some important studies of variation carried out by different scholars of linguistics from time to time. In this study an attempt has been made to picturize the social structure of the Kashmiri speech community in terms of its social stratification/ and social heterogeneity. The paper also discusses the research methodology adopted in carrying out this study.