THE fundamental role of the media is to inform, educate and entertain its readers and viewers in simple and decent language. Unfortunately, Pakistani media appears to have miserably failed to fulfil its basic responsibilities, and, as a consequence, the use of indecent words on the streets has become a common practice in the country.

The advent of television in Pakistan in the mid-1960s, alongside entertainment and information, greatly helped viewers in improving spoken language along with correct pronunciation. Television anchors, like Quresh Pur, Obaidullah Baig, Iftikhar Arif, Zia Mohyeddin, Mehtab Rashidi and many others, were always conscious of their choice of words and correct pr- onunciation. However, with the arrival of countless TV channels in the country, the style of presentations has completely changed in talk shows, and we find fre- quent use of uncivilised words.

I remember during our childhood days, we used to get punished for using the word ‘yaar’ (friend). Today, this uncivilised word is frequently spoken in Urdu plays, talk shows, advertisements and award shows.

Besides, the style and pronunciation of newscasters is horrible. I wish I could present a few more examples of words and sentence structures being used these days, but they are way too horrible to be reproduced here.

Private TV channels should improve the standard of Urdu, and focus on using proper, decent words pronounced correctly.

Aamir Aqil
Lahore

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2024