TERMINOLOGY FOR ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE PAKISTANI LANGUAGES

Abstract

This article focuses on the local terminology for archaeology in Pakistan. Archaeology has been practiced and taught in this part of the world since the British rule in the subcontinent. Throughout its history natives have worked side by side with foreign archaeologists in the field and also in the popularization of archaeological information. Native archaeologists and scholars have been involved in the process of transmission of archaeological knowledge to the local people. They not only translated archaeological publications into local languages but also reinterpreted archaeology and produced works in the Indo-Pakistani vernaculars. Especially in Pakistan, their works are available in the form of poetry, articles, books, and so on. Apart from this, the Pakistani archaeological departments have also contributed to the translation, and transmission of archaeology and heritage in the country by installing bilingual (English-Urdu and English-Sindhi) signboards at heritage sites and also through publications in the Pakistani languages. These publications and signboards offer important information about the current state of archaeological knowledge in Pakistan. The main objective of this study is to prepare an account of terms used for archaeology in different languages of Pakistan so as to understand how it has been translated, interpreted, and represented in the country. In this article, the author has outlined the local terms used for archaeology in the Pakistani languages to highlight the definition and meaning of archaeology in Pakistan.