Graffiti, Public Art, and the metro-lingual City: A Semiotic Analysis of Urban Street Texts in Pakistan

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the meaning-making processes of graffiti in large Pakistani cities based on semiotic resources and metro-lingual mixing. It aims to discuss how multilingual texts on the streets can be used to determine identity, resistance, and urban belonging. The data is comprised of field photographs of graffiti gathered in January-April 2024 in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi. The research is a qualitative and multi-modal research study because it uses semiotic analysis, linguistic landscape, and metro-lingual theory to study the use of scripts, colour symbolism, typography, spatial arrangement, and language mixing. The results show graffiti is a social tool within the streets, which is influenced by the hybrid nature, improvisation, and multilingual creativity. Urdu, English, Roman Urdu, and local languages have fluid mixtures, which are socially constructed metro-lingual practices. The tactic of semiotic materials such as colour, iconography and spatial location is used to express political dissent, civic frustration, assertions of identity and collective memory. The discussion also shows that graffiti provides the marginalized groups with a symbolic presence in the city.