Cross-Linguistic Similarities in Sentence Structure between Urdu and English: A Universal Grammar Approach to Selected Pakistani Newspaper Articles
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Date
2026
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND APPLIED LINGUISTICS UNIVERSITY OF PESHAWAR
Abstract
This research study explores the cross-linguistic similarities in sentence structure between Urdu and English. The main aim is to discover the sentence structure similarities of Urdu and English. The second aim is to look into the way in which these similarities are backing up the theory of Universal Grammar. The research uses the qualitative method to reveal the language patterns and structures. The theory of Universal Grammar by Chomsky is the base on which the theoretical framework is built. The data collection is done by the way of choosing and examining sentences from two newspaper articles, one in Urdu and another in English. Sentences are selected at random to eliminate the bias and then they are divided into three types, simple, compound and complex. Data analysis is the process of comparing the grammatical elements in each sentence, that is subject, verb and object. The study is after the commonalities and regular patterns in sentence structures of two languages. The main results can be seen that in both languages the declarative sentences are the most usual. Both of them have the same style in their sentence building, for instance they both start with an introductory phrase. The resemblance of these languages is the evidence which proves that all human languages have a common structure, Universal Grammar. The data on these general patterns can be the foundation for language teaching methods .