The Exocentric Compounds and Metaphorical Extensions in the Baluchi Language

This study analyzes the metaphorical interpretations of the exocentric compounds in Baluchi language; a specific focus is laid on the Makrani dialect spoken along the coastal regions of Makran district. Baluchi is a non-standardized language from the northwestern Iranian language branch – spoken by around 8-10 million people across Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and diaspora community in the Gulf. Baluchi language has diverse dialectical distribution; Makrani dialect is distinctive because of the environmental influence and contact with other languages i.e. Sindhi, Urdu, etc. and is also underrepresented. This study focuses on the exocentric compounds, their linguistic structure and semantic characteristics. This study adopts a descriptive and qualitative approach to analyze culturally and socially embedded phenomena, focusing on textual data collected through textbooks, magazines, social media posts and dictionary sources. The findings within the theoretical model underscore that Baluchi compounding represents cognitive and cultural patterns and practices of the nation.