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    Abstract The present study explores the stylistic linguistic differences in short stories, written for children and adults, published in Pakistani English magazines on the second dimension of Biber’s (1988) study. The second textual dimension deals with narrative and non-narrative linguistic features showing the narrativeness in fictional texts. The purpose of this study is to explore the different linguistic choices made by the short story writers writing stories for children and adults. It is the norm that the data of short stories published for children is shorter than the stories published for adults and due to the space availability certain linguistic choices may vary for both short stories writers. Furthermore, the study also identifies the stylistic linguistic variability among male and female short story writers. A corpus-based methodology has been used by applying MAT (Multidimensional Analysis Tagger) which is a replica of Biber’s (1988) tagger generally applied for studies on text types and genre variation. The corpus consists of 300 short stories, 150 each for children and adults, published in Pakistani English magazines during 2014-2017. The findings of the study reveal that short stories written for children are more narrative than that of adults showing high narrative discourse. Comparison of male and female short story writers show that male short story writers use high frequency of narrative features than female writers. Keywords: Short stories for children and adults, linguistic variation, Popular Pakistani English magazines, Multidimensional Analysis

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    Maha Latif, Dr. Sajid Ali & Dr. Aleem Shakir

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    Abstract This paper examines the misogynistic and patriarchal construction of Freidan’s concept of the ‘feminine mystique’ in Pakistani context. It critically evaluates the language of social media users which creates a dichotomy between the representation of women as angels or monsters. We conducted feminist critical discourse analysis of two events that took the social media by storm in 2020. The first controversy pertains to Uzma Khan, an actor who was abused for having an affair with a married man by his very affluent wife; the second is that of Sadaf Kanwal, an actor/model who came under intense scrutiny when she tied the knot with Shehroz Sabzwari, a recently-divorced actor. Our focus is on the symbolic violence and the character assassination which are the results of derogatory terms and labels given to the women. We illustrate that such symbolic representations about women who conform to the social norms construct them as homemakers and the ones who digress as home-breakers thus creating a clear bifurcation between women by labelling them as good or bad women. Key Words: Home wreckers, homemakers, feminist critical discourse analysis, Pakistani social media

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    Syeda Fatimah Farooq Fariah Farooq Khan & Shirin Zubair

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    Abstract The paper analyses the revolutionary discourse masked by romanticism in Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Walt Whitman’s poetry in the light of the socio-cognitive approach of Teun. A. van Dijk. By using the approach, this paper explores the choice of lexemes and selective pronouns in poets’ work to investigate whether their poetry was an upsurge of powerful emotions or consciously constructed by manipulating socio-cultural awareness of readership to accelerate the process of change in respective societies. It is observed that the selective pronouns “I” in Whitman’s and “we” in Faiz’s work evoke the holistic concept of democracy, rather than creating polarizations, eliminate it and invite readers to participate and respond. The lexemes in Whitman’s poetry are celebratory to propagate the collective American idiom; the word choice in Faiz’s poetry poses a protest for the democratic state. Nonetheless, both poets are socio-cognitively involved in revoking shared knowledge through lexemes and selective pronouns. Keywords: Revolutionary Discourse, Socio-cognitive Analysis, Pronouns, Lexemes

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    Areej Farooq & Meesum Alam

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    Abstract The main purpose of this study was to investigate or inquire the external factors affecting the process of English Language Acquisition (ELA) that is second language in regards to Pakistani context. For analysis purpose, quantitative approach was applied and data was collected from 40 learners of intermediate in context of Pakistan by administrating the proposed questionnaire and the writing test of the same learners. The questionnaire inculcated 10 items about socio-economic external factors to be investigated and discussed while the writing test included the item types guided by the Punjab Textbook Board. The collected data was analyzed and presented statistically with the help of Microsoft Excel and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings of this study reported significant effect of the said external factors, moreover correlation between questionnaire and the marks of the written test discussed variation between positive or negative and more or less impact of the said factors: Mostly social and economic factors have negative impact on Second Language Acquisition (SLA). Keywords: external factors, second language acquisition, English language acquisition, Punjab textbook

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    Dawood Hassan , Dawood Khalid & Ali Raza Siddique

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    Abstract The focus of the research study is to analyze the concept of existentialism in Shafak’s The Forty Rules of Love (2009), for in this piece of literature the characters are found in search of meaning of life. This research aims at unveiling the search of meaning in one’s life and applies Existentialism to elucidate the burden of hardships and sense of betrayal in a person’s life. It also deals with the plight of modern man in Kierkegaard’s existential perspective as it is suitable for achieving the proposed research objectives. It also highlights the lives of the people who face existential angst in their lives. This novel shows Kierkegaard’s conception of leap of faith as it enables the characters of the novel to find meaning in their lives. This research concludes that the characters stuffer from existential angst but as long they do not take some decisions by making some choices and taking a leap of faith, they are unable to add essence in their lives and understand true meaning of their existence. This self-recognition not only helps them to find meaning in their lives but also happiness which it results in. Keywords: Existentialism, Leap of faith, Meaninglessness, Mystery, Existential Angst

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    Fatima Hafeez & Dr. Shahid Abbas

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    Abstract This research study has been conducted to study the phonological deviations made by native Punjabi speakers while speaking English. Specifically, this study is concerned with the articulation of consonant clusters on the onset position in a syllable. Contrastive Analysis Approach has been applied for this research study in which the phonology of Punjabi and English languages has been compared to find the root of the error. The sample of the study consists of 20 undergraduate native Punjabi participants of Sargodha by using a mixed sampling technique. 10 participants from 2 colleges had been taken from each college by using purposive sampling technique to ensure that they were native speakers of Punjabi. English Sounds Pronunciation Passage (ESPP) given by Akinsola and Olaosebikan (2019) has been used in the study to answer the research questions. The findings of the study show that the female undergraduate native Punjabi speakers of Punjabi language do commit errors when they articulate consonant cluster on onset position in a syllable under the influence of the native language of the speakers (Punjabi). Keywords: native language, purposive sampling technique, ESPP, Contrastive Analysis Approach

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    Zeeshan Haider , Wadhi Shahpur , Mahnoor Khalid

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    Abstract The advancements in the field of technology have led to a shift in the learning techniques of students and the different formats of electronic books are accommodating traditional printed books. This study investigates how the new paradigm of e-learning is assisting university students through the use of smart gadgets such as mobile phones, tablets, and laptops. The reading preferences of 62 undergraduate students were examined based on the compatibility and ease of using either e-books or printed books for their academic purposes. The data were analyzed in light of the Attributes of Diffusion of Innovations Theory by E. M. Rogers (1962). The results of the study show that due to more advantages, compatibility, observability, and no issues regarding trialability and complexity, students prefer printed books over electronic ones. Keywords: E-learning, electronic books, traditional books, printed books, observability, complexity, compatibility

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    Faiqa Akram , Hafza Riaz , Dr. Azhar Pervaiz

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    Abstract This paper explores the dynamics of poetry to reveal how poets of the Saraiki language invest cultural and historical metaphors in the process of rewriting the history of the Saraiki Region. This phenomenon of exploration takes Socio-cognitive discourse studies as a framework of analysis while choosing Saraiki poetry as a matrix of examination. The poetic symbols serve as a guide and allow us to observe how cultural traditions are enriched with history. This quality directs us to travel back into the past to see the antiquity of the region. The paper concludes with the idea that the aesthetic form of poetry contains broader implications. It identifies that the poets of indigenous languages are consciously rewriting the history of the Saraiki region. Keywords: Dynamics of poetry, Saraiki Region, Poetic symbols, Cultural traditions, Indigenous languages

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    Dr. Saeed Nasir & Dr. Saiqa Imtiaz Asif

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    This paper explores the function of linguistic choices in literary text “Homeboy” (2010) that express the underlying ideology and point of view of the writer H.M. Naqvi. Halliday’s model of transitivity: a lexico-grammatical theory (Halliday, 1985) has been employed for investigation and analysis of these linguistic choices in this literary piece of art. This analysis has proved that patterns of linguistic choices that are used inside and across the texts build the ideological foundation of this selected text under investigation. The model of transitivity (Halliday, 1985) which demonstrates the participants, processes and circumstances with cline of dynamism as 6- band scale (Thompson, 2009) helps the researcher to find the ideologies behind the linguistic choices. Thompson’s (2009) Transitivity ‘Concordance’ or the tabulation of all the participants for the purpose of analysis with reference to the cline of dynamism has been incorporated in the analysis of this research work. The data is taken from the literary text-book Homeboy (2010) that is based on the theme of phobia prevalent in Muslim’s mind. The Pakistani writer assigned lesser transitivity roles but more dynamic roles to the Americans, while the more transitivity roles and lesser dynamic roles are assigned to the Muslims, the crux of the findings. It gives the ideology that Americans are the most influential and strong population in the American surrounding, while Muslims is the affected in America. Key words: Systemic Functional Linguistics; Ideology; Transitivity; Concordances; Cline of Dynamism

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    Authors

    Huma Nayyar

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    Within diasporic studies, the temporal magnitude has remained subaltern, together with the essence of spatial dissemination; mirroring female characters specifically. This paper is aimed at speculating the inescapable nexus of time and space in the fabrication and refabrication of feminist diasporic apprehension in Lahiri’s title story “Unaccustomed Earth” and the subsequent story “Hell-Heaven”. Delineating on, Chronotope (Bakhtin, 1937), particularly in Diaspora literature (Clifford, 1994), the study unfolds, in the selected data, the ideology of ‘diaspora antecedents’ as prognosticated on elimination, not merely from a specific spatial position and temporal juncture but also in addition to the time and space-specific social activity by which a society conceptualizes its terrains and positions itself within them. Governing through the discourses of displacement of the rendered locality, employing the methodology of descriptive text analysis the evaluation demonstrates that the writer creates substituting archives, utilizing the Postcolonial Feministic lens (Ashcroft, 1989). The findings suggest that the intriguing intricacies of Lahiri’s diasporic discourses, examined by analyzing lexical stretches, elucidated that the text construes the sociocultural diasporic identity. The findings also provide insightful incarnations for chronotopicality based on qualitative analysis by contributing explorations of gynocentric identity (Showalter, 1986). And, ultimately, it is deduced that the text is mirroring the social and cultural aspects of life, which deal with the position of diasporic women in a Neo-colonial timeframe. Keywords: Feminism, diaspora, chronotope, Colonialism, fiction, Bakhtin, identity, Neo-colonial

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    Aqsa Arshad & Asifa Qasim

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  • Abstract

    A language is a tool of expression that can be biasedly exploited explicitly or implicitly by different ideological groups to exercise power relations. Critical discourse analysis serves to analyze opaque as well as transparent structural relationships concerning dominance, discrimination, power, and control exhibited in the language (Fairclough, 1993). This paper aims to critically analyze the sexist remarks passed by 12 different Pakistani politicians belonging to three political parties (Pakistan Tehrik e Insaaf, Pakistan Muslim League N, Pakistan People’s Party). The data comprise of sexist remarks passed on women of opposing political parties by political leaders published on e-news sites including Express Tribune, Dawn News, Pakistan Today, Geo TV site, NayaDaur, and other social media including Twitter and YouTube. A mixed model of Van Dijk's (2004) socio-cognitive approach and Mill's (2008) overt and covert sexism theory is applied to analyze the excerpts taken from different sources. The results reveal that Pakistani politicians see sexism as their primary tool to hit their opponent using humor, collocations, semantic derogation, presupposition, metaphor usage, entitlement, negative evaluation, severe judgments, personal attacks, and public harassment, public defaming as major techniques. However, it is also found that not all women oppose sexist attitudes. This research is of great significance for now-active-feminists in Pakistan to get a realistic estimate of prevalent sexist attitudes among Pakistani politicians which helps them to get shaped up for the range of challenges regarding present and future time. This would also help them to know how far they have succeeded, and what is still left to cover as their goals in Pakistani society. Keywords: Sexist discourse, Pakistani political leaders, Socio-Cognitive model, Overt and Covert Sexism Theory

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    Authors

    Rabieah Tahir

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  • Abstract

    The present research will be a study of FaiqaMansab’s This House of Clay and Water through the lens of Feminism. The conceptual framework of this qualitative research will be based on Pakistani Feminism, which is derived from Third World Feminism and Islamic Feminism. The key issues of this study will include an in-detail analysis of the manipulation of religion by Pakistani men to oppress women which is the cause of the major areas of struggle for most women here, including domestic violence, honor killing, and the pain Pakistani women have to endure in order to locate their identities outside of their familial relationships. The research will represent, through the characters of the selected book, the fact that the road to salvation is paved with pain and sufferings but the light at the end keeps the women motivated and consistent. The research will further explore how feminism helps provide emancipation to oppressed women through the characters of the selected book. The study of the novel depicting marginalization of women belonging to different social classes in Pakistan will help us comprehend ways in which women suffer patriarchal oppression in Pakistan and how religion is used more as a weapon, a tool for domination instead of a path of faith. Keywords: Religious manipulation, gender oppression, feminism, marginalization, patriarchal oppression, emancipa

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    Sidra Shahid

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  • Abstract

    The study aims at exploring the differences in the English translation of Urdu short stories selected from “The House of Loneliness” by Zahida Hina in 2017. Munday (2012) argues that in translation, the source text is reworked and rearranged causing change in the evaluative meanings of the text (Alsina, Espunya&Naro, 2017). The paper builds on the appraisal framework (Martin & White, 2005) of discourse analysis developed within systemic functional linguistics (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2014) with a focus on appraisal domains of Attitude, Engagement and Graduation. The study finds the answer of the main research questions regarding the distribution of appraisal resources which vary across the source text and its translations and three subsidiary questions. The first one is regarding exploration of evaluative meanings in the source text. The second one focuses on the investigation of the evaluative meanings in the translated text and the third one explores which appraisal resource produces maximum nuances. The data comprises of short story originally written by ZahidaHina named as ‘Kumkum is Fine’. It is translated by Yousuf Shahid namely ‘کم کم بہت آرام سے ہے’. For comparison of both texts (i.e in Urdu and in English), the data was tagged manually. The results of the study have shown that the translated text lacks the evaluated values which the source text (Urdu) has. Also, Graduation (subdomain of Appraisal) went under maximum nuances explored in the study. The present study can be considered pioneer as there isn’t sufficient literature available on the application of the Appraisal framework in Urdu language so, it is significant. Keywords: Short story, appraisal, translation, nuances, evaluation.

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    Naima Batool

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    Abstract The present research aims at exploring the phenomenon of code-switching as a marker of identity in three popular Pakistani TV Morning shows. It analyses the tendency of code-switching and the identity of the speakers through the choice of language being used. The research takes Myer-Scotton’s Code-switching within Markedness Model (Myer-Scotton, 1989) as its theoretical framework. The data analyses indicated that code-switching is being used as a marker of Identity in the Morning shows. The participants are indicating their linguistic identities through the unmarked or marked choices of language. The matrix language used in all the shows is Urdu as unmarked choice of language in the Pakistani context, whereas English is the major code-switched language both as unmarked and marked according to the context of the situation. Persian and French usage is also found in the show which is marked choice. Other than these languages Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto are also being used as a marker of regional identity by the speakers. Keywords: Code-switching, Markedness, identity, marked choice, unmarked choice.

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    Authors

    Adeela Iftikhar & Muhammad Awais

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    Abstract This research aims at unveiling the struggle involved in search of individuals’ identity and also highlights the burden of hardships and sense of betrayal in a person’s life. The focus of this learning is to assess Kamila Shamsie’s Home Fire in the bright of Erich Fromm’s (1994) analytical philosophy through which the characters will be analyzed, that how they suffer from identity crisis and how the psychoanalytical conflicts are portrayed through them. Home fire tackles the story of migrated people in a foreign land where they feel alienated. Therefore, the researcher has focused on self decentredness as enunciated by Fromm (1994) and is deciphered in the characters of the novel. The current learning is momentous in highlighting the psychological issues which the people face after migration. The findings of the study elucidate the existence of psychological conflicts hence, these conflicts along with identity crisis prohibit the main characters to live their idealized version of life. The selected novel can also be analyzed from the perspective of trauma and post colonialism. Keywords: Identity, psychological conflicts, decentredness, identity crisis.

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    Authors

    Snober Gull & Rana Sameen