Archives

This research paper investigates light verse features in Muhammad Athar Tahir’s selected poems: “Basant” (The Gift of Possession, 2012, p. 37), “Buffaloes” (Boody Loom, 2006, p. 64), “Bulbul” (The Last Tea, 2015, p. 85) and “Jikka Gali Evening” (The Gift of Possession, 2012, p. 42). These poems are taken from Tahir’s three volumes of poetry: Body Loom (2006), The Gift of Possession (2012)and The Last Tea (2015). The aim of this study is to publicize how some of Tahir’s poems fall into the category of light verse poetry. The writers of light verse have to be more careful and crafted than the poets of high verse as light verse requires precise technical work. In order to study the characteristics of light verse poetry in the selected poems, the researcher utilizes the concepts of W. H. Auden and Kingsley Amis. According to W. H. Auden (1938), light verse poems are written in a plain, straightforward style and in a language close to familiar speech and they should be related to a common experience. Kingsley Amis (1978) takes Auden’s concept a step forward. He includes wit, virtuosity and subversive quality in the features of light verse poetry. In addition to this, Amis (1978) points out that the writers of light verse deploy best words in the best order. The findings of this research study affirm that Tahir’s poems can be rated as light verse poetry. His poetry gives the impression of ease and thus evokes a good-natured smile. Keywords: light verse features, selected poems, virtuosity, impression of ease, good-natured smile.

The Punjabi language is primarily spoken in the Punjabi region of the subcontinent. In Pakistan, the variant spoken is known as Shahmukhi Punjabi, and it is written in the Perso-Arabic script, while in India, it is written in the Gurmukhi script. Punjabi serves as the mother tongue for 38.77% of Pakistan's population. Despite its historical significance, literary wealth, and a large speaker base, Punjabi has not attained the status of a prestigious, digitally advanced language. To address this, our study aimed to develop a Punjabi WordNet and align it with the English WordNet. The analysis process involved collecting a corpus of nine million (9M) words, cleaning and tagging it to extract grammatical categories, and morphologically analyzing vocabulary items to understand word formation patterns, placing them under specific grammatical tags. The morphological analysis was conducted using Distributed Morphology (DM), revealing the patterns of combining derivational and inflectional morphemes with the root. During this research, a variety of software and digital resources were developed. These include a spell checker, a morphological analyzer, a parts of speech (POS) tagger, a semantic tagger, the Punjabi WordNet, and an alignment tool. Keywords: Alignment, English and Punjabi Wordnet, Corpus based study

n both everyday life and political debate metaphors are among the most widely used language domains. The speaker's cognitive activity can be inferred from the cross-domain mapping between the source and target domains. In Imran Khan's political speeches, metaphors are frequently used. This article examines the use of metaphors by Ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is known for being a skilled orator. Successful politicians utilize compelling language, and among other rhetorical devices, they frequently employ highly conventionalized metaphors. This study primarily employed a mixed method approach because both the qualitative and qualitative data were gathered. The information was gathered from political department students at Punjab University and Riphh International. 150 to 200 students from the Political Science departments of Punjab University and Riphh International participated in the study. By using SPSS, a descriptive analysis of the data was performed, and the percentage of each item was then calculated. The findings demonstrate that metaphors are employed to portray the speaker and his political allies in a favorable light while simultaneously portraying the Khan's political adversaries in a negative one. Khan also projects himself to be the father and the rescuer that the general public needs so desperately. Keywords: Imran Khan, political speeches, metaphor, rhetoric, persuasion.

Paraphrasing is an important skill for learners to take part in academic discourse and successful paraphrasing provides solutions to learners of the difficulties they face during the academic writing process (Chen & Liou, 2015). With the advancement of AI paraphrasing tools, learners paraphrase and incorporate that text in their writing without double-checking the validity of the paraphrased text. This article aimed to investigate the differences between students' paraphrases of academic texts and the paraphrases done through different AI tools. Furthermore, this study also explored how corpus can help students evaluate the paraphrases of academic texts. The concurrent mixed methods approach was used. Twenty-five graduate students were selected randomly and five AI tools were chosen purposively. Five passages in English with different levels of complexity were given to the participants to paraphrase. The grammar, coherence, academic vocabulary, and organization of the paraphrases were then assessed through the Independent Samples Test. The triangulation was sought through the corpus-based approach. The independent samples t-test results show statistically significant differences between the three variables except for the academic vocabulary variable. The results of academic vocabulary and grammar variables obtained hrough the corpus website also support the results obtained through the t-test. While AI technologies are less precise and coherent when paraphrasing English texts, there could be a better sense of grammar and academic vocabulary use. As a result, it is advised that students may use AI tools to benefit from the technology, but they need to be the decision-makers for the relevance, accuracy, preciseness and validity of the paraphrases.  Keywords: concurrent, paraphrase, AI tools, t-test, corpus 

This article intends to comprehend the complex relation between gender, intersectionality, and climate vulnerabilities. For this purpose we have chosen the fiction work Thinner than Skin[] by Uzma Aslam Khan. The theoretical framework for conducting this qualitative research has been built by using the underpinnings from Nixon’s Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor[]. The term slow violence stands for delayed destruction that is attritional and incremental in nature because exploitation of the poor people and their ecology results in delayed destruction that spans over time and space. The theory of slow violence underscores intersectionality by defining ‘poor’ as a compendious category that is used for those people who are victims of marginalization on biological, economic, racial, ethnic, religious, or other grounds. There is intersectionality between various systems of oppression that make the existence of the poor vulnerable. Textual exegesis of TTS accentuates that Maryam is marginalised on the basis of gender, ethnicity, religion, and class. There is a whole chain of hegemonic overlords with intersecting interests which worsens the standard of life and even threatens the very existence of Maryam’s family. This family of Steppe herders faces stationary displacement as their vernacular landscape is slowly and gradually turned into official landscape. Hence, they are pitted against climate vulnerabilities owing to incremental and attritional slow violence. The article concludes that poor stratum of the society is more likely to confront climate vulnerabilities because human disposability and ecological disposability are inseparable. The research anticipates to disrupt the conditions of repudiation faced by women who confront climate vulnerabilities due to marginalization on various intersectional grounds. Keywords: intersectionality, slow violence, poor, disposability, climate vulnerability

This study aims to investigate how various factors affect the learning of the English language. Several significant factors that impact student motivation are; parental involvement, classroom factors, English class anxiety, teacher attitude, student interest, teacher feedback, peer-related factors, desire to learn English, and social motivation. The study follows a descriptive research design that utilizes a quantitative questionnaire to gather numerical data. Secondary school students constitute the population. Through simple random sampling, a sample of 300 secondary school students in grades nine and ten was selected. This study adopted a questionnaire comprised of 41 items. The data were analyzed using SPSS through percentage, mean, and standard deviations. Findings show that most participants believe parents' encouragement and peer support are crucial factors in promoting English language proficiency among students. Students in the English class experience a lack of confidence and anxiety and perceive their fluency as inferior to their peers. They value positive teacher-student interactions and prefer teachers who are kind and patient. They emphasized the importance of studying English, which was critical to their future academic pursuits. It was suggested that teachers might design engaging lessons that are relevant, and practical for their students to increase their motivation. Moreover, teachers might also establish a conducive classrooms environment. Key Words: Parental Involvement, language Anxiety, Teacher Attitude, Teacher Feedback, Social Motivation

Newspapers are considered one of the reliable sources for disseminating information worldwide. Therefore, people tend to believe that every national and international event is depicted from an unbiased and neutral stance. However, on careful observation, one can understand that this belief is no longer true. Various political interests shape reality while writing down the news. Based on the idea that newspapers recreate reality according to their ideologies, the present study analyzes two US newspapers, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, to understand how the identities of Russia and Ukraine are constructed in the event of the Russia-Ukraine war in the news editorials. The selection of editorials was based on purposive sampling, and those editorials were selected that discussed the events of the Russia-Ukraine war. Ten news editorials from WP and ten news editorials from WSJ were selected. A mixed-method analysis was employed to achieve the desired objectives of this research. The 3-D Model of Critical Discourse Analysis by Fairclough (1995) was used as a theoretical framework. Corpus analysis and CDA of editorials show that Russia is assigned a negative image in war and is depicted as a brutal country that has destroyed various places in Ukraine and has indiscriminately killed people. On the other hand, Ukraine is presented as a naïve, victimized, and war-ridden country, and its soldiers are shown as brave and persistent in their resolutions who have forced Russian forces to move back into the war, hence presenting a positive image of Ukraine in the war. The implication of this study suggests that the perception of objectivity and neutrality traditionally associated with newspapers might be challenged. Despite being widely considered reliable sources of information, newspapers may not always present events from an unbiased standpoint. Keywords: News Editorials, Corpus Analysis, Critical Discourse Analysis, Russia- Ukraine war, Identity Construction

The occupation of Palestine, which began in 1948, has caused immense suffering for Palestinians, confining them in their own land like captives in an open-air prison. This study employs qualitative and close textual analysis to examine the distress and acute psychological traumas that Palestinian women endure, as reflected in Shibli's (2020) novel Minor Details(Tafṣīl Thānawī), translated by Elizabeth Jaquette. Shibli expertly weaves together the narratives of two Palestinian women differentiated by decades, their pain intermingling throughout the course of the narrative. Caruth's trauma theory (1996) will furnish as a theoretical framework to deftly explore multiple levels of traumatic experiences embedded in the characters' stories. The study's emphasis on Palestinian women's often-overlooked experiences may resonate with South Asian women grappling with cultural pressures and limited agency. This study emphasizes the vital need to amplify female voices by delving into the characters' various points of view. By lending voice to their narratives, we develop an improved awareness of the challenges which women confront and the societal transformations needed to build a more equitable world. Keywords: Oriental Literature, ,Feminism, Gender, Intergenerational Trauma, Palestinian Identity ,PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder)

Paraphrasing is an important skill for learners to take part in academic discourse and successful paraphrasing provides solutions to learners of the difficulties they face during the academic writing process (Chen & Liou, 2015). With the advancement of AI paraphrasing tools, learners paraphrase and incorporate that text in their writing without double-checking the validity of the paraphrased text. This article aimed to investigate the differences between students' paraphrases of academic texts and the paraphrases done through different AI tools. Furthermore, this study also explored how corpus can help students evaluate the paraphrases of academic texts. The concurrent mixed methods approach was used. Twenty-five graduate students were selected randomly and five AI tools were chosen purposively. Five passages in English with different levels of complexity were given to the participants to paraphrase. The grammar, coherence, academic vocabulary, and organization of the paraphrases were then assessed through the Independent Samples Test. The triangulation was sought through the corpus-based approach. The independent samples t-test results show statistically significant differences between the three variables except for the academic vocabulary variable. The results of academic vocabulary and grammar variables obtained through the corpus website also support the results obtained through the t-test. While AI technologies are less precise and coherent when paraphrasing English texts, there could be a better sense of grammar and academic vocabulary use. As a result, it is advised that students may use AI tools to benefit from the technology, but they need to be the decision-makers for the relevance, accuracy, preciseness and validity of the paraphrases.  Keywords: concurrent, paraphrase, AI tools, t-test, corpus 

The Last White Man (2022) by Mohsin Hamid is a narrative which symbolizes the physical and psychological struggles of the White people who turned Brown overnight. The novel's portrayal of this transformation is crucial to its investigation of identity, race, and trauma. The research aims to highlight the utility and kinds of frequently used adjectives incorporated by Mohsin Hamid in construction of plot and presentation of significant themes of the novel. The study is based on sequential explanatory mixed methods (Creswell, 2013) to highlight the use of adjectives on lexical level, through corpus tools; AntConc (4.1.4) and CLAWS POS7 tagger and by incorporating the Leech and Short model (1981). Furthermore, the analysis reveals that Mohsin Hamid used attributive and predictive adjectives in abundance to express and visualize the challenges faced by the characters of this novel. Moreover, the research concludes that the adjectives are significantly utilized to enhance the thematic depth of the novel and reflect the physical and psychological dimensions of the characters’ transformation. The study outlines the significance of corpus tools in literary stylistic analysis providing a corpus driven approach to understanding linguistic choices that shape literary narrative. It will help the students, and scholars to understand the new horizons of incorporating corpus approaches to stylistic analysis. Keywords: Corpus stylistics, literary stylistics, adjectives, lexical choices, the last white man

This research takes into account Julian Barnes’s The Sense of an Ending in which the protagonist attempts to make sense of his life. Corresponding to his very endeavor of making sense, this research sets to hunt for the ‘real’. Protagonist’s insights about himself and his friends are therefore put under inquisition. The study sets to search for the answer that whether the protagonist is depicting the real picture of himself and of his friends, for he is observed to be engaged in dismantling his former self, negating his earlier stance and is involved in disowning his past acts. It is being in his very state of making sense of life, in still confronting his former self, contradicting what really was real that the study seeks for the validity of his depiction of others too. The research adopts Jean Baudrillard’s concept of Hyperreality as its methodology and employs his idea of Simulacrum to trail whether the act of recounting is really a self-delusion of those who are defeated for there is an other character in the narrative undertaken, involved in unfolding the events from the past, who exhibits other side of the story. Key Words: Baudrillardian, Real, Simulacrum, Hyperreality