University of Chitral Journal of Linguistics and Literature
Established in 2017, the University of Chitral Journal of Linguistics and Literature (JLL) is an open-access, peer-reviewed, and internationally indexed scholarly journal published biannually by the Department of English Language and Literature, University of Chitral. Dedicated to promoting excellence in research, the journal provides a rigorous platform for the publication and dissemination of original scholarly work in linguistics, literature, language studies, and related interdisciplinary fields, fostering academic dialogue among researchers at both national and international levels. The scope of UCJLL encompasses a wide range of topics, including, but not limited to: Theoretical and applied linguistics Sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and language acquisition Discourse analysis and stylistics Comparative and world literature Literary theory and criticism Language teaching and pedagogy Indigenous and regional languages and literatures Interdisciplinary studies linking language, literature, and culture Publisher: Department of English, University of Chitral, Pakistan Establishment & Frequency: Founded 2017; issued biannually ISSN: Print 2617‑3611; Online 2663‑1512 Language: English Mode of Publication: Fully online open-access; articles preserved via PKP and archived openly 2025 h-index: 13 2025 i10-index: 20 Peer Review: Peer-reviewed, open to international scholars Licensing & Fees: CC BY license; article processing charge Indexing & Archiving: DOAJ, EBSCO, MLA International Bibliography, JOURNAL ASIAN INDEXING, LETPUB, MODERN SCIENCE ARCHIVE, RESEARCHGATE, ACADEMIA. EDU, GOOGLE SCHOLAR, JOURNALSEARCHES, ADVANCED SCIENCE INDEX, SCIENCEGATE, SCISPACE, SCILIT , ZENODO, GitHub, FATCAT, Crossref, ROAD, OpenAlex, SUDOC, The Keepers, Digital preservation via Public Knowledge Project’s PLN (2017–2024)
Department of English, University of Chitral
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Mechanisms of Patriarchal Control in Sufia Humayun's A Text Divorce
This paper examines Sufia Humayun's short story A Text Divorce, published in the anthology Shattered Echoes, through the theoretical framework of Kate Millett's Sexual Politics (1970). The study focuses on six thematic notions drawn from Millett's (1970) theory of patriarchy: patriarchy as a system of control disguised as love and protection, the internalization of male authority, surveillance and the loss of female autonomy, female obedience as a cultural expectation, psychological manipulation and emotional dependence, and divorce as a patriarchal instrument of power. The current study adopts a qualitative interpretative research design and uses Braun and Clarke (2006) thematic analysis to analyze the textual data. The story centers on Saira, a Pakistani woman who separates from her controlling husband, Nomi, only to receive a text message bearing a single word: "divorce." By reading the narrative against Millett's (1970) framework, this paper argues that the story dramatizes patriarchal domination not through physical force but through socialization, surveillance, emotional conditioning, and the legal privilege embedded in divorce. The analysis reveals how Humayun uses the ordinary texture of Pakistani domestic life to expose the extraordinary violence that patriarchy can commit through silence, surveillance, and a single text message.
Copyright (c) 2026 Abid Ali Khan, Khezra Bashir, Shaista Malik (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Seeing Beyond Stereotypes: Symbolic Representations of Pakistan in Travel Vlogs
In the current digital world, travel vlogs play a significant role in shaping perceptions and images of tourist destinations. With the emerging trend of using social media for communication and influencing viewers, travel vloggers shape viewers’ perception and their travel choices. Researchers have conducted narrative and content analyses to study their effect and role in tourism; however, the use of multimodal features for meaning-making and the symbolic representation of tourist destinations needs to be explored, particularly in the Pakistani context. This study employs the Visual Grammar framework (2006) by Kress and van Leeuwen to examine how meanings are constructed symbolically in travel vlogs about Pakistan. The study examines the top ten travel vlogs, based on their view count on YouTube, to study how symbolic processes, symbolic attributive, and symbolic suggestive portray different facets of Pakistan’s beauty, culture, and values. Ten frames from the selected travel vlogs, representing the recurrent themes of hospitality, natural beauty, cultural identity, and calmness, were analysed. The study reveals that the travel vloggers thoughtfully use visual features such as colour choices, lighting, framing, and gestures to construct a persuasive symbolic narrative. These narratives of the travel vlogs frequently challenge the predominant stereotypes and portray Pakistan as a highly hospitable, culturally rich, and visually appealing peaceful tourism destination. This research presents a significant understanding of the use of visuals in tourism discourse, underscoring how meanings are made symbolically in the portrayal of countries and travel destinations.
Copyright (c) 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Discourse of People’s Choice in Pakistan’s Politics and the Rise of ANP inKhyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2008-2013
This study examines the rise of nationalist politics by analyzing the electoral victory of ANP in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) 2008-2013. It explores the political transformation in the 2008 general elections that witnessed a shift in people’s political preferences from the religious alliance MMA to the liberal-nationalist platform of ANP. Using a qualitative and historical approach, the study analyzes party manifestos, ECP electoral results, official reports, and secondary sources to explain the changing electoral behaviors of the people of KP. The findings suggest that anti-incumbency, growing militancy, insecurity, and socio-economic challenges fortified electorates to support ANP’s program of peace, Pashtun identity, provincial autonomy, democratic governance, and development. It further argues that electoral fragmentation, the First Past the Post (FPTP) electoral system, and issue-based campaign strengthened the ANP’s electoral position in the province. Although the ANP-PPPP coalition government achieved significant constitutional and social reforms such as support for the 18th amendment and renaming the NWFP province as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, its performance was constrained by militancy, limited resources, and political instability. The study concludes that the 2008 electoral shift in KP was characterized by rational choice and issue-based voting.
Copyright (c) 2026 Muhammad Javed akhtar, Bibi Kalsoom Kalsoom (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Mimicry, Resistance, and the Trickster Archetype: A Jungian Reading of Balram Halwai in The White Tiger
This paper reads the character of Balram Halwai in Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger from a Jungian point of view. We focus on the Trickster Archetype and Bhabha’s theory of mimicry to investigate how Balram subverts the colonial heritage and the unfair social arrangements of postcolonial India by assuming and maneuvering the very systems that have oppressed him. The Trickster Archetype, as described by Carl Jung, is used to examine Balram’s defiant acts, which break the social standards and enable him to navigate through, and tamper with, the intricacies of control and resistance. By using a combination of Jungian psychology and Bhabha’s mimicry, our paper aims to expose the psychological and social undercurrents that allow Balram to undermine authority, especially through his calculated use of mimicry to reach his personal liberation. Our study aims to supplement and enhance the awareness of how colonial and postcolonial subjects resort to both resistance and adaptation as strategies for survival. By reassessing Balram’s odd and challenging journey through these postcolonial and psychological frameworks, our paper highlights the complex nature of resistance, stressing the connection and chemistry between identity, power, and subversion in a world still governed by postcolonial legacies.
Copyright (c) 2026 Muhammad Yousaf Khan, PhD (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Exploring Assessment Practices in Higher Education: A Legitimation Code Theory Perspective
The aspect of advanced education that has received less attention is the academic discourse of examiners, particularly the assessment reports of PhD theses, leading to a lack of understanding of the evaluation process for novice researchers. This study examines the assessment practices of PhD examiners as reflected in doctoral assessment reports within the context of Pakistani higher education. 50 assessment reports were purposively collected from the English department of a Pakistani university (2022 and 2024) for qualitative discourse analysis. Drawing on Karl Maton's Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) (2014), the dimensions of 'specialisation' and 'semantics' were employed to analyse these reports. The analysis revealed that the knowledge code is predominant, as examiners valued high-level theoretical engagement, methodological rigour and scholarly stance, legitimising abstract concepts and contextual understanding, which underscores disciplinary expertise. These findings offer insights into the knowledge of doctoral assessment practices in Pakistan and promote more contextually grounded and inclusive approaches to doctoral evaluation. The study demonstrates how LCT can serve as an analytical framework for examining educational discourse in higher education assessment.
: higher education, legitimation code theory, assessment reports, specialisation, semantics
Copyright (c) 2026 Fouzia Goreja, Prof. Dr. Wasima shehzad (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Reimagining Archetypal Feminist Patterns in Bolu Babalola’s Love in Colour
Traditional mythical narratives emphasise archetypal beliefs about women, particularly as it relates to beauty, and other character traits. These beliefs have been generated from the Greeko-Roman ideas of the goddesses, which have informed various early female narratives and general societal beliefs about women also in African literature. However, recent narrations have been expanded on retelling these stories from the African purview. Therefore, this paper aimed to examine how African writers have recreated archetypal feminist patterns from universal mythical figures in contemporary narratives. To achieve this the archetypal criticism of Jung and Bolen was adopted in a descriptive analysis of selected stories from Bolu Babalola’s Love in Colour: Mythical Tales from around the World Retold. The analysis of ‘Naleli’, ‘Nefertiti’, ‘Osun’ and ‘Siya’ revealed that Babalola’s narratives have transformed culturally known goddesses into contemporary feminist images to retell their stories from a relatable perspective. In addition, Babalola’s work challenges patriarchal archetypal notions of femininity imbued with weakness and vulnerability by making them symbols of power and strength. The stories emphasise Babalola’s philosophy that the woman reflects the “beauty and beast phenomenon which affirms the diversity of the female gender. The paper concludes that western archetypal abstractions limit the evaluation and interpretation of African archetypal myths, thus, works on such feminine mythical tendencies should reflect the African cultural specificities by adopting tenets, which encompass the ideological purview of the Africans.
Femininity,Goddess Archetype,Decolonial, Babalola African literature
Copyright (c) 2025 Sarat Salihu-Abdulakeem, Bamitale Janet Balogun, Khadijat Sanusi (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Identity Negotiation in Street Musical Performances of Kemi Special: A Sociostylistic Perspective
Identity construction and negotiation are central to most discussions surrounding the feminist ideology. Scholars, literary critics, and professionals across diverse areas of human callings have, over the years, contributed to this discussion to bridge the gender gap. Despite the existence of a myriad of dialogues on feminism, the gaps in culturally defined roles and expectations of males and females within the African context still prevail. Therefore, identity negotiation is still an order of the day. This paper examines how Kemi Special negotiates feminist identity in her musical performances on the street through the lenses of sociolinguistics and stylistics. The data for this study, constituting purposively selected songs from musical performances of Kemi Special, were analysed using Tajfel & Turner’s Social Identity Theory (SIT). Also, stylistic features that are inherent in the songs are analysed. The study found that the music artiste deploys sociostylistic features constituting specific word classes, street jargons, neologisms, declaratives, analogy, and eulogy. Through the deployment of the sociostylistic features, Kemi identifies with the strengths of womanhood. She portrays these strengths as the drivers of female socio-economic and political existence amidst adversaries.
Sociolinguistics, Stylistics, Social Identity, Feminist Ideology
Copyright (c) 2025 Sarat Salihu-Abdulakeem, Janet Bamitale Balogun, Mariam Titilope Olugbodi (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Ecological Discourses in KPK School Textbooks: An Ecolinguistic Analysis of English and Science Texts at Grades 8, 9, and 10 Applying Stibbe’s Framework
This paper focuses on the language and graphical representation of the environmental problems and nature in English and Science textbooks of Grades 8, 9, and 10 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pakistan. By applying the ecolinguistic framework by Stibbe (2015), the study analyses textbook discourses as beneficial, ambivalent, or destructive, using investigative tools such as representation of nature, lexical pattern analysis, metaphorical framing, and visual discourse analysis. Data was collected exclusively from assigned textbook chapters and pages. The findings indicate that ambivalent and destructive discourses which portray nature as a resource, threat, or passive object are predominant while Beneficial discourses that promote ecological care and agency are underrepresented. The paper emphasizes the need to reform the curriculum to integrate ethically grounded and ecocentric narratives and description that foster environmental responsibility among students.
Ecolinguistics Stibbe’s model Textbooks environment KPK Discourse analysis
Copyright (c) 2024 Muhammad Suhaib, Muhammad Ihteram, Laila Afridi Kifayatullah (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Farming Muslimness: A Critical Analysis of “The Kerala Story"
This study analyzes “The Kerala Story” (2023) to examine the representation of Muslims in the Bollywood film industry. This movie is selected as a case study through purposive sampling because of its depiction of Muslims in various scenes and dialogues. A critical approach was used to analyse this movie. Data was collected from online platforms such as YouTube, Google Chrome, and Movie Box used publicly. This study uses Fairclough’s (2003) Critical Discourse Analysis theory and Stuart Hall’s (1997) Representation Theory. The purpose of this study is to deconstruct the negative ideologies about Muslims and explore how different stereotypes and harmful misconceptions are perpetuated through this movie. The findings indicate the complex representation of Muslims in film, reflecting negative stereotypes, especially in the portrayal of manipulative figures of Muslims who forced non-Muslim Indian women to convert to Islam. This research contributes to our understanding of societal attitudes towards minority communities, specifically Muslims, that are shaped through popular cultures, highlighting the need for more balanced representation.
Muslims, Representation, Bollywood Film Industry, The Kerala Stories, Manipulative
Copyright (c) 2024 Sarah shamshad, Hamna Ghazanfar, Alesha Khan (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Promotion of Women: A Feminist Reinterpretation of Shahraz’s “Perchanwan”
In this research, I am trying to find out the theoretical perspective of feminism, which is the promotion of women in Shahraz’s selected short story with the help of De Beauvoir’s (1953) framework, and to explore the gender representation within the context of Pakistani social structure. The basic focus is an effort to analyze whether the story’s protagonists resist the existing social order and prove their existence as educated, potent, independent, and competent persons. Therefore, this paper basically focuses on the female characters’ depiction of how they take the bold steps in an androcentric structural norms which are strongly rooted in the social setup, and redefine their positions as educated, upgraded, and enlightened ones. The material of the research for this paper is taken from the short fiction, and the selected story is not only helpful to explore the reflection of life, but also explores the issues that have social and cultural relevance, in which the women’s promotion is the most important. In light of the conclusion drawn, it is safe to assert that Shahraz’s selected short story is feminist, and her protagonists are not stereotypical traditional women.
Women’s Promotion, Gender Representation, Androcentric, Structural Norms, Cultural Relevance, Stereotype
Copyright (c) 2023 Sabahat Rafique (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Empowerment of Women: A Feminist Aspect of Shahraz’s “The Discovery”
Garner (1999) and Moghadam (1992) explicate that feminism keeps providing strategies for the empowerment of women. Their struggle against the male-dominating culture and effort to break traditional and patriarchal social shackles is a step towards the equality as well as empowerment of women. Zalewski and Runyan (2013) elucidate that feminism have boundary smashing activities along with philosophies for the empowerment of women with the help of re-ordering institutions globally for gender roles. Tyson (2006) relates this phenomenon to traditional roles regarding gender as a social construction for keeping women powerless and elevating men’s point of view. Savitt (1982) explains that all stereotype characters in literature highlight the narrowness as well as confining nature of female characters in literature, where they are mostly portrayed as incompetent, meek, dependent, helpless, troubled, and fearful creatures, while at the same time, males are presented as authoritative and powerful. Women are allotted and given subservient and passive roles to facilitate men's depriving them of their rights easily. Shahraz’s selected story breaks such tradition and presents her female protagonist as a confident, independent, educated, and empowered woman who refuses to compromise on her self-respect and decides to live alone with her future baby.
Empowered Woman, Patriarchal Shackles, Social Construction, Reordering Institutions, Breaking Traditions
Resistance Against Inequality: A Feminist Perspective of Shahraz’s “Zemindar’s Wife” and “Malay Host”
In Pakistani fiction, when we try to apply a feminist approach, we realize that female writers reveal the deplorable and pathetic condition of women and their status as second-class citizens who are systematically discriminated against and looked down upon. They explain through fiction the place of women, their struggling existence against the dominating patriarchal mindset. The study also reveals how cultural norms treat them as a minority, devoid of basic rights and freedom. The study will focus on the place of women and their efforts against the cultural norms set by society for centuries. The role of the culture is to let patriarchy oppress women to the utmost level. The present study aims to read two short stories from the book, A Pair of Jeans, by Shahraz, a diaspora Pakistani writer. The main characters of these stories are women. In one story, Malay Host is about facing oppression and androcentrism, which appears as rigid and cruel, while in the second story Zemindar ‘s Wife, a new phase of patriarchy is shown, facing challenge and threat of being supreme and unable to accept change in the set structure. At the end on the basis of the conclusion drawn from the study, the research reveals that short stories support feminism and produce female characters who react against the subjugation of women as a result of the unbending and inflexible framework of patriarchy.
Pakistani fiction, feminism, struggling existence, patriarchy, cultural norms, androcentrism
Copyright (c) 2024 Sabahat Rafique (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Mapping the Female Body as Battleground: Feminist Perspectives on Gender-based Violence in Ice-Candy Man
This study analyzes Bapsi Sidhwa’s partition novel Ice-Candy-Man (1988), also named as Cracking India, written against the backdrop of the partition of the subcontinent in 1947. The novel portrays that communal violence, unleashed during the partition, resulted in massive gender-based violence, indiscriminately targeting women from the different religious backgrounds, including Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims. The study employs feministic theoretical framework based on intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1991), patriarchal violence (MacKinnon, 1989; Butler, 1990; Nussbaum, 1995) and subalternity (Spivak, 1988) to better understand the politics of the body in a society with cultural and religious differences. The study establishes that women’s bodies, as a symbolic battleground, embody violence triggered in the wake of communal strife among distinctive religious, national, or patriarchal groups living in the British colonized Indian Subcontinent. The study posits that women are doubly oppressed, regardless of their religious, national, and cultural affiliations: first by the engrossed intersectionality and patriarchy, and the second by the simmering outbursts and rhetoric of nationalism that broke out in the wake of the partition of the Indian subcontinent. It is established that Sidhwa’s narrative reveals the intersection of working-class women, patriarchal sexual violence, and female subalternity, objectifying the bodies of women for body politics. In addition, it is found that the communal anger and honour, masculinity, religious and political vengeance transformed women's bodies into territories to be trespassed, seized, conquered, molested, and destroyed. Thus, the intersection of class, religion, and gender degenerates into the odd experiences of abduction, rape, forced prostitution, and commodification. Finally, the study establishes how Sidhwa’s narrative portrays the trauma and violence borne by the women during the gender and communal-based differences during the partition of the subcontinent from a feminist perspective.
Communal violence, Female body, Feminist theory, Gender-based violence, Ice-Candy Man, Intersectionality, Partition, Patriarchy, Religion, Subalternity, The Indian Sub-continent
Copyright (c) 2024 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Ethics in Qualitative Research: A Response-able Intra-action
This study attempts to re/configure the regulation of qualitative research by ethics systems practiced in Pakistan by contextualizing it in international practices. Barad’s ethico-onto-epistemological approach facilitates a nuanced understanding of issues through its affirmative engagement with the other. While acknowledging the Pakistani scientific community’s awareness of the importance of ethics, a need for separate ethics boards for qualitative research is impressed upon. Some problematic terms like ‘research involving humans’ and practices like using ready-made restrictive templates have to be re/thought. The study also suggests drawing upon creative literature like novels, dramas, etc. in research proposals as it can help convince committees about the importance of researching lesser-studied topics, especially those which are related to a region’s or society’s contentious past and present. Finally, the response-able role of university faculty associations is emphasized.
ethics in qualitative research; Pakistan; India; Partition-1947; British India
Analysing Reasons for the Communal Anguish and Violence Represented in Bapsi Sidhwa’s Novel Ice-Candy Man: A New Historical StudyAnalysing Reasons for the Communal Anguish and Violence Represented in Bapsi Sidhwa’s Novel Ice-Candy Man: A New Historical Study
Abstract This research paper critically analyses the underlying factors behind the estrangement, maladjustment, and communal violence represented in Bapsi Sidhwa’s novel Ice-Candy Man (1988) from the perspective of Neo Historicism. It delves deep into the critical study of the pre-partitioned people of various religious communities i.e. the Muslims, the Hindus, and the Sikhs of the Indian subcontinent. British rule in the Indian subcontinent ended in 1947; consequently, two independent countries appeared on the map of the world. The partition caused various religious and political conflicts, which degenerated into bloody riots and violence ripping apart the amicably co-existing pluralistic phenomenon into religious bigotry. This study critically analyses the main reasons for the attitudinal shift in the relationship of the various religious communities leading to communal violence in the name of religion during and after the partition. The qualitative data reviewed from the text of the novel has been analyzed by employing textual analysis techniques. This paper draws the conclusion based on the findings that religion is not the central cause of communal riots or may not be held solely responsible for the communal violence, but it may be the land issue and the geographical division, which augmented the communal violence and estrangement during the partition. The study reveals that political polemics and maladjustments, partition and inequitable division of Punjab remain the leading causes of communal violence. It is further found that the amicable peaceful religious coexistence also got distorted and antagonized because of political polemics and the division of agricultural land. Hence, communal violence – generally known as religious violence – may be revisited and re-termed as ‘religio-political violence’ in the Indian subcontinent perspective.
Copyright (c) 2023 Abdul Sattar Memon, Muhammad Khan Sangi, Muhammad Tufail Chandio (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Critical Discourse Analysis of Social Justice Campaign “Cancel Culture” in the Arab Social Media
Cancel culture refers to public backlash through social media in response to actions or statements made by individuals, groups, or organizations, which are considered offensive, harmful, or contrary to social norms or public sentiments. This study examines whether Arab cancel culture has aligned with global cancel culture language trends or has developed a distinct linguistic style. It focuses on two cases, Balqees Fathi in 2019 and Fatima Jaafer in 2023, to explore the linguistic evolution of Arabic linguistic usage and ideological shifts related to social justice in Arab social media. Fairclough’s (2015) 3D model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) has been used for studying X posts. The study has found a shift from traditional Arabic with its poetic and patriarchal undertones, as seen in Balqees’s case, to a more globalized style, as seen in Fatima’s case. By 2023, there was an increased use of global cancel culture practices such as code-switching and transliteration, reflecting a blend of modern influences and national identity. The findings show that a linguistic transition emerged among Arabic social media users from traditional, monolingual expressions to modern, bilingual usage, which highlights the impact of global discourse or linguistic trends on Arab cancel culture.
Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Structural Realization and Functionality of Grammatical Metaphor in Nollywood Films
Metaphor is a semantic shift in language use, either in form or function. A metaphorical expression has various realisations through its interpretation. Grammatical metaphor is a concept in Halliday’s systemic functional theory (SFT). The concept expresses different modes of presenting social realities in social contexts, thereby revealing how social experience could be constructed in different grammatical structures. This paper, therefore, investigates the form and function of grammatical metaphor in Nollywood films, thereby studying different meanings constructed in the metaphorical and congruent modes of the metaphors. Halliday’s grammatical metaphor, especially ideational metaphor, is employed to examine metaphors in Nollywood films in Yoruba subtitled in English and Nollywood films in English. The study reveals that metaphorical expressions are used in Nollywood films to construct sociocultural realities. Every metaphorical expression has two forms: metaphorical mode and congruent mode. Different grammatical categories are used in the construction of both grammatical modes and the congruent mode. The metaphorical mode encodes experiential meaning while the congruent mode expresses literal meaning. The same or different types of processes can take place in both the metaphorical and the congruent modes. The study concludes that the interpretation of a metaphor necessitates making a choice of a structural form that communicates a clearer meaning.
metaphor, grammatical metaphor, functionality, Nollywood, meaning, choice
Investigating Parallel English-Arabic Corpora to Enhance Vocabulary Acquisition and Reading Comprehension Among Arab ESL Learners
The study examines how Arab students benefit from reading texts that present both English and Arabic versions concurrently. It addresses the issue of instructing solely in one language by incorporating dual-text possibilities for acquiring vocabulary, grammar, and language application. A digital corpus of English and Arabic texts was created, segmenting each text into sentences and attaching grammatical, lexical, and morphological information to them. The researcher matched pre-existing data with newly collected qualitative information after the intervention to conduct the study. Before and after the intervention, the researcher administered reading assessments in both English and Arabic to the students. Each assessment had three reading passages accompanied by six to eight questions, and a similar group of students tried the test to evaluate comprehension and difficulty. Students were assessed on vocabulary through both scheduled examinations and impromptu quizzes about the main words identified in weekly reading materials. A Likert scale survey was employed to evaluate students’ perceptions regarding the efficacy of the parallel corpus in enhancing their reading skills. The parallel corpus facilitated students’ comprehension of reading materials and enhanced their vocabulary. This study enhances bilingual education for students in ESL instruction and promotes bilingual instruction through the use of technology.
Arabic-English, bilingual comprehension, corpus linguistics, ESL, parallel corpora, reading strategies
Unsettling the Settler: Disillusionment and Narrative Fragmentation in Karen Blixen’s Out of Africa
This paper examines Karen Blixen’s Out of Africa through a close reading of Chapter Four, “From an Immigrant’s Notebook,” to explore how the memoir drifts from a romanticized colonial imagery toward a more fragmented and ambivalent portrayal of empire. While much of the text is steeped in aesthetic nostalgia, this chapter signals a shift—both in form and in tone—toward disillusionment. Blixen’s use of digressive reflections in this chapter destabilizes the coherence of the colonial narrative she had previously upheld, drawing attention to the tensions between belonging and estrangement, memory and forgetting, permanence and displacement. By foregrounding these thematic contradictions, the paper argues that Blixen inadvertently unsettles the very imperial ideologies her text seems to admire.
colonial disillusionment; narrative fragmentation; memory; empire; immigrant perspective; belonging
Copyright (c) 2023 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
From Pariah to Partner: The Effect of Translanguaging on The Strategic Competence of ESL Learners in Pakistan
This study explores the impact of a translanguaging pedagogical approach on the development of strategic competence in English as a Second Language (ESL) learners focusing on secondary school students in Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Strategic competence, essential for managing communication breakdowns, remains underdeveloped in traditional monolingual ESL classrooms. This research used a quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest control group design with 10th-grade male students, comparing a translanguaging-based approach with a conventional monolingual teaching model. The experimental group used their first language (L1) as a cognitive resource in language learning, while the control group adhered to a traditional approach. The findings indicate a significant improvement in the strategic competence of the experimental group, suggesting that integrating L1 in ESL pedagogy enhances communication strategies and reduces affective filters. The study calls for a shift from monolingual to multilingual teaching practices in Pakistan's ESL classrooms, advocating for the use of students' full linguistic repertoire as an asset for language learning. The findings offer insights for curriculum developers, educators, and policymakers to improve ESL education in multilingual contexts.
Translanguaging, Strategic Competence, Monolingualism, Multilingualism, L1 in L2 Classroom, Inclusive Education
Ecocritical Analysis of “Tintern Abbey” “To A Skylark”, and “Lispeth”: Impact of Nature on Human Mind and Physique
Eco-critical literary writing is a fairly new trend in the world. However, even before the concept of ecocriticism began to develop, famous Western poets and writers started producing their works that dealt with the issues of ecocriticism. Ecocriticism sheds light on the relationship of humans with the natural world and the animal world and discusses issues related to this relationship. In this study, William Wordsworth’s poem “Tintern Abbey,” Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “To a Skylark,” and Rudyard Kipling’s short story “Lispeth” have been taken into consideration for an eco-critical analysis. This study has tried to investigate how nature can impact the physique and soul of human beings and how ecocritical literature projects the impact and delineates nature’s relation with humans. To conduct the study, the concept of ecocriticism and its development have been discussed initially. Eventually, the texts chosen for this study are analyzed and discussed to examine and determine the impact of nature on the human physique and mind. Besides the textual analysis, some empirical research findings of the related field wherein nature's impact on humans is studied have been shown and discussed at different stages of this study to justify whether the poet and writers' claim of the positive effect of nature on humans is true.
Linguistic Representation of Women in Balochi Proverbial Discourse: A Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis
This study investigates the interplay of ideology and power in Balochi proverbial discourse, with a particular focus on how linguistic features perpetuate male dominance and female subjugation. It further critically examines the sociocultural mechanisms that normalize such gendered hierarchies within these proverbial expressions. By analyzing the discursive practices embedded in Balochi proverbs, this research elucidates the ways in which language functions as a medium for reinforcing asymmetrical power relations. This study employs a purposive sample of 30 Balochi proverbs, subjected to a feminist critical discourse analysis to examine gendered representations. Each proverb was translated into English while preserving its original linguistic structure. The analysis draws upon Cornell's (2009) theoretical framework to interrogate the discursive construction of gender within these proverbial texts. Additionally, the researchers involved 20 native elderly Balochi speakers both male and female to ensure linguistic accuracy. To mitigate potential interpretive bias, interviews were conducted with these community elders from the Markran Balochi region. Their insights facilitated a deeper contextual understanding of the proverbs' usage in everyday discourse. The major findings of the research are power imbalance and systemic gender inequality in forms of the suppression of female and male dominance in Baloch society established through various factors such as double standard of male, discrimination, and dichotomy of male characters, dependency of female characters over males, and norms and values of Baloch society. This study serves a dual purpose: to document the oral traditions of an indigenous language and to critically examine the linguistic construction of gender within the patriarchal framework of Balochi proverbial discourse. The scope of this research is confined to speakers of the Makrani dialect, ensuring a focused analysis of sociolinguistic patterns within this specific community.
Linguistic Representation, Balochi Proverbial Discourse, Gendered Hierarchies Female Suppression, Male Dominance, Power Relation
The Misplaced Confidence of The Common Man in Julius Caesar
The research article shows the force of rhetorical language and its powerful impact upon the masses when they are a crowd through the speeches of Brutus and Antony to the people of Rome in Julius Caesar by the Elizabethan dramatist, William Shakespeare. The article draws on the textual analysis as primary source, and modern critical body as a secondary source. It shows how Shakespeare remains a dramatist of the highest order by virtue of his psychological understanding about the generality that we have today with the same conceptual framework. The misplaced confidence on populist, demagogue, and an authoritarian person culminates in the killing of an innocent person, Cenna, with the establishment of anarchy. This work tries to show the general perception of the masses their own troubles that are always ignored in the government.
Rhetoric, the common man, demagogue, and populist agenda
Prevailing Factors of Subjugation in Chan's The School for Good Mothers
The current study aims to investigate the oppression and injustice in a dystopian society that subjugates the feminine figure in Chan's The School for Good Mothers. The objectives of the study are constructed as overlapping variables to oppress the protagonist of the story and a realistic portrayal of a despotic society where motherhood is violated. The research gap has been defined as the socially produced conventional image of a mother who is suppressed by society. The study attempts to underline the idea of an imperfectly perfect society that seeks perfection in mothers through the lens of an intersectional feminist theory of Kimberle Crenshaw, Demarginalising the Intersection of Race and Sex (1989), and Mapping the Margins (1991). The study is qualitative and interpretive to the text that identifies the prevailing elements of oppression as well as the emotional breakdown a mother experience. The cruelty of the system and inaccurate assessment of parental practices are the outcomes of the data analysis. The study will bring about a radical shift in society where women will be respected and valued, and the success or failure of a mother's commitment will no longer be determined by her actions.
Intersectionality, violation, oppression
Copyright (c) 2024 Huda Irshad Siddiqui, Wajiha Bakhtiyar (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Economic Exploitation of Pakistani Women: A Marxist Feminist Analysis of How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
This study critically examines the structural, gendered, and class-based modalities of female economic exploitation in Mohsin Hamid’s How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, drawing on Tithi Bhattacharya’s Social Reproduction Theory (SRT) within a Marxist feminist framework. It explores how the seemingly individualized narrative of upward mobility in the Global South relies on the collective, often invisible labor of women. Through close textual analysis, the roles of the protagonist’s mother, sister, and the “pretty girl” are examined to reveal how their paid and unpaid labor—domestic, emotional, reproductive, and sexual—constitutes the unseen foundation of the male protagonist’s capitalist ascent. Situating the novel within the socio-economic and patriarchal context of South Asia, the study demonstrates how women’s bodies, time, and roles are commodified and appropriated to sustain neoliberal development. By synthesizing Marxist feminist theory and hermeneutic analysis, the paper positions literature as a socio-economic artefact that reflects and reinforces dominant ideologies. It concludes that postcolonial capitalist success is inseparable from the systemic exploitation of women’s labor, demanding a feminist rethinking of value, labor, and development.
Female economic exploitation, Unpaid labor, Gendered labor, Capitalism, Patriarchy,
Copyright (c) 2024 Shaukat Ali, Muhammad Tufail Chandio (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
A Critical Discourse Analysis of Populist Rhetoric in Imran Khan’s Minar-e-Pakistan Address
The study explores populist rhetoric in Imran Khan’s Minar-e-Pakistan address. Critical discourse analysis focuses on how powerful individuals use language to influence the thoughts and actions of people. CDA is a research method that examines the various themes analysed in Khan’s speech. This study employs Fairclough's three-dimensional model to explore Khan's speech on textual, discursive, and explanatory levels, highlighting the ideologies concealed behind his chosen words. The qualitative research method is utilised, emphasising the social constructivism research paradigm, as the reality presented in Khan’s speech is shaped by the context in which it is delivered. Imran Khan’s Minar-e-Pakistan Speech serves as a sample for this study, with non-probability purposive sampling implemented. This study examines the spoken discourse employed by Khan to evoke the sentiments of ordinary people, fostering a sense of inclusivity among them, and informing them of his concerns regarding their rights and his plans to address challenges to their protection. Populist discourse is evident in his speech, as he distinguishes between the common people and the powerful elite. His address critiques the leaders of two prominent political parties in Pakistan; Khan accuses both leaders of failing to serve the public and misusing resources acquired through taxpayer funding. Keywords: Critical Discourse Analysis, Populist Rhetoric, Fairclough 3D model, Imran Khan, Spoken Discourse.
Copyright (c) 2024 Mishal Shah (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
A Critical Investigation of Fear Appeals in Political Discourse: A Corpus-based Linguistic Analysis of US Presidential Speeches
This study critically examines the use of fear appeals in US presidential speeches through a corpus-based linguistic analysis, focusing on key addresses delivered by Franklin D. Roosevelt, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden. The analysis explores the linguistic features and rhetorical strategies, such as evaluative language, repetition, and emotional framing, used to construct fear-based narratives during national crises. By applying Appraisal Theory, Persuasive Rhetoric, and Aristotelian Rhetoric, the research highlights the interplay between emotional engagement, credibility, and logical reasoning in shaping public opinion and mobilizing political action. The study uncovers common patterns of fear appeal usage across different presidencies, demonstrating how these leaders manipulate cognitive biases and use rhetoric to influence political decision-making. Future research will extend this analysis to explore the long-term effects of fear appeals on political engagement and public trust, offering valuable insights into the role of emotion in political discourse.
fear appeals, political discourse, rhetorical strategies, corpus-based analysis, political persuasion, public opinion
Copyright (c) 2024 Tuba Latif, Aniqa Rashid, Nimra Noor, Huda Noor (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Nature And Personification Aesthetics in Niyi Osundare’s Green: Sighs of our Ailing Planet
This study examines Niyi Osundare’s deployment of personification as a poetic symbol to examine Nature in different ramifications as seen in his Green: Sighs of Our Ailing Planet. The poetry volume explores the poet’s concerns about humankind’s objectionable dealings with the environment, not only in Africa but also across the earth. He particularly focuses on prevalent environmental concerns underscored by recent crises and disasters befalling communities in different parts of the world. The poetry volume, through different poems, emphasizes humankind’s complicit role in the devastating consequences of environmental abuse. Employing an Ecocritical approach, the paper investigated dominant themes such as neglect, insensitivity, misappropriation, exploitation among others, as well as the use of the poetic element of personification as a literary style to expose and criticize nature’s present precarious state. The research results reveal that human activities such as environmental abuse, tree felling, and anthropocentrism, among others, are constituting a danger and subsequent destruction to nature, which also negatively affects human life on earth. Through the deployment of personification, in which the poet presents nature as having human characteristics and emotions, the poet advocated that responsible consideration and care should be bestowed upon nature rather than engaging in activities that harm it. The analysis lays bare the poetry volume’s explicit stand against the popular belief of humankind exclusively owning the universe without necessarily being its being its guardians and protectors. The research findings show that Green: Sighs of Our Ailing Planet presents a clear insight into the realities of the symbiotic relationship existing between humankind and the environment. The study contributes significant knowledge to an understanding of the existential co-dependence between nature and humankind.
Nature, Environment, Personification, Humankind, Ecocriticism
An Exploration of Continuity and Change of Yoruba Oral Performance Strategies in the Poetry of Akeem Lasisi
Two poems by Akeen Lasisi are examined in this study, Àsàbí Alákàrà’ and “Ekun Ìyàwó”. Akeem Lasisi’s poetry performance is orchestrated directly on stage through the deployment of a rich blend of actors, singers, dancers, and drummers. Lasisi also adds the comic trope of satiric banter. The comedic embellishment is used by Lasisi to revolutionize the Yoruba oral performance in English. By adopting video, Lasisi progresses from “written orality” into contemporary “digital orality”. In conclusion, Akeem Lasisi presents unwritten performed poetry, conceived as “performance actual”, using digital platforms. Through these, he injects unique enactive styles that transform the Yoruba oral performance poetic tradition and also ensure its continuity.
Yoruba Tradition, Performance Poetics, Orality
'Trigger Warning' (2024): Epistemic Violence, Gatekeeping, and the Case of Authentic Arab and Muslim Representation in Anglophone Cultural Production
This paper critically examines the persistent stereotyping of Arabs and Muslims in Hollywood cinema, situating these portrayals within the broader historical, political, and cultural frameworks. Drawing on key concepts such as epistemic violence, Orientalism, and the politics of representation, the study traces how film narratives have long served to construct reductive and dehumanizing images of Arab and Muslim communities. While recent years have witnessed isolated attempts to present more nuanced representations, mainstream media largely continues to reinforce harmful tropes that sustain Islamophobic ideologies and justify foreign interventions. Through an interdisciplinary lens, incorporating media studies and postcolonial analysis, this paper argues that authentic representation requires systemic change within the structures of authorship and narrative authority. Without a deliberate shift toward decolonial storytelling practices and greater inclusion of marginalized voices in the creative process, Hollywood's portrayals may continue to perpetuate real-world social injustices. The findings underscore the urgent need for a media landscape that embraces complexity, resists cultural essentialism, and fosters critical media literacy among audiences.
Copyright (c) 2025 Inayat Ullah (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/