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Title Scandalous Discourse about Women: A Cognitive Semantic Study of News Reports in Dawn and The News

Author(s) Shan Bashir

Abstract The reports about crime against women often tend to project the incident in number of ways which affect the readers’ perception of that incident and the people involved in them. The aim of this study is to analyze the criminal discourse against women in the reporting of honor killing, rape, domestic violence and harassment. It focuses on the representation of both genders (especially female) and stereotypes associated to both. This study uncovers and takes up a critical area of the field of cognitive linguistics in news reporting. The research employs two theories. The first is Relevance theory, that highlights inferences and interpretations as significant ends of communication. The second is Framing theory which works on the principles of cognitive shortcut, availability of the simplified news and possibility of distraction from the main agenda. The study is qualitative in nature, descriptive and analyzes the reports in the light of the just mentioned theories. The news reports are obtained from The News and Dawn. The study employs content analysis on fifteen news reports from each newspaper, and its time frame is from August 2022 to April 2023. The findings reveal that the news headlines are generally too concise and intriguing that they create ambiguity in understanding the news. Whereas, the news reports remain neutral and present details in the most euphemistic and temperate way that the severity, ferocity and violence involved in the crime is rationalized. Moreover, they follow cultural norms and writing conventions of Pakistani print media while reporting the news. It is realized that honor killing, rape, domestic violence and gender-based victimization are the still prevailing issues faced by women in Pakistan. It is also concluded on the basis of the findings of the study that the reason for all the crimes is deeply rooted in gender-based victimization. They create orthodox/stereotypical images of both genders. Women are presented vulnerable, coward, defenceless, submissive, and dependent on men. On the other hand, men are strong, brave, powerful, oppressive and custodian of the family’s respect that their crimes are justified. The factors like specific linguistic choices, presenting stereotypes, and establishment of frames by the newspapers affect the cognition of readers.

Type Thesis/Dissertation

Faculty Languages

Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2025-05-21

Subject English Linguistics

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