Content Details | NUML Online Research Repository

Content Details

Back to Department Listing

Title SEMIOTICS OF DECEPTION: A LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF PACKAGING INDUSTRY IN PAKISTAN

Author(s) FaizUllah

Abstract This study explores the semiotic construction of cultural meanings and consumer perceptions within the Pakistani biscuit packaging industry, employing Roland Barthes’ Semiotic Theory (1964) as its foundational framework. Through an in-depth qualitative analysis of one hundred packaging samples from ten local biscuit brands, the research deciphers both linguistic elements—such as brand names, slogans, and textual descriptions—and visual components, including color schemes, imagery, and symbolic motifs. The findings reveal that packaging functions as a complex site of myth-making, where layered connotative and denotative messages shape consumer understanding beyond the product’s physical attributes. By applying Barthes’ tripartite model of linguistic message, non-coded iconic message, and coded iconic message, this study elucidates how brands craft narratives that evoke cultural familiarity, tradition, and modernity. The concept of “deception” is reframed here as a semiotic process of idealization and symbolic embellishment, rather than deliberate dishonesty. Eschewing empirical methods, the research maintains a theoretical focus, offering valuable contributions to linguistics, marketing, and media studies. It highlights the ethical considerations inherent in packaging design and advocates for a critical awareness of semiotic strategies in shaping consumer identity and behavior.

Type Thesis/Dissertation

Faculty Languages

Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2025-07-25

Subject English Linguistics

Publisher

Contributor(s)

Format

Identifier

Source

Relation

Coverage

Rights