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Title A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF METAPHORS IN POST-KARGIL SPEECHES BY PAKISTANI AND INDIAN DELEGATIONS IN UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Author(s) RASHID MAHMOOD

Abstract The present study analyzes the metaphors employed by Pakistani and Indian delegations in their speeches delivered in UN General Assembly meetings in Post-Kargil war era. The study is based upon the theoretical framework of Conceptual Metaphor Theory provided by Lakoff and Johnson. The researcher aimed to study the metaphors used by politicians from both countries as a rhetorical tool in their statements about their policies and standpoints regarding international issues like terrorism, economy, peace etc. in front of the international audience. An extensive study of the historical context was made prior to the sample selection. The criteria for the selection of the speech for analysis was the changing dynamics of relations between the two countries. Since the purpose was to analyze the change in number and density of metaphors in the speeches according to the change in the relations, as many as six speeches from each country were selected in both improving as well as worsening ties. This analysis is followed by an in-depth study of what characterizes the metaphors Pakistani and Indian delegations employed. For such analysis only those metaphors were selected of which target domains were terrorism, self and opposition. It was found that Indian delegations used more metaphors than Pakistani delegations did. It was also found that both number and density of metaphors in the speeches of both delegations changed as the relations between the two countries went through ups and downs. During the changes in the relations, a significant fluctuation in the number as well as density of metaphors was revealed in some topics. However, top ten source domains that the speakers from both countries selected for their different metaphors were same with marginal differences in ranking of frequency. Despite that, significant differences were observed in the way they both delineated different images in realizing terrorism, self and opposition. The dissimilarity existed both in conceptual as well as linguistic metaphors. These differences owed to anchoring the metaphors to build different discourses of terrorism, self-legitimization and delegitimization of the opposition.

Type Thesis/Dissertation MS

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Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2019-05-29

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