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From Deterritorialization to Reterritorialization: Exploring Feminist Becoming of Palestinian and Nigerian Women in the Selected Works of Etaf Rum and Abi Dar This thesis delves into an examination of the novels A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum and The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare through the theoretical lens given by Deleuze and Guattari along with Ian Buchanan and Claire Colebrook. Textual analysis offered by Catherine Belsey is the research method used to analyse the selected texts. The research aims to understand how female characters in these novels undergo identity shifts and navigate societal expectations, employing a feminist theoretical framework that emphasises fluidity and transformation. Through a comparative examination of the shared experiences of women from diverse cultural backgrounds within these novels, the research sheds light on the transformative potential embedded in Deleuzian feminism. The analysis explores how the narratives within the selected texts illustrate the dynamic nature of becoming woman, emphasising the fluidity of identity through the lens of deterritorialization. Simultaneously, the study investigates the processes of reterritorialization, investigating how the female characters, Isra, Deya, Sarah, and Adunni, navigate and assert agency within complex socio-cultural contexts. Furthermore, this research contributes to the discourse by challenging and refuting prevailing notions surrounding early or forced marriages. The analysis highlights the transformative potential of education as a tool for women to defy oppressive norms, shatter barriers, and assert their agency. The importance of education in both novels transcends cultural boundaries and emphasises its role in women's empowerment. This comparative analysis reveals the transformative potential of Deleuzian feminism, offering a critical examination of oppressive cultural practices, especially regarding marital expectations imposed on women. This research inspires future researchers to address pressing concerns of early marriages and underscores the significance of empowering girls.
THE SPECTACLE OF CHAOS: A READING OF HYPERREALITY IN THE SELECTED POSTMODERN AMERICAN FICTION This thesis investigates the representation of hyperreality and mediated spectacle in Bret Easton Ellis’s American Psycho and James Dashner’s The Eye of Minds, analyzing how these forces erode personal identity and generate social disorder within postmodern contexts. Using Jean Baudrillard’s theory of hyperreality and Guy Debord’s concept of the spectacle as its theoretical foundation, the study examines how characters are constructed, destabilized, and fragmented by environments dominated by simulation, consumerism, and technological mediation. Employing Catherine Belsey’s method of textual analysis, the research explores how both novels depict realities where the boundaries between the real and the simulated collapse, producing moral ambiguity, alienation, and psychological disintegration. In American Psycho, Patrick Bateman exemplifies hyperreality through his fixation on surfaces, commodified identity, and the aestheticization of violence, offering a disturbing critique of consumer culture and moral emptiness. Conversely, The Eye of Minds situates its narrative in a innovative digital landscape, yet it raises parallel concerns about the dominance of technology, the loss of authentic experience, and the fragility of human identity within simulated environments. By placing these two texts in dialogue, the thesis demonstrates that hyperreal and spectacular settings function not simply as narrative backdrops but as active forces shaping characters’ perceptions, decisions, and eventual collapse of selfhood. The study further addresses a gap in scholarship by invoking Baudrillard and Debord in tandem, offering a dual-theoretical framework rarely employed in literary analysis. In doing so, it highlights how postmodern fiction critically interrogates the cultural, psychological, and ethical consequences of life in hypermediated, consumption-driven societies. This comparative study underscores how postmodern fiction critically reflects the cultural, ethical, and existential consequences of living in hypermediated, consumption-driven societies. Ultimately, the research reveals that both Ellis and Dashner dramatize the dissolution of authenticity in a world where appearances, simulations, and spectacle increasingly replace lived reality.
LINGUISTIC AND VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF PAKISTANI CULTURE IN AMERICAN VISUAL NARRATIVES: A SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF MS. MARVEL WEB SERIES Western media has frequently linked Muslim identities with extremism, terrorism, or cultural marginalization. However, the depiction of Pakistani culture in Ms. Marvel web series comes as an exception. This research examines cultural representation of Pakistan in Ms. Marvel web series, aiming at both linguistic choices and visual signs. The study investigates the way cultural connotations are fabricated and conveyed through linguistic and visual signs. The sample of the study consists of the linguistic instances accompanied by 25-40 relevant scenes from the web series. The methodology of the study is based on qualitative research, specifically content analysis, to explore the representation of Pakistani culture in the selected Web series. The data is analyzed in the light of Hall’s (2005) Representation Theory and Peirce’s Semiotic Model (1955). The findings indicate that Ms. Marvel depicts Pakistani cultural identity through the deliberate use of Islamic expressions, Urdu phrases, and culture specific references, strengthening the Pakistani contexts. Visually, Ms. Marvel integrates religious symbolism, family structures, traditional clothing, and historical memories to shape reliable yet globally reachable representation of Pakistani culture. However, it also involves critical refrains, for instance, surveillance, and racial profiling predominantly through the depiction of American government authorities and their subjective conduct towards Muslims and South Asian communities. These instances mirror the experiences of many diasporic communities, emphasizing the ongoing structural discrimination. Despite the fact that the series strives for validity, it still holds certain stereotypical demonstrations, particularly in its portrayal of otherness and mysticism related to Muslim identity. However, the study concludes that Ms. Marvel bids a layered and nuanced depiction that both redefines and challenges traditional representations of South Asian Muslim identities in Western media, even though delicately criticizing the sociopolitical constructions that remain to marginalize them. The study contributes to the ongoing debate on the representation of Pakistani culture in Western media by presenting a nuanced analysis of both linguistic and visual aspects in a popular web series produced in America.
SOMATIC RELATIONALITY AND DISPLACEMENT: A PERFORMATIVIST STUDY OF SUBJECTHOOD IN GLOBAL SOUTH PARTCULTURAL MEMOIRS Invoking somatic relationality and displacement as theoretical lenses, this study aims to investigate the performative role of subject in three global south partcultural memoirs. The subjects in I Saw Ramallah by Mourid Barghouti, One Bright Moon by Andrew Kwong, and Wrestling with the Devil by Ngugi wa Thiong’o revitalize their autobiographical consciousness for the articulation of their true story of life. Somatic relationality premises on the integration of memories, consciousness and the human mind. Being partcultural in nature, these memoirs have been produced in less porous cultures. In all three memoirs, the narrating ‘I’ asymmetrically moves in various cultures experiencing displacement. The study proposes, that by resisting oppression of the determinative forces, the subjecthood seems to explore a well-established link of body, brain, self, and narrative with memories of life in these stories. Simultaneously, these memoirs seem to produce a resistant discourse against dominant determinative forces, alternatively called social relationality. This research is qualitative and exploratory in nature and uses Mary Evans’ autobiography as a research method, while the theoretical underpinnings of Paul John Eakin’s concept of somatic relationality and Bhabha’s notion of displacement are employed to investigate the performative role of the subject in global south partcultural memoirs. This study explores new horizons in the field of life narrative studies, largely unexplored in Pakistani universities, and is likely to contribute to the production of knowledge.
"THE IMPACT OF ETHNOCENTRISM ON INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE OF UNIVERSITY TEACHERS IN PAKISTAN" Ethnocentrism is ubiquitous in workplaces involving employees from diverse cultures and nationalities. It comes into play when employees from different cultures interact with one another. The present study explores the impact of ethnocentrism on the intercultural communicative competence of (Pakistani and foreign) university teachers serving at the National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad and the International Islamic University, Islamabad. The study utilizes the Generalized Ethnocentrism scale to measure the degrees of ethnocentrism of the participants. The Three Factor Model of Social Identity (Cameron, 2004) and the model of Intercultural Communicative Competence (Byram, 2009) are incorporated as theoretical frameworks. The study employs the survey and interviews as research methods for data collection. Inferential statistics, involving correlation analysis and regression analysis, are used to interpret data in statistical terms. SPSS version 20.0 is used to interpret the responses put forth by the sample in the survey. The results reveal that ethnocentrism reflects a significant and negative impact on intercultural communicative competence in the case of highly ethnocentric teachers. It is discovered that highly ethnocentric teachers have formal as well as informal relations with co-workers of their in-group culture. However, they have limited interaction with foreign colleagues, mainly for fulfilling official requirements at the workplace, which results in communication gaps among colleagues of different cultures. They lack knowledge associated with the culture of their foreign colleagues, cannot sort out miscommunication with them, and choose an appropriate mode of interaction needed for intercultural communication. Critical cultural awareness cannot be provoked due to the absence of awareness of foreign cultures. Therefore, cultural relativism, which is extremely important for the survival and progress of an institution, cannot be attained at the workplace. The study incorporates analytical approach and delves into the causes leading to strong ethnocentrism and gives recommendations to mitigate the intensity of ethnocentrism by accepting cultural variations and enhancing communicative competence and intercultural competence of employees serving at multicultural workplace settings. The present study contributes to the discipline of linguistics as it highlights the role of cognitive dimension of the social identity in demotivating a person for acquiring knowledge, v skills, and attitudes required for intercultural communication and evading interaction with foreign colleagues. The study is significant for employees serving at multi-national companies, overseas students and teachers. As they encounter people from different cultures daily, therefore their ethnocentric tendencies and behaviours should be countered and they must acquire intercultural communicative competence for ensuring effective intercultural communication.
TRANSLINGUALISM AND IDENTITY SHIFT AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS: A SOCIOPRAGMATIC STUDY Through a focus on students’ linguistic practices in academic and social spheres, this study explores translingualism and identity shifts among undergraduate students. The study adopts a mixed-method approach to data collection. The researcher used a closedended questionnaire to obtain quantitative data, while unstructured interviews to collect qualitative data, helping to deeply understand students’ experience in translingual environments. The findings show how students’ language choices are closely linked to their changing identities. While Pashto represents cultural and familial identity, English is associated with professionalism and modernity, and Urdu acts as a bridging language that enhances inclusivity among diverse social groups. Translingual co-construction of knowledge through translingual styles (e.g. strategic language switching) became key means by which these students engaged with topics of academic and social interest and creatively collaborated with peers. They also explained that their ability to change according to the situation helps them reconcile the need for cultural preservation with their experiences of contemporary academic and professional demands. Yet, also identified were challenges, such as societal stigma, processing confusion resulting from constant switching of languages, and tension to maintain key features of the target language, underlining the complex nature of these translingual practices. This study empirically demonstrates how multilingual students work with languages in different contexts to negotiate identity; thus, it adds to sociopragmatic literature. It highlights the ability of translingualism to promote inclusivity, improve language acquisition, and prepare learners for success in a globalized environment. The research calls on educational systems to adopt translingual pedagogies, have positive dispositions towards multilingualism, and view linguistic diversity as a resource to enhance academic and social development.
DETERMINER PHRASE IN PASHTO, URDU AND ENGLISH: A SYNTACTIC EXPLORATION INTO DP HYPOTHESIS Although genitive determiner phrase (DP) holds immense significance in a language, the structure of such phrases in Pashto and Urdu remains unexplored. This study is an attempt to analyze and compare the structure of genitive DP in English with the structure of genitive DP in two Pakistani languages, namely: Urdu, and Pashto with the help of X-bar theory. The theoretical framework selected for the study is DP hypothesis by Abney (1989). Fifty-four genitive DPs have been collected from the grammar books of the three selected languages through purposive sampling. Side by side analysis of DPs of the three selected languages is performed and the structure of the phrases of the selected languages is compared with each other. The findings of the study show that English demonstrates significant flexibility by employing both the of-genitive and construct genitive forms to express possession in simple and complex contexts; whereas, Urdu exhibits a more regulated use of possessive constructions. By utilizing both the of-genitive and construct genitive, Urdu predominantly relies on the use of ofgenitive, especially in longer or more complex phrases. Urdu's possessive markers align with number, gender, and case. Furthermore, Urdu employs postpositions, rather than prepositions, to denote possession, reflecting its unique syntactic structure. Pashto distinguishes itself by exclusively using the of-genitive structure for possessive constructions. It relies on prepositions and its minimalist syntax, marked by a null D' position in determiner phrases. Besides investigating an under-researched area, this study aims to foster cross-linguistic understanding by comparing the structure of DP in three selected languages. By exploring both the similarities and differences in DP structures across the three languages, the study seeks to promote a deeper understanding of linguistic diversity in general and syntactic diversity in particular.
METAPHORS IN ENVIRONMENTAL CREATIVE WRITING: AN ECOLINGUISTIC STUDY This study examines the use of conceptual metaphors in environmental creative writingthroughthepointofviewecolinguistics,centeringonpoemsfromPakistan, India, and America. Using frameworks of Lakoff and Johnson's conceptual metaphor theory, Halliday's transitivity analysis, and Stibbe's language, ecology, and the stories we live by, the study investigates how creative writing like poetry presents and conveys perceptions of environmental concerns. The study utilizes 15 poems, five from each country, to answer three main research questions: (1) What conceptual metaphors are employed to highlight environmental issues? (2) How do transitivity patterns reveal and construct conceptual metaphors that represent the human–nature relationship in environmental poetry within an ecolinguistic framework? (3) What consolidated ecosophy can be developed from a multiperspectival analysis of the selected texts? The findings expose a variety of metaphors portraying nature as a valued entity, a sufferer of exploitation, and an ally or a partner. Halliday’s transitivity analysis exposes varied depictions of human and nature connection, highlighting both damage and renewal. The resulted ecosophy embodies different themes like that of harmony, shared responsibility, stewardship, conservation, and urgency to take action, showing various ethical stances towards ecological preservation. The study focuses the influence of creative writing especially poetry in determining environmental awareness and highlights the significance of cultural viewpoints in comprehending environmental narratives. The understandings gained suggest a structure for developing culturally relevant and thoughtful approaches to ecological conservation, while proposing opportunities for future research to delve deeper and investigate further upon the findings. This research adds to the field of ecolinguistics by exploring the role of creative writing in environmental discourse and giving a profound insights into howmetaphorsand transitivity influence understanding of environmental issues.
Ink and Ideology: A Comparative Multimodal Analysis of Gaza Cartoons in British and Pakistani Press The Gaza conflict continues to be a focal point of global discourse, with profound regional and international implications. The study focused on the representation of the Gaza conflict in editorial cartoons from The Dawn and The Guardian newspapers. The objectives were twofold: to explore the portrayal of the conflict by means of semiotic repertoire employed and to identify similarities and differences in ideological depictions of the conflict between British and Pakistani print media. The research methodology involved qualitative analysis of thirty cartoons (fifteen from each newspaper), selected purposively from August 2020 to August 2024. Machin’s Multimodal discourse analysis (2007) and Van Dijk’s Ideological Square (1998) were leveraged as conceptual frameworks for the analysis. The findings show that cartoons in the British press through the use of devices such as inter-textuality (three wise men) and drawing parallels with the Ukraine conflict provided a relatively objective and comprehensive picture of the conflict. It highlighted not only the wrongs committed by both sides in this fight. On the contrary in the Pakistani newspaper, the Hamas element was avoided altogether which may provide an incomplete and lop-sided view of the conflict. Similarly, when depicting the negative role of the global community, the Dawn newspaper was found to be focusing on the UN or OIC; whereas the Guardian extended it to the role of western leadership as well. This aligns with the region and demography each newspaper basically caters to. The findings align with those of Shreim (2014) and Tasseron (2021), as when it comes to assigning the responsibility for the wide scale chaos, there are nuances and subtle differences in both newspapers’ depiction. These differences allow for downplaying the faults of a faction and providing it leeway for possible further aggression. The policy implications of these multimodal representations are significant since they influence how the conflict is perceived by the masses and thereby affect the decision-making at higher government echelons.
SEMIOTICS OF SOCIAL PROTESTS: A MULTIMODAL ANLYSIS OF MAHSA AMINI WOMEN’S DEMONSRATIONS This study undertakes a comprehensive multimodal analysis of forty strategically selected visuals from the Mahsa Amini protests, integrating Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen's Visual Grammar with Kimberlé Crenshaw's Intersectional Feminism to explore the pivotal role of visual art in fostering street activism, advocating for human rights, and challenging discrimination based on intersecting identity markers. By examining the visual strategies employed by protesters, this research sheds light on the complex ways in which visuals can disrupt dominant narratives, mobilize support, and create counter-narratives that promote social justice and human rights. Through a nuanced analysis of the visuals of the protests, this study highlights the agency, resilience, and creativity of women and marginalized groups in shaping their own narratives and resisting oppression, and demonstrates the ways in which visual art can be harnessed to contest power, challenge dominant ideologies, and promote social transformation. The findings of this research contribute to a deeper understanding of the transformative potential of visual art in shaping social movements and advancing social change, and underscore the importance of multimodal analysis in understanding the dynamics of social movements. By exploring the intersections between visual, linguistic, and spatial modes, this research reveals the complex ways in which meanings are created and negotiated in social justice activism, and highlights the critical role of visual art in shaping the narratives and outcomes of social justice activism. Ultimately, this study contributes to a nuanced understanding of the ways in which visual art can be used to promote social justice, challenge dominant power structures, and create new possibilities for human rights and social transformation, emphasizing the need for a multimodal approach to understanding the dynamics of social movements and the construction of social justice narratives.
Cognitive Processing Of Linguistic Resources In Translaguaging: A Psycholinguistic Exploration In Pakistani Context The use of translanguaging practices is a natural consequence of multilingualism. When individuals are proficient in multiple languages, they tend to draw on all of their linguistic resources to communicate their thoughts and ideas effectively. This study examines how Punjabi-Urdu-English trilingual speakers in Pakistan cognitively process multiple languages during comprehension and production. Informed by the theoretical lens of translanguaging and the Multilink model, this study examines the structural composition and cognitive mechanisms underlying the trilingual mental lexicon. The study sample consisted of 105 undergraduate students who were proficient in Punjabi, Urdu, and English. The participants were recruited through a stratified sampling technique. The study employs a mixed-methods design integrating psycholinguistic experiments (the picture-naming task, the Stroop task, and the translation-elicitation task) with qualitative insights from a language background questionnaire, interpretation of experimental tasks, and analysis of errors. The results reveal a unitary linguistic repertoire, with simultaneous activation of multiple language systems resulting in both facilitation and interference effects. The study’s findings also highlight the interconnectedness of languages in the minds of trilingual speakers, as activation of one language influences the processing of another either as facilitation or interference. These results highlight the dynamic interconnectedness of linguistic resources in trilinguals, offering implications for language teaching and cognitive linguistics. The study recommends recognising translanguaging as a legitimate practice in Pakistan’s language-in-education policies and integrating indigenous languages alongside Urdu and English. By focusing on cross-script language processing in a previously underresearched context, this study contributes original insights to psycholinguistics and multilingual education.
ECOLINGUISTIC DISCURSIVITIES FOR A GREENER PAKISTAN IN SINGLE NATIONAL CURRICULUM, 2020 The world is currently facing weather severities in the form of heavy rainfall, or no rain fall, tornadoes, floods and many other catastrophes specifically in Pakistan. As a human being, we have to look for the core reasons which trigger such natural disasters leading towards many causalities. One reason of this can be humans’ irresponsible attitudes towards nature. This issue can be fixed if our generation learns and study ecofriendly discourses and ecocentric narratives as a part of their curriculum. The then Government of Pakistan initiated to introduce a single national curriculum for all public and private institutes in Pakistan. There arises a need to analyze this curriculum in terms of its ecological narratives. The current study aims to analyze SNC published English textbooks of grade I to V using Arran Stibbe’s four ecolinguistic stories of Erasure, metaphor, appraisal and salience. The purpose of current study is to examine the extent of environmental awareness and ecosophy in English language textbooks of Single National Curriculum through ecolinguistic lens. This study has also used the framework of social semiotic theory of multimodal discourse by Kress and Van Leewan in consideration of analyzing visuals from these textbooks. The findings have shown that these books have ambivalent discourse to present for the learners. The linguistic choices of the author do not precisely incline towards one side, rather they present ecocentric as well as anthropocentric views, with majority of ecofriendly narratives. The ecosophy developed with the integration of these two theories is also ambivalent. These narratives significantly contribute in shaping the perception of young readers’ minds towards their environment and indicating a need for more deliberate inclusion of ecocentric content.
A Comparative Analysis Of The Constitution Of The Islamic Republic Of Pakistan And Its Urdu Translation: A Study into Translation Quality Assessment Legal translation is a complex and highly skilled task, often seen as “the ultimate linguistic challenge” (Harvey, 2002), due to its demand for both literal and technical accuracy. It involves navigating differences in language, culture, and legal systems, requiring translators to make syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic adjustments to achieve equivalence between source and target texts. The present study investigates how legal translators have addressed syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic shifts in the Urdu translation of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. This study adopts a two-step methodology, first by using Chesterman’s (1997) translation strategies to analyze what kinds of syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic shifts occur and how they are applied by the translators. Second, Alan Duff’s (1989) principles (i.e., meaning, form, register, source language influence, style and clarity, and idiom) are subsequently applied to evaluate the quality of the identified translation shifts. These principles offer a comprehensive lens through which the accuracy, appropriateness, and naturalness of the translated legal content can be assessed and they help establish a structured model for Translation Quality Assessment (TQA), a comprehensive framework for evaluating the quality of translations in terms of linguistic accuracy, cultural equivalence, and stylistic appropriateness. The study primarily adopts a qualitative content analysis approach that blends structural analysis with qualitative evaluation to examine the accuracy, clarity, and overall effectiveness of legal translations. The findings reveal that the translated text accurately preserves the original meaning without arbitrary additions or omissions. Structural fidelity is maintained, though necessary adjustments have been made due to syntactic differences between English and Urdu. The translators have also demonstrated awareness of register by adapting the tone and rhythm to suit the formality of the target language. Despite this, stylistic conventions of Urdu have been respected, including directionality, numbering systems, and clarity in presentation. Overall, the translation succeeds in maintaining the style, clarity, and legal tone of the original. However, the researcher also highlights specific instances where translation choices may lead to ambiguity in the target text, particularly in v relation to G2: Loan (the direct borrowing of source language terms without translation), the Calque strategy (a literal translation that mirrors the structure of the source expression), and Pr3: Information Change (where information is either added or omitted to adapt to the target language context). These instances suggest that certain lexical and structural decisions may compromise clarity or accuracy, prompting a recommendation for the concerned authorities to revisit and refine the translated segments to ensure greater transparency and consistency in legal communication. These findings contribute to improving legal translation practices and carry broader implications for the accurate interpretation of the Constitution of Pakistan in multilingual legal contexts. Keywords: Legal Translation, Syntactic, Semantic and Pragmatic Translation Shifts, Translation Quality Assessment (TQA), Principles of Translation
EXPLORING HETEROTOPIA: UNDERSTANDING INTERNMENT AND DISPLACEMENT WITHIN GULAGS THROUGH SELECTED TEXTS The present research, Exploring Heterotopia: Understanding Internment and Displacement within Gulags through Selected Texts, investigates the representation of Gulags in Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes (2015) by Guzel Yakhina and Between Shades of Gray (2011) by Ruta Sepetys through the theoretical lens of heterotopic spaces. Space studies, particularly those concerned with displacement and trauma, provide an essential framework for examining the lived realities within the Gulags, which were marked by oppression, exile, and forced labor. This research aims to illuminate the connection between heterotopia and the Gulag system, offering a valuable perspective on how oppressive spaces shape human experience. Both novels shed light on the harsh realities of the Soviet regime, portraying the horrors of exile, the brutality of internment, and the endurance of resistance. The writers foreground how individuals confronted displacement, loss, and fragmentation of identity while simultaneously negotiating the possibility of community and resilience within conditions of confinement. The central purpose of this research is to analyze how space within the Gulags impacts the lives of individuals and how such heterotopic spaces function in constructing, dismantling, and reshaping identity. The study contextualizes Michel Foucault’s notion of heterotopia, further developed by anthropologist Michel Agier, to better understand the dynamics of internment and exclusion. In addition, Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s monumental work The Gulag Archipelago (1958–1968) is employed to provide historical grounding and further reinforce the analysis. The research ultimately seeks to examine two core questions: the role of Gulags as heterotopic spaces in shaping identity, and how acts of struggle and resistance contribute to the formation of new communities within oppressive environments.