University of Chitral Journal of Linguistics and Literature
Established in 2017, the University of Chitral Journal of Linguistics and Literature (JLL) is an HEC-recognized, open-access, peer-reviewed, and internationally indexed scholarly journal, published biannually by the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Chitral. Committed to advancing and disseminating high-quality research, the Journal serves as a forum for original scholarly inquiry in linguistics, literature, language studies, and allied interdisciplinary domains. The Journal does not charge any Article Processing Charges (APCs), submission fees, publication fees, or other charges to author(s) for publishing their original research. All accepted Articles are published free of charge, subject to the journal’s standard peer-review and editorial processes. 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 are preserved via PKP and openly archived. 2025 h-index: 13; 2025 i10-index: 20 Peer Review: Peer-reviewed, open to international scholars Licensing: CC BY license Indexing & Archiving: HEC, DOAJ, EBSCO, MLA International Bibliography, JOURNAL ASIAN INDEXING, Asian Research Index (ARI), 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 (2017–2026)
Department of English Language and Literature, University of Chitral, Pakistan
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Foucault’s Concept of Power and Its Local Manifestations: A Case Study of Dera Ghazi Khan
This Writing employs the theoretical framework of Michel Foucault to analyze the localized power dynamics in Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan. Going beyond conventional top-down conceptions of sovereign power, within the particular sociopolitical context of the area, the study looks at how power functions as a constant capillary-like network, which Foucault called the “microphysics of power”. By examining how traditional tribal systems and contemporary state institutions control behavior, govern population, and uphold social hierarchies, the study explores the expression of disciplinary power and bio-power. This study is significant because it provides a quantifiable framework to comprehend how tribal norms and institutional disciplinary structures interact in a post-colonial society, bridging the gap between high-level theory and local ethnographic realities. To make sure an objective representation of the local population, the methodology uses a quantitative approach and straightforward random sampling procedures. SPSS was then used to examine the gathered data in order to find trends and correlations in the ways that power is used and resisted at the capillary level. This study attempts to go beyond abstract philosophy in order to provide a quantitative picture of how the residents of Dera Ghazi Khan perceive these invisible structures. This study uses the 20-item survey instrument with an exceptional reliability score of .940 to analyze the social conformity of 40 local participants in connection with localized regimes of truth and disciplinary procedures. The results offer factual proof that power in Dera Ghazi Khan is a productive and universal network that influences the social and institutional lives of the native tribal people rather than just a top-down force.
tribalism, disciplinary power, bio-power, Dera Ghazi Khan, social identities
Copyright (c) 2026 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
A SYSTEMIC FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SELF REPRESENTATION IN CHATGPT AND GEMINI RESPONSES
Large Language Models (LLMs) have changed human-computer interaction by allowing conversational systems to converse using natural language and first-person self-reference. As these systems become more ubiquitous in education, professional settings, and everyday communication, it is critical to investigate how people use language to form their identities. This study examines the self-representation of ChatGPT and Gemini using Halliday and Matthiessen's Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), with a special focus on the transitivity system. The current research adopted a qualitative research method and purposively selected self-referential responses from both chatbots were analysed at the clause level to identify process types and participant roles. The result of this article demonstrates that both ChatGPT and Gemini systems determine their roles, skills, and functions and present themselves as active assistants primarily through Material and Relational processes. However, differences were found in their linguistic patterns furthermore ChatGPT presents a more conversational, transparent, and service-oriented identity, while Gemini shows a more formal and system-oriented identity, emphasizing purpose, collaboration, and design. There was very little application of existential and behavioural processes. The study highlights the value of transitivity analysis for understanding AI self-representation and linguistic identity construction in conversational AI.
Generative Artificial Intelligence; ChatGPT; Gemini; Systemic Functional Linguistics; Transitivity Analysis; Self-Representation; AI Discourse
Gender Performativity in Cinematic Discourse: An Analysis of Dialogue in the Movie The Drama
In contemporary linguistics and media studies, gender is viewed as socially constructed and performative. This study aims to analyze dialogue in the movie The Drama using Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity to examine how masculinity and femininity are socially constructed and challenged. It also examines how traditional gender roles are reinforced or resisted in cinematic discourse and how gender is performed through language. The study employs a qualitative research design and purposive sampling to analyze linguistic features such as lexical choices, speech acts, repetition, and interactional strategies in selected dialogue excerpts. The findings show that humor, dominance, and emotional suppression contribute to the construction of masculinity, while emotional openness and sensitivity contribute to the construction of femininity. However, conventional gender stereotypes are also challenged through male vulnerability and female assertiveness. The study concludes that gender in The Drama is socially constructed and performed through language and interaction, demonstrating its fluid and performative nature.
Gender Performativity, Masculinity, Femininity, Film Discourse, Dialogue Analysis
Generative AI and Personalized English Language Learning: A Case Study of NUML English Language Advanced Diploma Learners
The present research seeks to explore the positive impacts of Generative AI on personalized learning particularly focusing on prompt engineering among the students of Advanced Diploma in English Language at the National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad Pakistan. Personalized learning is a practice of adapting educational experiences to students’ specific needs and preferences. This process is enhanced by AI tools, especially when they use learner-generated prompt. These tools help students learn more efficiently by providing individualized support and immediate feedback. This study employs a qualitative method. In order to collect data, ten participants of advanced diploma were requested to provide written feedback about their experiences with generative artificial intelligence. The goal of the research was to evaluate how generative AI improved writing abilities, increased learners’ interests and active engagement in work, enhanced critical thinking, and enabled more personalized learning experiences. The results indicated that students’ educational experiences were improved by generative AI interactions. This study provides valuable information about effectiveness of AI in language education and how it might shape future teaching methods particularly in Pakistani higher education context.
Potential and personalized learning, Generative AI, written feedback and higher education.
Copyright (c) 2026 Ms. Atika Rub Nawaz, Dr. Hazrat Umar (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Feminist Pedagogy and Student Voice in ESL Classrooms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
This study is a qualitative investigation of the role of feminist pedagogy in promoting student voice and participation in undergraduate English as a Second Language (ESL) classroom in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. In total, 32 undergraduate ESL students (balanced by gender) in four public universities were the subjects of data collection for six weeks. Data comprised eight classroom observations, 16 semi-structured interviews, and 32 short written reflections. The study was informed by critical pedagogy, feminist pedagogy and interactionist theories of second language acquisition. Thematic analysis revealed that the use of open-ended questioning, group discussion, shared authority and respect for students' lived experiences afforded more room for participation by learners. The students reported a higher level of confidence when the teacher gave importance to the opinion of the students instead of just the correct answer. Student feedback particularly that from female students, highlighted group work as a safer method of speaking that would ease the pressure before being put to the test in whole- class discussion. Participation was, nonetheless, influenced by sociocultural expectations, institutional ties, and prior learning experiences. The study suggests that feminist pedagogy can enhance the inclusive and communicative nature of ESL classrooms, but proper training for teachers and institutional support is necessary to create lasting change.
ESL classrooms; classroom participation; learner empowerment; Pakistan
A Comparative Syntactic Analysis of WH-Headlines in Dawn and BBC E-Newspapers
Readers first come across headlines in a newspaper. However, it is found that journalistic discourse shows syntactic deviations in news reporting. The WH-clause in headings exhibit different functions of declarative statements and rhetoric questions. Studies discovered that syntactic constructions of WH-statements in newspaper headlines pique curiosity, eagerness and attentiveness among readers. Nevertheless, no substantive analysis has been conducted to present the syntactic comparison of a national Dawn and an international BBC e-newspaper headlines with WH-clauses. The present study compares the syntactic construction of 20 WH-statements using stratified sampling, 10 from each e-paper following Noam Chomsky’ Minimalist Program (MP). Results indicated that most of the WH-statements in news headlines have few syntactic deviation. All the headlines carried WH-words including what, why, how, and whose. All the statements were either rhetorical questions or declarative statements. The voice was kept active. Similarly, in most of the sentences subject-auxiliary inversion was observed while few statements explicit syntactic reduction of question mark “?”, and auxiliary verb. Hardly, 1-2 sentences showed subject omission. Almost in 2-3 statements phrases were added before WH-words. Future researchers, students, teachers, linguists can use this research for better understanding and knowledge of WH-syntactic construction in journalistic discourse. Therefore, these headlines engage readers by manipulating their ideologies. Additionally, future researchers can analyze and compare more Pakistani and international English or other languages WH-headlines of newspaper. Future researchers could determine more syntactic deviations in newspaper headlines.
e-news, syntax, Dawn, BBC, syntactic analysis
Language Hierarchy and Symbolic Power in Commercial and Institutional Signage: A Linguistic Landscape Study of Haripur City
This study analyzes the linguistic landscape of Haripur city, a district in KPK Province, Pakistan. A total of fifty signs are photographed for this study, including signs from both institutional and commercial sectors. This study follows a qualitative approach due to its interpretive aims, supported by quantitative elements such as frequency counts. The analysis is done through the theoretical framework of linguistic landscape given by Landry and Bourhis (1997), which focuses on the informational and symbolic function of the signs, and Bourdieu’s (1991) theory of symbolic power, linguistic capital, and linguistic market. This study focuses on exploring the linguistic patterns and transliteration practices in the public signage of Haripur city and on deciphering the hidden social meanings and power relations behind the use of certain languages in public signage. The findings of the study reveal that Urdu dominates the commercial signage, English occupies the educational, medical, and institutional domains due to its association with prestige, power, and professionalism, Arabic is limited to religious signage, where it occupies a sacred symbolic capital; while Hindko and Pashto are completely absent from the public signage despite their oral dominance in domestic and informal communal domains. The findings also reveal how sign makers make use of transliteration to write English terms in Urdu Nastaliq script, combining the prestige associated with the English language with the accessibility of the Urdu script for the Urdu-literate audience. This study contributes to the growing research in the domain of linguistic landscape in the Pakistani context. The findings of this study may align with other mid-sized cities of the KPK Province.
Copyright (c) 2026 Muhammad Haris Saleem (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Language, Genre, and the Politics of Literary Form in Pakistani Fiction in English
This article argues that the political orientation of Pakistani fiction in English whether resistant or assimilative in its relationship to the metropolitan literary apparatus is inscribed in literary form, and that formal analysis is therefore both possible and necessary as a mode of political evaluation. Drawing on Ashcroft, Griffiths, and Tiffin’s distinction between abrogation and appropriation, Fanon’s analysis of the politics of colonial language acquisition, and Bhabha’s concept of colonial mimicry, the article demonstrates through comparative formal analysis of Muhammad Hanif’s Our Lady of Alice Bhatti (2011) and Mohsin Hamid’s The Last White Man (2022) that the two novels embody radically opposed formal politics. Hanif’s formal strategies — genre subversion, vernacular code-switching, ironic satirical excess, and the refusal of consolatory narrative closure constitute formal resistant appropriation: the deployment of metropolitan literary conventions in the service of postcolonial resistant ends. Hamid’s formal strategies — Kafkaesque allegorical abstraction, cosmopolitan standard English, psychological interiority without cultural situatedness, and universalising narrative resolution constitute formal assimilative appropriation: the adoption of metropolitan literary forms with minimal transformation toward postcolonial purposes. Drawing on postcolonial theory from Fanon, Ashcroft et al., and Bhabha, the article demonstrates that formal distinction between the two novels is not merely aesthetic but political — a distinction between different intellectual commitments to the primary culture, different understandings of the writer’s social role and different answers to the question of what postcolonial literature in English is for.
Muhammad Hanif; Mohsin Hamid; postcolonial English
From Separation to Symbiosis: Analyzing Sufia Humayun’s Short Fiction from Shattered Echoes through Haraway’s Cyborg Lens
This paper analyzes Humayun’s (2024) Under the Currents through Haraway’s (1985) cyborg lens. The short story is taken from her anthology of short stories, Shattered Echoes, published in 2024. The study examines the increasing interdependence between human and machine. While posthumanism questions the concept of human sovereignty and independence, the human-machine relationship in Pakistani science fiction is less explored. The study uses Haraway’s (1985) cyborg lens as a theoretical framework and McKee’s (2003) textual analysis method to make a qualitative close reading of selected text excerpts from the story. The analysis focuses on how the characters have merged boundaries with the machine. The characters interact with the device “Vision-O” and the device notices characters’ subtle gestures such as grief and tears. The device controls human emotions, memories, and physical situations. The findings illustrate that the boundaries between human and machine have been dissolved completely in Under the Currents. It also depicts that machines have become disturbingly lively and humans have become frighteningly inert. The agency of the characters in the story is controlled by technology. Characters and machines are inseparable; the characters even use technology in the absence of a device, which shows that they have become cyborgs. This study shows what it means to live in a world where humans have lost control of their own agency and emotions. This study adds to critical posthumanism and Pakistani science fiction.
Traversing the Erotopolitic: A Feminist Perspective on Sabyn Javeri’s Nobody Killed Her and Hijabistan
This article attempts to explore the use of biopolitics by Sabyn Javeri’s female characters in Nobody Killed Her and Hijabistan to challenge the structures of power depicted in the works. Sabyn Javeri’s characters are shown to be engaged in various attempts to disrupt the heteronormative structures of authority while making use of their body as a locus of power struggle. The article highlights how these characters perform different acts that may be defined as transgressive to restructure the societies they exist in. In the case of certain women characters, the treatment of the body as a site of political wrangling entails the use of sexually subversive practices to resist the patriarchal societies they inhabit. This research argues that the politically and economically marginalized women characters are shown to be involved in politics of the body, including erotopolitics, to question the traditional ways of being in the patriarchal societies. While focusing on the discussion of body politics, this research attempts to analyse the usefulness of employing the body in order to challenge the institutions of authority in the selected texts. It also discusses the potential setbacks of using the body as a site of political drama since it runs the risk of promoting the persecution of the already marginalized female individuals. This research focuses on acts of resistance against institutional apparatuses as well as the repressive practices by institutionalised authority that come into play as a result of these actions.
Fears of Language Learning: A Rapid Evidence Review and Secondary Analysis of Foreign Language Anxiety with a Focus on Pakistan
Foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) is one of the most thoroughly researched affective variables in SLA literature; yet, the empirical evidence base is somewhat inconsistent, and its relevance for stakes-based and English-medium environments, such as Pakistan, is insufficiently understood. This rapid evidence review and secondary analysis summarize the international and Pakistani research on FLCA and related phenomena. Based on existing theoretical frameworks and several meta-analyses, this review demonstrates the existence of an established, substantial correlation (between −.34 and −.39) between language anxiety and achievement, with relevant moderators that relate to skill, developmental, and language-related aspects. In descriptive studies conducted in Pakistan, communication apprehension and fear of negative evaluation were found to be the main contributors to language anxiety, especially in relation to oral performance, but inconsistently about gender and achievement. The mechanisms discussed are linked to three classroom- and policy-relevant constructs particular to Pakistan, namely corrective feedback, task design, and English-medium instruction. Further gaps in the research on measurement (construct validity and the “anxiety versus skills” discussion), research design (cross-sectional correlational studies prevail; little causal inference is offered), and interventions (lack of randomized experiments, very few interventions in Pakistan) are outlined. The conclusions suggest some evidence-informed suggestions regarding teaching, assessment, and language-in-education policy in Pakistan.
foreign language anxiety; foreign language classroom anxiety; fear of negative evaluation; foreign language enjoyment; English-medium instruction; teacher feedback; Pakistan
Copyright (c) 2026 Muhammad Talha Bin Latif, Ayesha Yaqoob, Muhammad Owais (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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.
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/
Framing the Past, Sustaining the Present, and Preserving the Future: Film Production and the Preservation of Igbo Cultural Heritage.
The transmission of indigenous knowledge systems in a globalized world necessitates the adaptation of cultural practices into modern, accessible media. Film production is as a vital channel for preserving, and transmitting a people's intangible cultural heritage. This study investigates a contemporary Nigerian cinema, 'Egwu Ọnwa,' as a medium for preserving the traditional Igbo folk performance. It is a visual adaptation that attempts to interpret, recreate, and transpose the pre-existing oral form of Igbo communal performance. The paper examines the transition of the 'Egwu Ọnwa' cultural content from its original space and oral form into a visual, digital medium. The primary objectives are to identify the cultural elements of traditional Egwu Ọnwa represented in the film, to assess the degree of positive versus negative representation of these elements within the filmic adaptation. Employing the Theory of Adaptation as the framework, the study utilizes a purposive sampling method, focusing exclusively on the film 'Egwu Ọnwa'. The analysis reveals that while the film successfully portrays many of the activities that characterized moonlight games in ancient Igbo society, it also features several scenes where the representation deviates into a negative or distorted portrayal of the traditional cultural context and values. The study concludes that the film industry offers an avenue for preserving and transmitting the rich Igbo cultural heritage to contemporary and future generations. It recommends that filmmakers exercise diligent cultural fidelity to avoid distortions or negative portrayals that could undermine the Igbo cultural tradition being documented.
Preservation, Adaptation, Culture, Filmmakers, Egwu Onwa.
Copyright (c) 2026 Anyachebelu, Adaora Lois (Author); Adebayo, Folorunso (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/
Examining the art of myth-making in A Season for Martyrs by Bina Shah
Bina Shah’s novel A Season for Martyrs (2014) brings forth the history, culture, and politics of the land of Sindh in a new grandeur that gives a mythopoeic aspect to the characters that cannot be ignored. Mythopoeia (Tolkien, 1988) is the art of myth-making, that is, the creation of new myths or recreation of old and existing myths with a new luster (Tolkien, 1988). The research explores the conversion of historical and political figures and cultural heritage into mythical legends and the preexisting mythical heritage of Sindh more majestic at the hands of Bina Shah (2014). Shah (2014) has generated a mixture of mythical supremacy with ordinary humanity in her created myths that, like popular mythical heroes, are the saviors of mankind but equally contain the human side that makes them closer to humankind. Among all the mythopoeic characters is the one for whom Shah (2014) has set this whole mythical stage, that is the Eighth Queen, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.
Copyright (c) 2026 Rida Saeed (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
A MULTIMODAL STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF SELECTED ENDSARS PROTEST PLACARDS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Several studies have been done on the EndSARS protest in Nigeria using different linguistic approaches to analyse and interpret data. However, little attention has been given to the combination of stylistic and multimodal approaches to the study of placards to unravel how textual resources contribute to the style of meaning in texts. The paper therefore examines the meaning and style of semiotic resources in the selected data. Five (5) purposively selected placards from the EndSARS protest were analysed, using Kress and van Leeuwen's (2006) social semiotic theory and foregrounding theory as the theoretical framework. It was discovered that placards on EndSARS protests are presented with a combination of several modes, such as text, colour, and images. These modes serve the purpose of creating meaning effectively, and this can be proved in the display of placards selected for analysis. The study concludes that placards have different messages which can be decoded through multimodal and stylistic approaches.
Copyright (c) 2026 Ibrahim Omolabi (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
Semantic cueing has been used by speech and language therapists, as a facilitatory method to stimulate word recall, in young children as well as adults having speech and language disorders, of neurogenic origin and otherwise. The therapist provides relevant and meaningful contextual information about the category of the word (fruits), or its attributes (red fruit, a red fruit that you cut with a knife before eating) or any other features (grows on a tree), as a prompt to recall the target word (apple). In children having language disorder (DLD), or adults with aphasia having word-finding difficulties, who have trouble accessing the complex neural network where concepts and experiences are stored, this technique helps organize the stored mental lexicon, for word retrieval. Research supports semantic cueing as an effective technique for accuracy in word recall in comparison with phonological cues. Though efficacy of semantic cueing is dependent upon the type and severity of the language impairment, it is known to improve linguistic skills and communication in pediatric and adult population. Cueing can be very effective for vocabulary development in bi/multilingual children. Semantic Feature Analysis supports cueing as a method that reactivates weakened lexical-semantic neural connections, post brain-injury.
Copyright (c) 2026 Siddiqui A., Butt, A, Anis, F., Cila Umat, Tabish, T, Yousuf, F, (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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/