Cultural Schema of Gender in Pakistani English Newspapers: A Textual Analysis
Keywords:
gender , culture, media, cultural conceptualisations, schemaAbstract
Language and culture are interlinked as culture is expressed and perpetuated through language. Gender is a significant conceptual domain shaped by the norms and traditions of a particular culture which can be deeply entrenched and difficult to challenge. The cultural conceptualizations and gender related associations and definitions are expressed and negotiated through language. Pakistan has a patriarchal and culturally diverse social structure in which gender roles are rooted in culturally situated norms and practices. Print media shapes and expresses public opinion. The language in print media can be a rich source to study cultural norms and values. It also offers insights into how gender ideologies are represented and reproduced in public discourse. The current study explored how linguistic choices construct culturally situated gender related conceptualizations as portrayed in the selected newspaper discourse by analysing the cultural conceptualizations and the themes emerging out of them. Using a qualitative, interpretive approach to textual analysis, the study explored opinion articles from Dawn, The News International, and The Nation, three of the renowned English newspapers of Pakistan. Utilizing Sharifian’s conceptual and analytical model of cultural conceptualizations, the study aimed at interpreting the cultural schema of gender as presented in the selected newspapers. The analysis revealed a distributed and culturally constructed schema of women belonging to particular cultural groups. The public discourse establishes that culture-specific norms and values emerge through linguistic choices. The study further explores the trilateral relationship between language, culture and gender and adds to the existing literature on the use of culturally embedded language in print media. Its novelty lies in utilizing the cultural perspective to analyse the cultural conceptualizations of gender embedded in language of Pakistani English newspapers. It has a wide scope in its significance to sensitize the public discourse creators to adopt more flexible way of expression to reshape gender equality in society. Future researchers can build on this concept of cultural conceptualizations to explore gender-related issues in Pakistan.
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