Journal of Communication and Cultural Trends

Cognitive Stylistic Analysis of Namibia’s 1904-1908 Nama-Herero Genocide through Fictional Narratives

Linus Nghilifavali Hafeni — 2024-09-30

This study examines four Namibian Nama-Herero literary texts about the genocide in Namibia through the application of the cognitive stylistics framework. The texts analyzed are, Lauri Kubuitsile’s (2016) The Scattering, Jaspar D. Utley’s (2017) Lie of the Land, Rukee Tjingaete’s (2017) The Weeping Graves of our Ancestors and Zirk Van den Berg’s (2018) Parts Unknown. The four novels have been selected because they present the Nama-Herero genocide, which took place from 1904 -1908 during which over 65,000 Ovaherero and 10,000 Nama people perished, in what is known as the first genocide of the twentieth century. The study aims at probing how the use of cognitive stylistics can enhance readers’ understanding of the narratives of the genocide depicted in these Namibian fictional texts. It follows a qualitative approach, with content analysis as the primary data collection method. It explores the creative writing techniques used to project genocidal narratives in these fictionalised stories. In addition to that, the use of conceptual metaphors to establish a connection between the reader and the text has also been explored. The study is guided by schema and trauma theories. Schema theory takes into account all the mental activities associated with tasks such as thinking, knowing, communicating and remembering. It helps both the writers and the readers to mentally reconstruct the events of the genocide, including the loss of life through brutal killings, rape, and livestock confiscation. Moreover, the study examines the depiction of genocidal trauma of the Herero and Nama through the application of trauma theory.The findings demonstrate that schema and trauma theories offer a framework for understanding the narrative construction of genocide in the selected texts. This approach not only deepens the understanding of the genocidal experiences encountered by the Nama-Herero but also highlights the role of language in conveying historical trauma.

Cross Cultural Pragmatic Analysis of Pakistani and American Political Talkshows

Neelma Riaz — 2024-09-30

The fundamental goal of politeness is to ensure that the discourse between the interlocutors proceeds smoothly, free from conflict and misunderstanding, and the addressee's face desires are given significant weight in a given context. This research centers on the pragmatic examination of the selected one political talk show from Pakistan and one from the United States. The current study aims to investigate the cross-cultural variations in the use of different politeness tactics and maxims. The impact of disobeying the speech maxims was examined by applying Leech's (1983) conversational maxims. This research also investigated the use of certain politeness strategies which are employed to avoid damage or risk to the face. Furthermore, different impoliteness strategies employed in order to attack the face of the hearer were also analyzed and discussed in detail in both Pakistani and American talk shows. It is expected that the present study will highlight some preponderant features of both the Pakistani and American politicians’ realization of politeness strategies.

Portrayal of Power in the Headlines of Pakistani English Newspapers: A Pragmatic Stylistic Analysis

Yasmin Akhtar — 2024-09-30

In the present information age, media texts play a dual purpose of transmitting information as well as being a decisive factor to develop public opinions by creating relevant discourse as per the demand of those with particular interests. Such a situation necessitates a critical inquiry into media texts to desensitize the readers to avoid taking media texts at face value. However, the complex nature of such texts requires multi-perspectivism which is made possible through interdisciplinary studies (Hansen, 2011; Klein, 2004). The pragmatic stylistic framework developed by Black (2006), a combination of two domains, provides us with the tools to disentangle the intricacies of such texts and to read between the lines. In the same vein, the present study utilizes Black’s (2006) pragmatic stylistic framework to identify the linguistic and stylistic strategies and also to explore how the language resources are manipulated and used as a tool to depict the interplay of power relations based on difference in position, authority or situation. The data for the current pursuit comprises 30 front-page headlines from The Daily Dawn and The News International. The data analysis process follows the analytical paradigm of descriptive qualitative interpretation in conjunction with Black’s pragmatic stylistic framework (2006). The findings of the study reveal a significant role played by the pragmatic stylistic features in creating and maintaining power relations in newspaper headlines. The findings further validate that linguistic resources are exploited in a way to influence readers’ perception of the reported event and to implicitly project newsmakers’ ideologies. The findings highlight the need to sensitize the readers to such linguistic manoeuvres in order to help them avoid taking the media texts at face value.

Social Semiotics of Trauma, Betrayal, and Displacement in the Screenplay Jo Bichar Gaye: A Multimodal Analysis

Zahida Mansoor — 2025-01-02

The study uses Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA) to explore the social semiotics of trauma, betrayal, and displacement in the Pakistani screenplay Jo Bichar Gaye. This play represents memories of a soldier playing back on events that led to the separation of East Pakistan. Scenes were purposively selected based on their significance to the themes under investigation. The screenplay provided multi-modal text in a hybrid form of linguistic and visual elements for cohesive ties in the characters’ conversations as well as meaningful cinemascope techniques. The analysis revealed the emotional and psychological effects of the upheaval that led to Pakistan’s capitulation. The findings show that the screenplay’s portrayal of conflicting beliefs, extreme sentiments and the loss of lives, highlighted the influence of the third Indo-Pakistan conflict as part of the pre-war discourse and the effects on individuals and society. The multifaceted interplay of attitudes and experiences associated with historical trauma, also call attention to the media's role in enriching the academic discourse, and the relevance of the screenplay as a significant cultural artifact providing insights into traumatic historical events.

Construal Operations: An Analysis of the Political Discourse regarding COVID-19

Tanzeela Waqar — 2024-09-30

Women are underrepresented in high positions in many fields. Taking the example of politics, this unequal social representation may have an impact on the discourses of the relevant sexes in choosing a specific discourse type as an effect of power. The COVID-19 pandemic required political leaders to communicate to their nations directly through official speeches to make them conversant about the day-to-day varying situation. The speeches of the leaders during the catastrophe may reveal their manifested gender. The aim of the research is to explore how they position or are positioned as leaders in the conventions of the political discourse differently. The research takes on Fairclough’s (2015) notion of power behind discourse to explore the dynamic relationship of power, discourse and gender. As far as methodological framework is concerned, cognitive linguistic-critical discourse analysis is employed to analyze the qualitative data which includes political speeches of different leaders. The data analysis reveals that male leaders do not change their conventional discourse pattern. It is the females who keep on changing linguistic techniques to communicate effectively keeping in view the demand of the situation. The implication of the study is that the reader will be assisted in examining how language that deviates from known and customary patterns can build new ways of reality. The study's considerable focus is on the discursive construction of gender representation in political discourse which will help understand that language is a rich resource to develop and shape their unique identities