Journal of Communication and Cultural Trends

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

Linus Nghilifavali Hafeni, Collen Sabao, Haileleul Zeleke Woldemariam — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

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.

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

Yasmin Akhtar, Sarwet Rasul, Sundas Mehreen — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In the current information era, media texts serve two purposes: they convey information and also shape public opinion by generating pertinent discourse in response to the demands of specific interest groups. To make readers avoid taking media texts at face value necessitates a critical investigation. However, since these texts are complex and require multi-perspectivism, an interdisciplinary study becomes necessary (Hansen, 2011; Klein, 2004). By combining two domains, Black (2006) constructed a pragmatic stylistic framework that enables reading between the lines and decipher the subtleties of the produced texts. The current study employs Black's (2006) Pragmatic Stylistic framework to identify linguistic and stylistic strategies, as well as to investigate how language resources are manipulated and used as a tool to depict the interplay of power relations based on position, authority, or situation. The data for the current pursuit includes 30 front-page headlines from The Daily Dawn and The News International, while the data analysis process is based on the analytical paradigm of descriptive qualitative interpretation. The study's findings show that pragmatic stylistic aspects play an important role in establishing and maintaining power relations in newspaper headlines. They support the notion that linguistic resources are used to influence readers' perceptions of the reported event while also implicitly projecting newsmakers' ideology.

Cross Cultural Pragmatic Analysis of Pakistani and American Political Talkshows

Neelma Riaz, Samia Tahir, Zahida Younas — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

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.