NUML journal of critical inquiry

“A woman’s tongue is a double-edged sword”: A Linguo-Cultural Analysis of Yoruba and Punjabi Proverbs

Lubna Akhlaq Khan — 2022-03-14

This study focuses on Yoruba (African) and Punjabi proverbs by engaging with the themes of 'talk' and 'silence' regarding the gender of the speaker. Taking insights from Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (Lazar, 2007), data have been collected through purposive quota sampling from the collections of Punjabi and Yoruba proverbs. The thematic content analysis of the paremiological data from both languages reveals that women have been designated as loquacious in contemptuous terms as an indication of their ‘empty brains.’ Their argument is assumed to be meaningless as compared to the one offered by some male speakers. Silence in women is appreciated as a chief trait of a socially acceptable character. On the other hand, men's talk has been glorified as an essential trait of ‘merdangi’ (manliness), and they are encouraged to talk. In both languages, men are explicitly advised neither to act upon their wives’ suggestions nor to share their secrets with them. Feminine discourse has been showcased as an unproductive activity with a strong emphasis on the speakers' unreliability and insincerity. The speakers of these languages have to be aware of the adverse effects of such discourses on silencing the feminine voices for their rights and venting their creative talents. A conscious effort needs to be made by the media and academia to spread more positive discourses to make women an active and productive part of the social dialogue.

Understanding the Impact of Social Networks on ESL Proficiency

Minahil Kausar — 2022-03-14

Given the importance of English for academic success and socio- economic mobility in Pakistan, proficiency in English as a Second language (ESL) is a necessity for Pakistani learners who aspire for better employability, social mobility, and academic success. However, despite the importance of comprehensible input in L2 for language learners’ progression, most Pakistani ESL learners have limited L2 exposure or opportunities to develop their L2 skills, particularly in their home networks wherein the use of Urdu or regional languages is favored. Adopting the theoretical lens of Milroy's social network theory (1987), this study investigates how Pakistani ESL learners’ social networks comprising family members, friends and peers promote or hinder their L2 learning. The data for the study was collected through questionnaires and interviews implemented with BS undergraduate ESL learners at a Pakistani university. This study finds that participants with weak and multiplex ties are more likely to make gains in L2 proficiency. In contrast, strong and uniplex ties hinders Pakistani ESL learners from improving their L2 proficiency as the learners tend to predominantly use Urdu or regional languages when communicating within such networks. Based on these findings, it is argued that social networks can be leveraged by ESL learners to gain exposure to English and opportunities for L2 learning.

Appropriating through Crippling: A Study of Intersubjective Modes of Production in Naguib Mahfouz’ Midaq Alley

Farrukh Nadeem — 2022-03-14

The uncertain modes of production in a colonially disturbed society result into toxic anxieties, far-reaching frustrations, and consequential transgressions. Irrespective of local cultural values, the western imperialism has cultivated its ends by politically prioritizing the western modes of production as the avant-garde alternatives for the people of traditional economic conditions. It is also through a high-yielding relationship between seduction and appropriation that the imperial powers make the modern market inevitable and indispensable for the subjugated public at large. Correspondingly, the neophytes—the subjects of modern markets—too accept the contractually transfiguring enterprises publicized through newly established discursive practices. This metamorphosing but a culturally vital process has been intimated by an Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz in his novel Midaq Alley published in 1947. The characters of this novel experience certain paradoxes of appropriation and transfiguration for the colonially syllabized market fetishes. Above all, the metaphor of crippling in this fiction signifies the repercussions of (atrophying) modernity in Cairo. The research, therefore, critically evaluates the intersubjective modes of production in Midaq Alley which (tend to) cripple and appropriate the masses in accordance with the norms of modernity in market.

English across Borders: Exploring Register Variation in South Asian Newspaper Editorials

M. Ali, M. Sheeraz — 2022-03-15

This paper is a multidimensional analysis of Pakistani, Indian, and Bengali newspaper editorials, and they are also compared with British newspaper editorials. The purpose of the study is to explore lexico-grammatical patterns of change in English used in the countries separated by geopolitical divisions which remained parts of the British colony. A specialised corpus developed for this study consists of 288 text files of press editorials taken from May 2020 to May 2021 which were tagged using Biber’s tagger. Z score formula was used for the computation of dimensions score. Further, ANOVA was used to find the differences and similarities between the editorials from the selected countries. The data was also compared with British press editorials. The results indicate that Pakistani press editorials are the most informational and abstract among all the countries. Indian press editorials are the most non-narrative and the least abstract. Bengali press editorials are the most explicit and argumentative and the least informational. British press editorials are the least non-narrative, explicit, and argumentative among the selected countries. The results provide substantial evidence that the newspaper editorial registers of these countries are not only different from British press editorials but, after the partition of India, each country has developed its own norms of producing discourse also.

Reading Reluctance: An Analysis of Mistrust between Adherents of Fundamentalism and Liberalism with a Focus on Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Syeda Sughra Naqvi — 2022-03-14

This paper highlights the variant aspects of what we may call the reluctance of fundamentalism and liberalism in post-postcolonial contemporary Pakistani literature in English, analyzing comparatively both exclusive and inclusive elements of its extensive canvas. This research project began with curiosity regarding an element of reluctance between two characters of Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist. The two main characters of the novel, Changez and an unnamed American visitor represent allegiances to two different schools of thought: Changez to fundamentalism and the American to liberalism. They have nothing in common except reluctance, a reluctance that does not allow them to trust each other and that is what plays a key role in the absence of any positive expectations from the other. This study seeks an answer to the questions: What are largely the causes that separate human beings? Why can’t we, human beings, trust one another? Why don’t we give everyone the basic right of leading his/her life according to their own deliberate choices? It’s a project of its own novel kind and the deductive method is used for this qualitative- cum-analytical research to review Hamid’s novel. The findings of the research conclude the role of social misrepresentations to be the main cause of mistrust between the followers of two schools of thought.