Hayatian Journal of Linguistics and Literature

An Analysis of the Role of Emojis and Digitally Created Discourse in the Construction of a Digital Global Communicative Society

Samina Bashir, Ammara Farukh, Rehman Younis — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of the study was to evaluate how the discourse in digital media contributes to the growth of a multicultural, global society by allowing people to express their feelings through the same digitalized semiotic language. The study also looked at the impact that social media and digital technology are having on communicative cultures globally. The study also attempted to identify the influence of Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as the leading social media platforms on language and conversation, as well as the weight that social media discourse like emojis carries in everyday usage around the world. The study's findings indicate that people of all generations are using emojis more frequently than before. It is possible to learn the most important and well-known emoticons, but it is challenging to recall every single emoji and how to apply it. In addition to making interactions more interesting, emojis can help fill in the gaps left by bad grammar or the absence of physical cues. Modern technology makes it difficult to emphasize our message through body language and facial expressions, despite the importance of doing so. The speech act theory was used in this study because it sought to identify the communicative roles that emojis play in everyday conversations on WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

A Contrastive Analysis Of Interrogatives In Standard Yorùbá And Central Yorùbá Dialects

Emmanuel Ọmọniyi Olánrewájú — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Interrogatives are conventionally associated with the act of requesting information. Several researches have been carried out on the syntax of standard Yorùbá (SY) and its dialects but with little attention paid to the syntax of interrogatives in CY dialects and the comparative analysis of interrogatives in the standard dialect and Central Yorùbá (CY) dialects especially under the confines of the latest theoretical requirements. This paper therefore, investigated the syntax of interrogatives in SY and the CY dialects with a view to comparing how they both form their interrogatives. Data were sourced using primary and secondary methods. These were subjected to syntactic analysis within the theoretical framework of the Minimalist Program (MP). Interrogative features setting CY dialects apart from SY were identified: CY dialect operate yèsí/ìsí “who” in the place of ta used by SY (to question human referents). Focus markers are also optionally dropped in CY dialects unlike their SY counterpart. Also, CY dialects use the question noun (QN) kí for both non-human referents Kí lo rí “ What did you see?” and maner Kí o ṣe gbọ́ “How did you hear?”. Among the similarities identified is that both CY dialects and SY do not observe Attract the Closest Principle (ACP) when they stack QNs in their constituent interrogatives. Therefore, many of the items that in SY take their sources from its dialects.

An Analysis of Gender Assignment to English Loanwords in Urdu by Shina Speakers

Bushra Karim, Arshad Mahmood, Muhammad Iqbal Butt — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The current research reports the grammatical gender Shina speakers assign to English loanwords while using Urdu. Irrespective of their proficiency level, the current study selected those multilingual Shina speakers who could communicate in Shina, Urdu and English. Urdu and Shina make use of grammatical gender, whereas English is generally devoid of it. Some synonymous words in Shina and Urdu have the same gender while others have different gender. The focus of the study was on the issue of assigning gender to gender-neutral English borrowed/loanwords in Urdu. The ‘variation theory’ put forward by Poplack (1993) in the study of language contact phenomena with reference to borrowing was used as the theoretical framework for the present study. For the sake of data collection, survey method was employed and the questionnaire prepared for the purpose was administered among the respondents (n: 50). It was done by firstly taking into account the equivalent words of English loanwords which have the same gender in both languages, since gender to the English loanwords is not assigned randomly rather it primarily corresponds to the gender of their equivalent words in Shina and Urdu; secondly, by considering the words which have different gender in Shina and Urdu as it has been observed that majority of Shina speakers assign the gender of Urdu equivalent words to the loanwords. Thirdly, the study investigated the gender Shina speakers assign to the English loanwords which lack equivalent words in Shina and Urdu and it was found that there was no identifiable pattern though most of the words were treated as feminine.

Operationalizing the Syntactic Complexity: A Corpus Based Evaluation of Online Newspaper Editorials

Bisma Butt, Khalid Ahmed, Ali Haider — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of the study is to unfold the syntactic complexity of editorials in Pakistani online English newspapers (The Dawn, The Nation, Daily Times, The Express Tribune and Daily Pakistan). L2 syntactic complexity analyzer (L2SCA) is used to examine the data of five online English newspapers’ editorials. All the editorials of the targeted newspapers are written by non-native writers. This study reveals that the editorials in the newspapers are aimed to impact the opinions of readers on various controversial issues. The findings of the study reveal fourteen syntactic complexity measures. Different production units and syntactic constructions are found out, for instance, the sentence structure of The Nation newspaper is more difficult as shown in their production unit length which associates with the greater level of proficiency. On the other hand, the highest level of subordination can be seen in Daily Times which shows more complexity at the start as well as at the intermediate proficiency levels.

Pakistani Postgraduate Students’ Perceptions of Ecocriticism in Relation to Two Novels

Ghulam Yasin, Zoobia Abbas Khan — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The present research study investigates postgraduate students' perceptions of ecocriticism in relation to two novels at a private-sector university in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan. The study is based upon the major research question: 'what perceptions of ecocriticism are held by a sample of postgraduate students in south Punjab, Pakistan?' Glotfelty's theory of ecocriticism was utilized as the theoretical framework guiding this study. The research instrument for collecting data was semi-structured interviews. The findings are based on data supplied by eight participants doing their M. Phil (postgraduate degree) in English literature. The main findings of this study are that the participants discussed and connected to ecocriticism and its themes in the novels that were close in terms of their personal experiences and context. However, no reference was found from the literature reviewed presenting students' perception of ecocriticism in a Pakistani context. The findings of the research are important for teachers and researchers of ecocriticism, fiction, and education because they present considerable insights into the perceptions of students in relation to fiction.

Readability Assessment in the Writings of Pakistani Graduate Level Learners With Reference to Coh-Metrix

Rabia Tabassum, M. Asim Mahmood, Rashid Mahmood, Shahbaz Haider — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract:

Readability is a well-defined notion that researchers and scholars started to focus on in the beginning of the twentieth century. Readability means automatically estimating the ease or difficulty of a particular text or written material by means of the linguistic characteristics of that text. According to Guo, Zhang, and Zhai (2011) readability is the ease or difficulty with which written material is read or comprehended by the readers. The present research has tried to assess the writings of Pakistani learners on the Flesch Kincaid formula with reference to text readability and grade level to mark the suitability of grade level and readability. Then, at the second level, it judges the texts of Pakistani learners on the Coh-metrix L2 Reading Scale so as to see the standard and depth of writing. The results show a significant correlation between reading easability and grade level but the L2 reading scale shows, somehow, below the required standard of writing. The learners generate text that is simpler semantically and syntactically which clues to highly coherent text but at the same time, this shows limited choice of type token ratio which might be due to inadequate linguistic knowledge.

Evaluation of Phonics Content in Academic Degrees, Pre- and In-Service Teacher Training Programs, and Primary Grade Teacher Instructional Materials in Pakistan

Sadia Malik, Saiqa Imtiaz Asif — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Teacher training and teacher instructional materials play integral roles in developing the knowledge and skills among the teachers and the learners and implementing any change in pedagogic policy. This research aims to probe the preparation of government primary grade teachers to teach phonics since its inclusion in the government school syllabus from 2015-2016 to identify the areas of teacher preparation that need improvement. The data was collected through a survey of 230 (Male=115, Female=115) government primary school teachers’ academic and professional qualifications alongside the pre-and in-service teacher training programs they had attended. Based on their responses, the contents of the academic & professional degrees, pre-and in-service teacher training programs, and teacher instructional materials were evaluated through the researcher-made checklists. The analysis and the findings realize that although the pronunciation component is part of these teacher preparation programs, no phonics-related content is included in all these teacher preparation programs. Teacher instructional materials are a good resource to teach phonics as they provide all the linguistic information related to phonics instruction but ironically only a few teachers consult it as a teaching resource. It can be concluded that primary-grade teachers are not fully equipped to teach phonics. On these grounds, it is recommended that phonics should be incorporated alongside the pronunciation component in the academic and professional degree programs and pre-and in-service teacher training to bring a positive change in primary grade classrooms and make the pedagogic policy change effective.

A Study of Postmodern Feminist Aesthetics in Margaret Atwood’s Prose Poems in Murder in the Dark

Sundus Javaid, Waseem Hassan Malik, Shamshad Rasool — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Postmodernism refers to the subversion of unified assumptions of reality through decentering the notion of a unified reason with pluralistic version of reality having fragmentation and chaos in the postmodern era. Postmodern aesthetics, in this context, signify the loss of referent, which gives rise to the ambivalent depiction of reality. It takes into account the various narrative techniques like Parody and Pastiche in order to mock the concept of a unified reason. Postmodernism, in conflation with feminist studies, forms Postmodern feminist aesthetics which refers to dismantling the identity of women as a unified epistemology and hence, gives way to multiple and plural epistemological depictions of women identity. This multiple and pluralistic existence of women tends to create ‘Angst’ which leads towards the meaninglessness and hence, the identity crisis of women in the Postmodern era. Postmodern feminist aesthetics significantly de-essentializes the concept of women being ‘typical’ caught in the shackles of patriarchy through giving voice to individual stories of women. The present study deals with Atwood’s engagement with postmodern feminist aesthetics to challenge the unified constructions of women identity through giving voice to fragmentation and chaos inherent in women identity in the postmodern world. The study also deals with an issue of identity crisis of women as it attempts to reveal that how women experience anxiety as a result of fragmentation and chaos due to the absence of unified epistemological construct of women liberation in the Postmodern world. Moreover, Atwood through her prose poems in Murder in the Dark (1983) significantly maintains the ambivalence of the position of women free from the constructs of freedom/oppression with emphasis on epistemological becoming of women identity through giving voice to the “third theoretical space”.

Pragmatic Competence and Its Development among ESL Learners in Pakistani Context

Ayesha Zafar, Ayesha Habib — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This study analyzes the Pragmatic analysis of English as a Second Language learners in Pakistani context with reference to the practical competence of their compliment response and refusal speech acts. For this purpose, the data was collected from two private Universities of Lahore. The population of the research was post-graduate students from two faculties i.e., Social Sciences and Engineering. The research highlights the difficulties L2 learners face in order to achieve pragmatic competence in an ESL environment. The absence of pragmatic information, lack of natural setting to learn second language, difficulties in real discussions of daily routine, lack of understanding of cultural aspects and deficiency to select appropriate pragmatic approaches in real conversation scenario of speech act are real challenges to L2 learners. The findings of the research depict that L2 learners lack equal competency between linguistic and pragmatic knowledge.

An Analytical Study of English Syllabic Structure by EFL Learners

Muhammad Ali Shahid, Anser Mahmood — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Learning English pronunciation without learning the sounds of the language is as impossible as accomplishing a herculean task(Ahmadi, 2011). Segmental study of words satiates the need of seeking the rubrics of syllables. A syllable is a basic unit of pronunciation(Lasi, 2020). The present study aimed at exploring English Syllable and syllabic Structure to have a predominant comprehension of English pronunciation. The analysis of the present study was conducted on twenty-six words in alphabetical order and was taken from Soanes’ Compact Oxford Dictionary of Current English (2008). The study investigated words with ambiguous syllabic boundaries through the lens of conceptual theories of the Optimal Onset Principle and Phonotactic constraints. The process of syllabification provided evidence that set rules are, sometimes violated to split the words into appropriate constituents. The correct syllabification produces correct pronunciation. Otherwise, words might be been mispronounced, hence meaningless, and sometimes preposterous.

Content Words and Their Conceptualization: A Corpus-Based Study of Conversations of Children with Autism

Huma Batool, Sajjad Rasool, Wasima Shehzad — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This paper is the corpus-based exploration of the nature of content words used by children with autism in a conversation. It aims to investigate what does the frequency of content words inform about the conceptualization of events and what differences can be seen in the conceptualization of children with severe and mild autism. The theory of embodiment is adopted to analyze the content words related to the conversations regarding birthday and school events. A spoken corpus of the conversation of thirteen children with autism was built for the investigation. The results show the tendency of these children to use nouns and adjectives as compared to verbs in their conversations. Moreover, children with severe autism gave less linguistics responses as compared to children with mild autism. Their distinct sensory-perceptual experiences seem to impact the use of the content words and their conceptualization.

Structural Adjustments in Translation: A Descriptive Study of Legal Translation

Muhammad Javed Iqbal, Umme Sadia, Kanwal Zahra — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract

The present study investigates the structural adjustments occur in the translation of legal texts. It primarily analyzes two structural adjustment strategies namely expansion and reduction in the Urdu translation of Punjab Laws originally written in the English language. Nida and Taber’s (2003) idea of structural adjustments in translation is used as a theoretical framework. The findings of the study reveal the frequent use of reduction strategy while transferring legal codes from English to the Urdu language. It shows that structural adjustments, whether it is expansion or reduction in the structure, occur due to differences in both language systems. Furthermore, in order to communicate the message of the original in transparent ways and preserve the intent of the legal text along with equivalent meaning and effect, source text structures often undergo structural variations in the process of translation. The study is significant for translators as well as for researchers in the field of translation studies as it exposes better ways of legal communication through translation.

Aurat March 2020 in Pakistan: A Discourse Analysis of the Written Slogans

Muntazar Mehdi, Ayesha Rashid — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The study deals with the discourse analysis of the written texts on placards as slogans that were used by people in the Aurat March 2020. The study shows the use of language in those postcards and how the women have been represented. The study is qualitative and analyzes the placard through model of Janks' rubrics. The Aurat March is witnessed by many people in the world and the messages given through written texts are very crucial. The linguistic analysis in the Aurat March placards shows that the text employs many features, i.e. lexicalization, lexical cohesion and also the use of euphemism. The study further analyzes the data to unfold the social and moral values of the speakers, and the socio-economic issues they face and also their demand for their liberty to overstep the moral, social and cultural bonds. Also, it highlights the theme of morality, culture, socio-economic issues, religion and desire of women for the fulfillment of basic necessities, and for their rights. In some of these placards, it has been shown that some women also want to overstep the cultural and moral bounds and it indicates relative feminism which questions our moral, cultural and religious values.

A Survey of Language Use by Speakers of Minor Nigerian Languages in the Social Media Spaces

Philip Oghenesuowho Ekiugbo, Eyankuaire Moses Darah — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This study presents a sociolinguistic survey of language use by native speakers of minor Nigerian languages on two social media platforms, viz., Facebook and Twitter. Social contexts that are characterised linguistically by the use of more than one language create room for interlocutors to make linguistic choices. Given that social media serves as one of the major means of communication in today’s society, with some of its users being bilingual or multilingual, this opens up the possibility for users to make choices on the basis of some parameters. The goal of this study is therefore, among other things, to examine whether or not the choice of a minor Nigerian language is often made during communication on social media platforms and the factors that influence their extent of use. Data for the study was elicited from 120 L1 speakers of minor Nigerian languages who are users of Facebook and/or Twitter. The instrument for eliciting the data is a 21-item, self-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was subjected to test-retest to ensure internal consistency. Presentation and analysis of data were done using descriptive frequency. The study found that Nigerian minor languages are underrepresented in the social media space. Even in intra-ethnic communication, speakers prefer English over their mother tongue. This is similar to having the English language take over the home domain, as is the case with most minor Nigerian languages.

Arabic-English Translation at University of Birmingham: Perspectives and Predicaments

Muhammad Akram, Fahd Alqasham, Amir Barket — Tue, 06 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This study focuses the issues that trammel the process of translation from source language to target language and vice versa faced by the Arab learners. Translation is a fundamental element in life and has played a decisive part in the development of languages like English as it derives from the universal need for mediation between speakers and writers of different languages. The researcher utilized a quantitative approach to find out the key areas of trouble in translating a text. This study has also unearthed the facts that L1 negative translation is one challenging problems for the learners of this level. The structure of the L1 and that of the L2 also present a problem to them. Apart from the above-mentioned problems, finding translation equivalent also involves special bilingual skills to go along with the trend among languages to "lack of fit". This study recommends that the learners should be honed to professional standards in universities and through experiences aided by such tools as bilingual dictionaries.