Department of English

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://repository.cuilahore.edu.pk/handle/123456789/19

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Author: search.filters.author.Dr. Umara ShaheenSubject: search.filters.subject.Department of Humanities

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    Political Satire in Pakistani English Newspapers: ACorpus- BasedAnalysis of Humor and Criticism in Editorials (2020– 2024)
    (Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2025) Umaima Harmain Rao; CIIT/SP24-MEL-011/LHR; Dr. Umara Shaheen; LHR TP 10055
    This study examines the use of political satire and critical discourse in Pakistani English newspaper editorials through a qualitative corpus-based analysis grounded in Incongruity Theory and Gee's Discourse Analysis framework. The corpus consists of 300 editorials (152,815 words) from four leading newspapers: Dawn, The News International, The Express Tribune, and Pakistan Today. Concordance and collocational patterns of twelve high-frequency political keywords-government, state, military, court, election, corruption, political, Sharif, accountability, economy, power, and army-were studied for recurring satirical strategies. The study draws on Incongruity Theory of Humor (Kant; Morreall, 2009) and James Paul Gee’s Discourse Analysis Framework (Gee, 2011) to interpret how satire functions through rhetorical devices such as irony, sarcasm, parody, hyperbole, metaphor, and ridicule. Using concordance lines generated through AntConc, the analysis identifies recurring rhetorical strategies, including irony, exaggeration, metaphor, and evaluative framing, which expose contradictions within political and institutional practices. Gee's notions of situated meaning and Big "D" Discourse are applied to demonstrate how these lexical items acquire context-specific meanings and contribute to broader ideological narratives. At the situated level, institutions are depicted as coercive, inefficient, or selectively accountable, while political actors are constructed through shifting public personas and elite dominance. At the macro level, the editorials collectively reproduce a discourse of democratic fragility, civil-military imbalance, and public mistrust in governance structures. The findings suggest that political satire in Pakistani English editorials functions not merely as humor but as a critical discursive mechanism that challenges institutional authority and highlights systemic failures. By integrating corpus linguistics with discourse and humor theory, this study contributes to understanding how media discourse shapes public perceptions of power, legitimacy, and democratic practice in Pakistan.
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    Enhancing ESL Students’ Speaking Fluency and Accuracy with AI-Integrated Learning: An Experimental Study
    (Library Information Services, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, 2025) Zainab Altaf; CIIT/SP24-MEL-012/LHR; Dr. Umara Shaheen; LHR TP 10056
    This study explores how integrating AI into learning can enhance English language skills among ESL learners, particularly in speaking. It examines the efficacy of various AI- powered tools that improve the speaking proficiency of ESL students at COMSATS University Lahore Campus. Based on the TPACK framework and Krashen’s Input and Affective Filter hypotheses, this study employs a single-group, mixed-methods embedded experimental design. An eight-week use of integrated AI-based technologies like ChatGPT, TalkPal AI, Speechace, and Smalltalk2Me was carried out at COMSATS. A total of seventeen undergraduate and postgraduate students took a speaking test based on IELTS speaking rubrics before and after the intervention and participated in structured interviews to gauge perceptions of the effectiveness of various AI-powered language learning tools in providing practice in English speaking. Results obviously indicate overall statistical gains in speaking. In particular, improvements are remarkable in areas of fluency, pronunciation, and grammatical accuracy. Qualitative semi-structured interviews revealed that motivation and confidence in practicing English were greater with immediate feedback, provided individually through AI-enabled tools in a low-stress practice environment. These are followed by concrete suggestions as to how language teachers, curriculum designers, and policymakers can apply intelligent technologies as part of planning higher education courses in languages, noticing an improvement in vocabulary learning and in learners' confidence, with a view toward greater access to language-practice opportunities in the general higher-education sphere.