Papers by Dr. Syed Kazim Shah
Journal of Education and Practice, 2015
The purpose of this paper is to study Naqvi’s novel, Home Boy (2010) as a Neo Orientalist discour... more The purpose of this paper is to study Naqvi’s novel, Home Boy (2010) as a Neo Orientalist discourse of US officials about Pakistani Muslims. This paper will discuss how US officials including that of G. W. Bush perceive the Oriental world _ by using the same strategy _ as one distinguished by strangeness, Creepiness, and unusual practices; a world that is ‘Other’ than that of Anglo-American familiar to the American public. In short what terrorist discourse of Neo Orientalists in the novel confirmed, was Said’s thesis about the “subtle and persistent Eurocentric prejudice against Arabo-Islamic peoples and their culture” (The Edward Said Reader 2000, 69). The paper argues that the terrorist discourse in the novel is certainly a Neo Orientalist discourse enacted by the Center to demonize marginal Islam and its followers.
In the guise of inseparable relationship between language and culture the ELT textbooks writers a... more In the guise of inseparable relationship between language and culture the ELT textbooks writers and publishers of the native speaker countries produce such textbooks in which a great cultural gap is found between the contents of the textbooks and the needs and objectives of the ESL learners in Pakistan. In the present research the evaluation of "Oxford Progressive English" (OPE) was carried out through an evaluation model for the content analysis of the aspect of sociological sense culture; the second aspect of culture posited by Adaskou, Britten and Fashi (1990) in the foreign language teaching. The detailed analyses of the contents and the findings of the research highlight that there are such social, cultural, religious and pedagogical contents in these textbooks that do not match with the cultural values and pedagogical needs and objectives set for the ESL learners in Pakistan. The research concludes that course contents of OPE textbooks are not culturally relevant to the learner. These are heavily imbued with the target culture as compared to the learner's culture. These OPE textbooks impart foreign colonial agenda in the guise of hidden curriculum which is a great hindrance in learning English. There is a dire need to replace these foreign cultural contents in the ESL/EFL textbooks written by the foreign authors with the local and indigenous culture so that the ELT objectives may fully be achieved. Key words: Culture, ELT, Sociological sense culture or culture with a small 'c', content analysis 1. Introduction There is no denying in the fact that English has established itself as a global lingua franca, it is most commonly spoken foreign language, language of media, technology, science and has penetrated into the daily lives of people all over the world from an abundance of areas, ranging from politics to entertainment and has been used by many due to its spread and current situation (Devrim & Bayyurt, 2010, p. 4-5). In his Three Circles Model of World Englishes, Kachru (1985; 1992) "attempts to explain the use of English around the world in three concentric circles which represent the changing distribution and functions of the English language" (Devrim & Bayyurt, 2010, p. 5). This model is explained as the inner circle, the outer circle, and the expanding circle. 1. The inner circle includes the geographical location of countries where English is used as native language. In these countries include England, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. 2. The outer circle includes the countries with colonial past where English is an institutional variety. Examples of these countries are India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Singapore, Malaysia, etc. 3. The expanding circle refers to the countries where English is used for instrumental purposes; for international communication and has no official status. The countries belonging to this circle are Japan, China, Turkey, and Brazil (Kachru, 1992). This model highlights the importance of English in the wider sphere of the world and also points out that English is not confined to the native speakers only (Devrim & Bayyurt, 2010). According to this model, Pakistan falls in the outer circle of World Englishes where English is taught as a second language (ESL). Shamim (2008) points out that English language is used in Pakistan in civil administration at provincial and federal level, electronic and print media. It is language of communication in trade and commerce, and in political and official communication in Pakistan. "English, the primary vehicle of international communication even among non-native speakers is a passport to international, cultural and metropolitan citizenship" (Haque, 2000, p.15). Ahmed and Shah (2013) points out that "… [as] over fifty years after the end of British rule in South Asia, the English language flourishes and now it is considered a passport for entry into government offices" (p.150). This situation highlights the fact that as English language does not belong to the native speakers only, there is no need to teach it in the context of native speaker culture. The English language was introduced officially in the areas comprising Pakistan during the British colonization period, replacing Persian that was the language of contact for the inhabitants of different areas of the Indo-Pak sub-continent. The purpose of this replacement was extra-linguistic, with the so-called aim to 'civilize' the Indians and it was also an indication of shift of power from the local Indians to foreigners, the British (Mehboob, 2002, p.15). Ahmed (2012) has briefly surveyed this historical establishment and progress of English in the prepartition and post-partition scenario of the Indo-Pak sub-continent with special reference to Pakistan and has
International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature
The animated cartoons occupy a significant part of a child’s upbringing, but its contents can be ... more The animated cartoons occupy a significant part of a child’s upbringing, but its contents can be considered debatable. Though parents prefer such animations which can protect their children from potentially harmful awkward images in the media, yet the examination of their content has so far been limited. The analysis of media texts is closely connected with the actual problem of demonstration in children’s animated cartoons and movies that not only contribute to the development of children’s imagination, the formation of the child’s ideas about moral values and the surrounding world, but also cause irreparable harm to the fragile child’s psyche. The purpose of this research is to investigate the manipulation of various concepts in the Pakistani animated cartoon series Burka Avenger. This study draws upon Roland Barthes’ (1957) semiotic theory for deeper understanding of the meanings, conveyed by the selected images. Moreover, Norman Fairclough’s (1989) three dimensional model of cri...
The present study aims to explore how the underlying ideological perspectives of newspaper groups... more The present study aims to explore how the underlying ideological perspectives of newspaper groups are depicted in reporting the same incident with the help of different linguistic choices. The study also focuses upon the use of brutal and deadly police violence against protestors and in result the deteriorating conditions of law and order in Pakistan pertaining to the Model Town incident, Lahore. The study takes into account the newspaper coverage of the incident and tries to shed light upon how CDA can help in creating awareness among common reading audiences to understand the hidden ideological agendas of the dominant groups and thus bring social reforms in society. The analysis is structured by utilizing the "three-dimensional model", proposed by Fairclough, limiting the study to textual and socio-cultural practices only. The findings show a sharp contrast in the ideological stance of both newspaper headlines, totally depicting what the media groups want to portray and how they develop certain mindsets of masses in general. Secondly, deadly police violence is not something unusual in Pakistani context while dealing with protesters, and in this case, it is evident that nobody has been brought to justice till date, and the case is still in the court of law.
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Papers by Dr. Syed Kazim Shah