I am delighted to share one of my published research contributions titled “Metadiscourse Analysis of Pakistani English Newspaper Editorials: A Corpus-Based Study” (International Journal of English Linguistics, Vol. 8, No. 1, 2018)
Description
This study explores how Pakistani English newspaper editorials use metadiscourse markers—the linguistic devices that help writers organize their ideas, engage readers, and express stance. In simple terms, metadiscourse reveals how writers guide readers through the text and make their arguments more persuasive.
For this research, I compiled a corpus of 1,000 editorials from four leading newspapers: Dawn News, The Frontier, The Express Tribune, and The News. By analyzing these texts with a newly proposed model of interpersonal metadiscourse, I examined both interactive markers (such as transitions, sequencing, and evidentials) and interactional markers (such as hedges, boosters, and engagement markers).
The findings were fascinating:
-
Across all newspapers, interactive markers were used more frequently than interactional ones, showing that editorialists prioritize guiding readers through arguments.
-
The Frontier stood out as particularly reader-friendly, making greater use of sequencing and transition markers, as well as engagement devices.
-
Hedges (expressing uncertainty) and engagement markers (involving the reader directly) were especially common in these texts, reflecting strategies to persuade while maintaining balance.
This research not only highlights stylistic differences among major newspapers but also emphasizes how language choices shape reader engagement in media discourse.
You can read the full article here: https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v8n1p146
Read PDF: Download
Google Scholar: Link
Posted by
Dr. Ali Raza Siddique
PhD Applied Linguistics
Department of Applied Linguistics
Government College University Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.
No comments:
Post a Comment