INVESTIGATING THE DISCURSIVE CONSTRUCTION OF IMMIGRANT IDENTITY: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF PAKISTANI ENGLISH NEWSPAPERS

Abstract

The study uses the socio cognitive framework of critical discourse analysis by Van Dijk (2006) to inspect the ways in which immigrant identity is constructed in Pakistani English language newspapers. Immigrants are often viewed as a social burden and it has become imperative to understand how media texts reflect and alter the public perception of immigrants. Newspapers due to its vast readership help in exploring whether it reinforces and challenges the said ideology about migration. The present research aims at exploring and interpreting the discursive techniques such as lexicalization, metaphor, number game, polarization, presupposition, victimization to unveil the hidden biases and prevalent ideologies embedded in the Pakistani English language newspaper discourse. The data for this study comprises ten newspaper articles selected from The Dawn and the Express Tribune, two well-known English language newspapers in Pakistan. The data is analyzed at three levels using Van Dijk’s (2006) framework of critical discourse analysis. The results show that newspapers ‘portrayals of immigrants reinforce the dominant ideology of prioritizing government and other social actors over immigrants' voices. Moreover, immigrant identity is reduced to passive victims who often suffer at the hand of smugglers. While both newspapers employ analytical tone, it criticizes the attitude shown by host culture and explores the push and pull factors behind illegal immigration. The research underscores the importance of presenting immigrants in a balanced way without undermining their honor, dignity, and agency.