GREEN NARRATIVES: A COMPARATIVE ECOCRITICAL STUDY OF PAKISTANI NATIVE VS NON-NATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL BLOGGERS

Abstract

The study focuses on how bloggers discuss Pakistan’s natural sights and cultural places. The researcher examines blog posts created by Pakistani bloggers and non-native bloggers. Twenty relevant blogs (10 blog per group) were included in the analysis. Each group consists of 10 blogs. Stibbe’s Eco-Critical Discourse Analysis (EcoCDA) model is used in the study to detect what the blogs are saying about the environment, mainly focusing on the narrative frames and ideological representation. The analysis reveals that local bloggers usually explain Pakistan’s beautiful environment and its culture legacy using their rich patriotic language, whereas nonnative bloggers mainly write about what they experienced during their visit to Pakistan. Both writers include many feelings, vivid descriptions, cultural features and personal accounts in their writing. Most of these travel bloggers capture “adventurous” and “salience” frames to narrate the environment of different places of the country. Bloggers who are natives, discuss the breathtaking scenarios with pride using descriptive language. They narrate their views in “cultural”, “aesthetic” and “salience” frames. Both groups represent Pakistan’s beauty in beneficial discourses. They merely use ambivalent discourses. However, destructive discourses were absent. On the whole, bloggers from different backgrounds either native or non-native consider Pakistan’s environment to be pleasant, calm and worth visiting. Moreover, the study suggests further research to be carried out in the field of environmental discourses related to ecological challenges, sustainability and issues, as this research only focuses on the environmental beauty of Pakistan narrated by bloggers.