CONSTRUCTION OF DUAL IDENTITY: A CDA OF INTERPLAY OF LANGUAGE, POWER AND CLASS IN PAKISTANI PLAY ISHQ MURSHID

Abstract

Language is considered as a central tool that constructs power relations, social hierarchies and identity. The key objective of this research is to investigate how “Shahmeer's”, the protagonist in the selected play, dual identity has been constructed through interplay of language in Pakistani drama “Ishq Murshid.” It also focuses on the discursive strategies used to construct class and social status along with shaping power relations. This study examines the hero's dual identity as an elite character “Shahmeer Sikandar” and middle-class persona “Fazal Bakhsh” through strategic linguistic patterns which portray class differences and power relations. Data for the current research has been collected from episode 1 to 11. Fairclough’s three-dimensional model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is applied as a theoretical and analytical framework for analyzing linguistic elements including code-switching, register, politeness patterns and the strategic use of language. The results uncover that Shahmeer blends formal English with Urdu language, uses assertive speech and powerful phrasing to construct his elite identity. On the other hand, he also makes indirect requests, differential language, humble expressions and regional language while performing working class identity. This strategic use of language shapes and reshapes social ideologies, power relations, and social hierarchies by illustrating that identity depends on context. Therefore, this study provides a deep insight into media narrative to shape attitudes towards power and class in Pakistani television dramas.