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Item Analysis of Cyber Language: Identifying Gender Differences(UMT Lahore, 2012) Amna MukhtarThe purpose of the current study is to examine gender differences among the students of various age groups who use Facebook. The study focuses on gender differences on lexical as well as grammatical level. The gender based differences are scrutinized at four basic parameters such as: new word formation, reduction, deletion, and insertion. These parameters were further divided into clipping, onomatopoeic compounding, blending, conversion, abbreviation at lexical level and copula, subject and punctuation deletion and insertion, code mixing and capitalization on grammatical level. A sample of hundred participants (from Facebook) was chosen to answer the research questions. The Facebook users were divided into four distinct groups depending on their age to confirm gender based linguistic differences. The number of messages sent by each participant and the total number of words were calculated. The messages were coded for lexical as well as grammatical features. The frequencies of the lexical and grammatical features were counted and converted into proportions by dividing the total frequency by the total word count and multiplying by hundred to yield frequency per hundred words. The frequency of lexical and grammatical features was measured to prove the males’ and females’ use of any particular feature. The results indicate that males and females not only use different stylistic features but linguistic features as well. The study shows that females tend more towards insertion, whereas males are more inclined towards deletion. It has also been noted that females are the dominant users of punctuation marks, emoticons, abbreviations, acronyms, emoticons, and onomatopoeic. On the other hand, males tend to delete copula, subject, and punctuation marks.Item A comparative Study of Kinship Terms In Punjabi and Saraiki(UMT Lahore, 2012) Irfan AbbasThe terms of address used for different relatives are called kinship terms. These are the names assigned to different kin, e.g., father, mother, brother, sister, aunt, grandmother etc. These terms provide us information regarding bond of relationship which is existing between different individuals. These terms also determine the rights and limitations of individuals in a society. These terms are of great significance in the study of a culture because these terms provide such information as with whom one can or can’t be frank, to whom one can or can’t marry or from whom one can expect to get help in the hour of need. Kinship system is part of kinship vocabulary of a culture and this system is universal to all the languages of the world. Different societies use different terms for their relatives. “Wife” in English is “Bivi” in Urdu, “Budhi” in Punjabi and “Pai” in Saraiki. Apart from these labeling differences some languages group relatives into entirely different categories. For example, in Dani language “ami” is used for mother’s brother but the term “Opaije” is used for father as well as for father’s brother. This linguistic difference shows the cultural value and status of individuals in any culture.Item A descriptive study of an intercultural approach in English language teaching: a study of students’ and teachers’ perception in Pakistan at graduate and post graduate level(UMT Lahore, 2012) Sidra KhursheedThe recent study analyses that how the L2 learners find out the differences between the home culture and the target culture. The purpose of the study is to emphasize on the importance of intercultural communication in ELT and the necessity to develop students’ intercultural communicative competence. The study makes use of the work of Michael Byram (1997a) Kramsch, (1998) to reach its desired findings. Data were collected from the different institutions of public and private universities of Lahore region. The survey questionnaire was adapted from Will Baker (2009) Scale of ICA (using e-learning to develop intercultural awareness in English language teaching) for L2 learners. One sample t-test was used to get the required results. The gender based analyses was also incorporated the variation regarding teachers and students’ perceptions. The finding of the study reveals effectiveness of intercultural communication. This study measures the perceptions and attitudes of teachers and second language learners as what role can cultures play in language learning. It is impossible to deny the significant role of intercultural approach in ELT in general and in the context of ELT in Pakistan in particular. However, to improve certain limitations, the research also suggests some recommendations.Item Effectiveness of online teaching of business and technical English: a case study of virtual university of Pakistan(UMT Lahore, 2012) MUHAMMAD ASIFOnline teaching (OT) is an emerging trend in Pakistan with approximately ten years background. During this brief time period online pedagogy has faced many challenges to establish itself as an equal counterpart of conventional classroom teaching. Whether it has achieved its desired outcomes or not is a debatable issue. This case study has been conducted to examine this very issue of the effectiveness of online teaching by narrowing it down to the subject of Business and Technical English (BTE) at the graduate and postgraduate levels at the one and only major online teaching institution of Pakistan i.e., Virtual University. The study explores how effective is the learning of Business and Technical communication Skills in English language that comes from online mode of instruction and to what extent it leads to proficiency in documentation for professional purposes. The study makes use of the Connectivist theory by Siemens (2004) to reach its desired findings. Data were collected from the different campuses of Virtual University of Pakistan, therefore, the sample is diverse belonging to various age groups, areas and languages. Factor analysis was used to estimate the effectiveness of Business and Technical English and for testing hypothesis, Mann Whitney U test was applied to get the required results. The results demonstrate that online teaching of Business and Technical English is considered very useful by the students of the Virtual University of Pakistan for improving their linguistic and grammatical competence to cope with the needs of the business world and job interviews. However, to improve certain limitations, the research also suggests some recommendations.Item Analyzing grammatical and punctuation errors:(UMT Lahore, 2012) RANA IMRAN ALIThe current thesis presents an overview of the grammatical and punctuation errors committed by the students in English courses of Virtual University of Pakistan. These students mainly focus on the concepts of management sciences and computer sciences. Consequently, they fail to concentrate on the grammatical errors which are the important part of their writing skills. The researcher selected a stratified random sample of ninety nine students through random number technique by using T-Yamani’s method of selecting a sample for descriptive cum statistical analysis from online creative writings in thousands of Graded Discussion Boards (GDBs) conducted in the internal examination system of Virtual University of Pakistan. The researcher identified, analyzed and evaluated the errors committed by the students and presented these with the help of tables and bar charts. Finally, certain recommendations have been put forward for effective writing skills to the students and the teachers in virtual mode of education.Item The study of the role of morphological knowledge in EFL learner’s vocabulary evelopment(UMT Lahore, 2012) Usman SiddiqueThis study investigates the role of morphological knowledge in EFL learners’ vocabulary development. Morphological knowledge (MK) is considered an important factor in children’s vocabulary growth, but this skill has scarcely been measured in EFL learners at college level. This study tested a set hypothesis for assessing MK and its relationship with vocabulary development using complex (multi-morphemic) words. Participants, 90 college students, (from four colleges of Lahore; Govt. College of Science, Govt. Islamia College Civil Lines, Govt. Girls Degree College Model Town, F.C. (Forman Christian) College University) were tested on morphological complex words and on definitions of these words. Researcher’s own devised two tests (Morphological knowledge, and vocabulary score) were administered. For example, correct responses on the morphological knowledge (identification of root words and affixes) test would indicate that and that presumptuous is based on presume (and not sumptuous). Morphological knowledge test consisted of two sections (each consists of 40 items); identification of root words, and identification of prefixes and suffixes. Both tests MK and Vocabulary score comprised the same 40 morphologically complex words. The quantitative method of research was followed to investigate the correlations between MK and vocabulary, and the two aspects of morphology. Using descriptive statistics, the mean values of the tests were calculated. Participants’ performance was good on both tests. Participants with better Morphological knowledge scores also had higher Vocabulary scores and greater metacognitive awareness of their own lexicons. An inadequate vocabulary is one cause of reading problems, and a method that extends MK research to an older age group allows further research into vocabulary development with implications for remedial strategies. The results show that EFL learners’ vocabulary development depends upon adequate knowledge of morphology of English. The findings of this study may help academics in designing suitable syllabus and selecting appropriate methodology, in line with the morphological knowledge of the students, for vocabulary knowledge, development, growth, and English language learning at college level. The findings also have implications as to the importance of facilitating the students’ morphological knowledge in English vocabulary learning for EFL college students in the province of Punjab.Item Essays in Urdu criticism by Dr. Syed Shabih-ul-hasan: A practical translation(UMT Lahore, 2012) Tahir AbbasThe study is based on practical translation of ten essays in literary criticism, originally written in Urdu by Dr. Syed Shabih-ul-Hasan. The research is a practical application of the most down to earth principles, techniques and methods in transmitting the meaning of the SL text into the TL text which, in the present case, are Urdu and English respectively. The framework for the research is sense-for-sense translation with the view to convey the essential spirit of the SL text to the readers of the TL. It has been devised on the translational norms of adequacy and acceptability; the preliminary norms which guide the translator in making actual decisions during the translation process, and the operational norms which make the translation a worthwhile literary product in the TL. Equivalence being the core of translation has been achieved by gleaning the meaning from the ambiguity created by the literary and cultural nuances of the SL. The researcher practically participates in the creative activity of the author of the SL to recreate structures and sings by adapting the TL to the SL as closely as intelligibility allows. Data for this practical translation has been taken from three different books, namely Tasrihat, Trajihat and Ta’ayonat of the same author. The essays taken for translation cover a wide range of Urdu authors and poets belonging to both the past and the present; thus, offering a comprehensive view of the literary tradition in Urdu. The SL text also contains instances of poetry in the form of ghazal and nazm the translation of which has also been given in the verse form of the TL. The major techniques applied for translating the SL are: altering the thematic positions of certain sentences, omissions of the unnecessary and redundant words and expressions, insertion of new words, phrases and sentences for the sake of clarity, transliteration of culturally-rooted terms, substitution of culturally motivated expressions with acceptable expressions in the TL, and the glossary of terms. The present research goes along the lines of readability and acceptability in the TL without violating vital translation canons. All linguistic and cultural problems involved in translating the SL text have been addressed with translational techniques already in practice. Thus, the end product, in simplest terms, is an interlingual communication about literature via the medium of translation.Item Social stratification of /n/ and /ɽ̃/ in Lahore(UMT Lahore, 2012) ZAFAR IQBAL BHATTIThe following study is an investigation of language within the social context of the community in which it is spoken, carried out in 2011 in a region with a particular linguistic background, Lahore, the capital of Punjab, Pakistan. The study examines the objective pattern of language behavior to be correlated with the overall social pattern of differential reaction to social pressures. This research investigates and examines the stratification of nasal variants /n/ and/ɽ̃/in the Lahore city, relating social parameters of age, education, gender, geographical background and social class. The study is concerned with presence or absence of /ɽ̃/a retroflex nasal flap that frequently occurs in the speech communities of various parts of rural and urban Punjab. A structured interview was administered in order to examine this issue of social stratification by language. In this regard, this study becomes a Labovian methodological replica in the present context. The results show several statistically significant differences in linguistic usage among different groups of people residing in Lahore city. The Labovian concept of rhoticity in the 70s brought significant changes in the field of sociolinguistics. This concept of social stratification is supposed to be equal in the context of nasal variants /n/ and /ɽ̃/ in the present research.