The goal of this study is to use corpus-based methods for the critical discourse analysis of election manifestos. Five election manifestos from five political parties of Pakistan namely PPP, PMLN, PTI, JUI, and JI were used in the corpus compilation. These five Pakistani political parties are selected based on the popularity of these political parties in Pakistan. The election manifestos of the political parties were combined into a complete text file. The corpus was analyzed using ANTCONC 3.5.8 software. Van Dijk’s Socio-Cognitive Model (1998) was used as a theoretical framework for this study. The results of the study indicate that the political parties use language to exert cognitive control on the public. The use of nouns, pronouns, and modal verbs allows these political parties to transform people's ideologies, create identities, and gain control over them.

The present study investigates the use of language in the corpora of election manifestos of Pakistani Political Parties with an aim to examine how language components are exploited by these political parties to create a positive self-image and gain cognitive control on the masses. Since language plays a central role in political communication, there is an essential connection between politics and linguistics. Therefore, language plays a pivotal role in the manifestation of a power struggle in achieving power and control (Chilton, 2004). Political leaders often practice rhetoric to exert power, and this power can be observed both in the spoken text during the political parties' elections campaign and in written statements in the manifestos of the political parties. Discourse analysis is the point at which language meets ideology. Critical discourse analyses can help in investigating the ideological dimensions of political discourse, such as election manifestos, political speeches, etc. Politicians can maintain and prolong their power through persuasive and compelling use of language, which helps them gain the support of the public in elections. Critical discourse analysis helps understand the concealed meanings of the political discourse and exposes the hidden political ideologies and identities in the text.

The present study explores the role of nouns, pronouns, and modal verbs in the language of the election manifestos (2013 and 2018) of five Pakistani political parties: PPP, PMLN, PTI, JUI, JI. The corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis of these parts of speech (nouns, pronouns, and modal verbs) helps us examine how these language units help in the construction of political ideologies and identities.

The connection between the language of the political parties and their beliefs can be observed in their political narratives which serve as a valuable tool to influence individual or group activities by shaping people's perceptions. The public census in voting for a political party is based on the ideology of the party and is reflected in the election manifesto of the party. It is important to explore the linguistic devices employed in the discourse that help the political parties win the support of their voters. According to the best of our knowledge, this link between language and politics has not received much attention in Pakistan. The current study attempts to contribute to the existing literature by exploring the role of language in the manifestos of Pakistani political parties.

Research Objectives

1. To explore the most frequently used nouns, pronouns, and modal verbs

2. To examine how language is exploited for the construction of political ideologies and identities.

Research Questions

1. What are the most commonly used nouns, pronouns, and modal verbs in the election manifestos of Pakistani political parties?

2. How does the use of nouns, pronouns, and modal verbs help the political parties in the construction of ideologies and identities?

Delimitation

Due to time constraints, the current study examines only the nouns, pronouns, and modal verbs found in the election manifestoes of five political parties. These parties are the Pakistani Peoples’ party (PPP), Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Teheerk-e-Insaaf (PTI), Jamiat-e-Ulmaiay Islaam (JUI), and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI).

Ideologies involve the communication of ideas, and therefore, language plays a central role in the construction and maintenance of discrimination and oppression. Language may never be impartial because it is a conduit between our social worlds (Van Dijk, 1998). Politicians reconstruct realities based on professional and personal ideologies. Powerful messages from politicians carry powerful coded meanings and messages. These coded meanings and messages reinforce individual beliefs, behaviors, and collective ideologies that have an unavoidable impact on the formation of public policies and organizational practices. These coded meanings and messages are evaluated through critical discourse analysis to find out how speech patterns work in a specific structure and how speech patterns are used and exploited in society (Fasold, 1990).

Critical discourse analysis is an interdisciplinary approach that studies the textual structures concerning society. Critical discourse analysis also examines the relationship between the text and the other texts. Most kinds of CDAs ask questions about how specific discourse structures are deployed in the reproduction of social dominance, whether they are part of conversations or news reports, or other genres and contexts (Van Dijk, 1998, p.131). The main task of critical discourse analysis is to trace the relationship between discourse and social power. An important and most related concept of ideology is that of power (Van Dijk, 1998). Social power refers to the control of a group that could be an organization or an institution. Our utterances carry hidden knowledge and meanings hidden in the words we use. In fact, discourse analysis is an analysis of the ideologies packed in language. Mind control and manipulation are two key concepts in discourse analysis that are achieved through political discourse (Van Dijk, 2000). Controlling the mind of the audience is a major trick for politicians to recreate their hegemony. Manipulation and mind control are related to cognition, mental action, or the process of learning. The word exploitation can be replaced by the word 'hidden meaning' in critical discourse analysis. The meanings of the words are transformed by the speaker who creates a discourse with a purpose in mind.

Manifestos are a form of political discourse that outlines the policies advocated by political parties. Election manifestos have certain ideological objectives and goals (MacDonald, 2001). The voter may have an estimate of the position of the party on ethnic, cultural, and racial grounds. Manifestos make it easier for the voter to base his decision on the party's position on the issues and vision that the party holds. Manifesto text can be seen as a persuasive text that aims to win the support of the voters. The corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis methodology is a recent field that exploits the use of computer and critical discourse analysis models in the analysis of large text corpora. Some studies have already used a corpus-based approach for the analysis of political discourse (see Hote and Lemmens, 2009).

The study used a corpus-based methodology for the critical discourse analysis of election manifestos. Five election manifestos (2013 and 2018 elections) were taken from the five political parties of Pakistan, i.e. PPP, PMLN, PTI, JUI, JI. These five manifestos of the political parties were combined into a complete text file. The corpus was analyzed using ANTCONC 3.5.8 software (Anthony, 2006). The data was tagged for parts of speech using parts-of-speech tagger (POS Tagger). The frequency of the nouns, pronouns, and modal verbs was calculated using the keyword list function of AntConc. Concordance lines were examined to extract nouns, pronouns, and modal verbs used in their linguistic context. After that, the concordance lines for each part of the speech were interpreted and explained.

Theoretical Framework

Van Dijk’s Socio-Cognitive Model (1998) was used as a theoretical framework for this study. The main task of critical discourse analysis is to trace the relationship between discourse and social power. An important and most related concept of ideology is that of power (Van Dijk, 1998). Social power refers to the control of a group that could be an organization or an institution. Our utterances carry hidden knowledge and meanings hidden in the words we use. In fact, discourse analysis is an analysis of the ideologies packed in language. Mind control and manipulation are two key concepts in discourse analysis that are achieved through political discourse (Van Dijk, 2000). Controlling the mind of the audience is a major trick for politicians to recreate their hegemony. Manipulation and mind control are related to cognition, mental action, or the process of learning.

In the first phase of the data analysis, the frequencies of nouns, pronouns, and modal verbs are calculated and presented in the form of tables and graphs. In the second phase, nouns, pronouns, and modal verbs were explained in their linguistic context.

Nouns

Table 1. Frequency of Frequently used Nouns

Nouns are extensively used in all forms of communication. The nouns given above were found in the political manifestos of the political parties. The use of nouns helps the political parties to promote their agenda. There is a lot of variation across the parties in the use of the above-given nouns. The higher use of a noun underscores its importance. In election manifestos, political parties mention several plans and policies that, according to them, can uplift the masses. If we look at the table above and the graphs below, we find that the noun ‘health’ is the most frequently used in PPP’s manifesto with a frequency of 92 times.

4 in sectors such as education, infrastructure, health arid water supply improves the quality of PML-N-Manifesto-Booklet-min.txt

6 welfare centers across Punjab at family health clinics Create Hospital Management and PML-N-Manifesto-Booklet-min.txt

10 2023, we will have a system that would ensure health for all, and increased health PML-N-Manifesto-Booklet-min.txt

14 (PKLI) in Lahore. The PM National Health Program has opened access for the abject poor PML-N-Manifesto-Booklet-min.txt

16 poverty under the Prime Minister National Health Program Granted Rs. 2,000 per month to more PML-N-Manifesto-Booklet-min.txt

3 provide assisted births along with family health and planning information to women. We will manifesto-PTI-converted.txt

4 the budget estimate will be earmarked for the health sector. The healthcare budget will be increased JI_2013_English (1).txt

5 to reveal the sources of their information. Health services will be provided free to all JI_2013_English (1).txt

The concordance lines given above show the linguistic context of the noun “health”. We can see that PPP explains the various aspects of the health sector and how the party plans to improve the health sector. The frequency of the noun ‘health’ is 7 times in PMLN’s manifesto. PMLN shows national health programs’ and promises health facilities for all. The frequency of the noun ‘health’ is 17 times in PTI’s manifesto. PTI promises reforms in health and claims that everybody will have equal access to health facilities. The frequency of health is 6 in JUI’s manifesto. The frequency of the noun ‘health’ is 7 in JI’s manifesto.

The noun “policy” has been used in the manifestos to refer to the wrong policies of other political parties which could cause damage to the various sectors. The noun policy was also used to refer to the policies of the parties that the party has planned if it comes into power. The frequency of noun ‘policy’ in PPP’s manifestoes is 127 whereas in PMLN’s it is 44. The frequency of “policy” in PTI’s manifesto is 65. The frequencies of “policy” are 2 and 9 in manifestoes of JUI and JI, respectively. The noun “policy” is given below with its linguistic context in the form of concordance lines.

“There is visible dynamism in Pakistan foreign policy. The country is seen as a liberal, PML-N-Manifesto-Booklet-min.txt.”

“policies more effectively in terms of successful foreign policy operationalization. One: A more robust, proactive” manifesto-PTI-converted.txt

2 “a reap real benefits. 14). Foreign policy: A) Foreign policy will be framed keeping in view” JUI-F_2013_English-converted.txt

1 “occupation will be the cornerstone of our foreign policy. We hold in the highest esteem” JI_2013_English (1).txt

The noun ‘party’ is used to refer to the unique policies of the party. The noun “party” has been used 91, 11, 2,1 and 3 in the manifestoes of PPP, PLMN, PTI, JUI and JI, respectively.

We can see from the concordance lines that the noun ‘party’ is used with the verb ‘believes’ in PPP’s manifesto to draw the attention of the people. PMLN uses the noun ‘party’ to show that it is a democratic party. PTI shows that it is the party of ordinary people. JI describes that it is a religious and ideological party.

The frequency of the noun ‘corruption’ is 4, 2, 3, 3, and 6 in the manifestoes of PPP, PMLN, PTI, JUI, and JI, respectively.

We can see in the concordance lines that PPP promises to eradicate corruption and believes that the previous governments did not pay attention to the corrupt practices prevalent in various departments. PTI claims to hold the political elite accountable for their corrupt practices. JUI describes that corruption will be dealt with strictly. JI shows in its manifesto that JI will uproot widespread corruption and lawlessness, and there will be corruption free country.

The noun “youth” can also be found in the manifestoes of these political parties. The employment and education of youth seem to be a very important part of all political parties manifestoes. The frequency of the noun ‘youth’ is 23, 16, 17, 5, and 10 in the manifestoes of PPP, PMLN, PTI, JUI, and JI, respectively.

It can be gathered from the concordance lines that PPP propagates itself as the strongest youth brand, as its president is the youngest among all the other parties. PPP also explains that young people will have access to education, and PPP will build a mass database to identify unemployed youth in Pakistan. PMLN will introduce a free loan scheme and a Youth Business Loan Scheme for unemployed young people. The PMLN will also provide employment opportunities for young people. In its manifesto, PTI shows that 63% of Pakistan's population is young. PTI will introduce youth in politics and local government. PTI will also establish vocational programs for illiterate young Pakistanis. In its manifesto, PTI shows that entrepreneurship and training programs for young people will be encouraged. JI shows its priority for youth to solve youth problems, because youth is our greatest national asset, and education will be accessible to young people. All these political parties have certain common characteristics with regard to the empowerment of young people in Pakistan. Young people are of great importance in the country, and the future of the country depends on the youth of the country.

Pronouns

The choice of a pronoun has a direct link to cognitive manipulation. The personal pronoun has a stronger connection with influence, authority, and solidarity. All these political parties use the pronoun ‘we’ for different purposes such as ‘we as a nation’ and ‘we as the party’. The frequency of pronoun ‘we’ is 331 in PPP, 28 in PMLN, 309 in PTI, 17 in JUI, and 41 in JI.

The pronoun “we” is used to serve various purposes in the manifestoes. Some of the examples are given above when the pronoun “we” is used with words like believe, pledge, act, etc., to show the party’s commitment to the various issues.

The frequency of the pronoun ‘our’ is 313 in PPP, 33 in PMLN, 99 in PTI, 12 in JUI, and 25 in JI. The pronoun ‘our’ is most frequent in PPP with a frequency of 313 times.

The pronoun “our”, as we can see from the concordance lines given above, is frequently used to refer party’s projects, plans, policies, contributions, priorities, schemes, achievements, etc.

The frequency of the pronoun ‘us’ is 16 in PPP, 10 in PMLN, 4 in PTI, 0 in JUI, and 3 in JI.

4 votes for us if you agree with us. Come out and vote against us if PPP_Manifesto_2018.txt

9 youth of Pakistan has always supported us in our struggle for democracy and for PPP_Manifesto_2018.tx, t

1 confidence in PML(N) first bringing us back to power in Punjab and then PML-N-Manifesto-Booklet-min.txt

5 women, the rule of law and the constitution. Let us not forget that it was Madar-e-Millet, PML-N-Manifesto-Booklet-min.txt

7 The Punjab Act 2017 making us the first country in the world to introduce PML-N-Manifesto-Booklet-min.txt

1 access to clean drinking water, which puts us off-track from meeting Sustainable Development Go manifesto-PTI-converted.txt

3 rate and poor-quality human capital; making us regionally uncompetitive. As a result, our textile manifesto-PTI-converted.txt

4 its inception phase, it is imperative for us to establish a solid and transparent foundation manifesto-PTI-converted.txt

3 Unless such selfless leadership is available to us; we will not be able to solve JI_2013_English (1).txt

We can see that all the parties use the pronoun “us” to connect with the people of Pakistan, which is a technique that wins the support of the voters. The pronoun “us” is most often used for inclusion. Here we can see from the concordance lines that the pronoun “us” is used to refer to a party, people, party members, and the nation.

The primary aim of using pronouns nouns tactfully is meant to win the support of the people. The use of the pronoun in political text aims at presenting facts, propositions, and plans compellingly and persuasively. This use of pronouns helps the political leaders to gain control of the masses by shaping their opinions in their favor and by presenting their soft image.

Modal Verbs

Table 3. Frequency of Frequently used Modal Verbs

The statements are molded according to the will and desire of the politicians in the manifestos of these political parties. The words are played on by these political parties. Using modal verbs, these political parties conceal the facts from the public. Less use of modal verbs such as may, can and must demonstrate that the manifesto of a certain party has less uncertainty and vagueness. The use of “will” shows that political parties refer to the future in most of their political discourse.

‘Will’ and ‘can’ are the two most important and frequent modal verbs in these political parties’ manifestos. The frequency of ‘will’ is 462 in PPP, 35 in PMLN, 368 in PTI, 172 in JUI, and 416 in JI.

460 Pakistan nuclear weapons. Therefore, we will promote civil-nuclear cooperation and Nuclear PPP_Manifesto_2018.txt

15 for the next term is people-centric. We will bring speedy justice at the doorstep of community PML-N-Manifesto-Booklet-min.txt

101 government and boards of public bodies. We will empower women politically by launching a manifesto-pti-converted.txt

9 developed across the country. 5-B) We will announce special packages for laborers of JUI-F_2013_English-converted.txt

15 our motto. When JUI comes to power, we will work for the respect of humanity JUI-F_2013_English-converted.txt

410and economic policies of the country, we will strive to attain a sovereign, independent, and JI_2013_English (1).txt

We can gather from the concordance lines that the modal verb ‘will’ is used by these parties to show their future plans and policies. The frequent use of will with good policies and plans leads gives birth to hopes and the masses start expecting better schemes, and policies from these political parties.

The frequency of ‘can’ is 34 in PPP, 9 in PMLN, 10 in PTI, 3 in JUI, and 5 in JI.

3 water is conserved and used efficiently. This can be achieved with the use of effective PPP_Manifesto_2018.txt

10 redefine a regional economic framework that can benefit the entirety of South Asia. PakistanPPP_Manifesto_2018.txt

23 and identify new nodes of convergence that can possibly help bring CPEC activities in line PPP_Manifesto_2018.txt

7 towards a knowledge-based economy is vital and can only be achieved through active investment in technology PML-N-Manifesto-Booklet-min.txt

1 membership, to undertake this role but NACTA can act as the Secretariat to a National manifesto-PTI-converted.txt

1 national expert believe that overseas Pakistanis can additionally send up to US$15 billion through JUI-F_2013_English-converted.txt

2 Islamic teaching. 5) Actions of the Executive Can be Challenged in the Court Every citizen JUI-F_2013_English-converted.txt

3 the case during dictatorships, so that people can reap real benefits. 14). Foreign policy: A) JUI-F_2013_English-converted.txt

1 a means of nation-building, only those can achieve this goal who are not in JI_2013_English (1).txt

2 and Today we need a leadership that can free the nation from the clutches of JI_2013_English (1).txt

The modal verb “can” refer to possibility and ability. The modal verb ‘can’ make the voters hopeful about a certain political party and makes the voters believe that voting for a certain party is in their best interest. Generally, “can” is used to refer to certain political parties’ own abilities and the possibility of betterment for the public.

These political parties use the modal verb “may” in their manifestos, where they lack confidence. The frequency of ‘can’ is 7 in PPP, 1 in PMLN, 2 in PTI, 0 in JUI, and 0 in JI.

5 from engaging in hazardous operations that may expose them to serious risk of bodily PPP_Manifesto_2018.txt

6 adverse childhood experiences and trauma which may hinder their performance at school, l PPP_Manifesto_2018.txt

7 Climate change trends indicate that Pakistan may run dry by 2025, with a 5O per PPP_Manifesto_2018.txt

1 to be preserved, portend and promoted, come what may. The PML(N) is a successor party of PML-N-Manifesto-Booklet-min.txt

1 inflation, but a one-time price adjustment may be required. However, we will decrease costs manifesto-PTI-converted.txt

2 Protection of our citizens wherever they may happen to be. Keeping the above in manifesto-PTI-converted.txt

The modal verb “may” is most frequently used in the manifesto of PPP that shows a lack of clarity and confidence in PPP.

The frequency of the modal verb ‘must’ in PPP is 22, 1 in PMLN, 8 in PTI, 0 in JUI, and 2 in JI.

3 Therefore: Our international policies must be dynamic, inclusive and aligned with evolving PPP_Manifesto_2018.txt

7 treating the cause. Accountability must be holistic; otherwise, it provides fodder to PPP_Manifesto_2018.txt

8 is a source of national pride and must be promoted. Recognizing the heterogeneous, multiPPP_Manifesto_2018.txt

2 inclusive. Therefore, any agenda of development must be sensitive to the needs of women, minorities PML-N-Manifesto-Booklet-min.txt

4 must be factored in. Policy Objective must be to deal with internal threats to manifesto-PTI-converted.txt

FATA into Khyber Pukhtunkhwa Province but we must ensure that the structures of civilian administration manifesto-PTI-converted.txt

1 to people to select their representatives. It must be understood that if voters do not JI_2013_English (1).txt

2 and tauntingly reminds us that we must tolerate all this since we receive dollars JI_2013_English (1).txt

The concordance line given above suggests that the modal verb ‘must’ is used as an obligation by these political parties. The use of “must” make the voters believe that the promised will be done if the party wins the election. The modal verb “must” in the examples above are mostly used with abstract plans.

Findings and Discussion

The findings suggest that Pakistani political parties exploit language components to achieve cognitive control and hegemony over the public to win elections with their support. These political parties use nouns to talk about their plans, policies, preferences, achievements, and contributions. They also use nouns to refer to the wrongdoings, injustices, improper policies, and corruption of other political parties. The frequent use of certain nouns also shows the importance given to them. Likewise, Pakistani political parties use pronouns to project their soft image. They also use pronouns to make themselves sound more inclusive and democratic. The use of pronouns helps them win the support of the voters. The pronouns are also used to present the positive aspects of a certain party and the negative aspect of the opposition party. Data analysis shows that pronouns such as 'we,' 'our' and 'us' are used as essential rhetorical tools in this political discourse of political parties to achieve hegemony. The identities and ideologies of these political parties represent the underlying agenda of these parties to gain strength and control over the people. The modal verbs also show how political parties use modal verbs to conceals the facts and present things in a pleasant and congenial manner.

The study has very successfully investigated the role of nouns, pronouns, and modal verbs used in the election manifestoes of Pakistani Political parties: PPP, PMLN, PTI, JUI, and JI. The findings show that Pakistani political parties extensively use nouns, pronouns, and modal verbs in their election manifestoes. These nouns, pronouns, and modal verbs are used to create a positive self-image of a party and the negative image of the other party. We, therefore, conclude from the above discussion that the political parties use nouns, pronouns, and modal verbs to exercise a cognitive influence on the public. Nouns, pronouns, and modal verbs are also used by these political parties to transform people’s ideologies, construct identities, and achieve hegemony over them. This goal is achieved by an ideological representation of political events and facts in such a way that the similarities between the political party and the public are exaggerated and the differences between the people and the other political party or parties are highlighted. Events, situations, circumstances, and facts are highlighted by these political parties in such a way that the general public identifies the party as their own.