Discursive Devices Used in the Advertisements by Private Schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Discursive and Discourse Analysis

Abstract

The study attempts to analyze the different discursive devices used in the advertisements of private schools in Pakistan, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It explores the role that different discursive devices play in the advertisements of private schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and reveals the implicit, hidden and inherent ideologies behind the use of these discursive devices in private school advertisements. The present study is qualitative in nature. The data were collected from the advertisements posted by the private schools in KP in 2023. There are seven divisions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which have thirty-five districts. The three divisions were selected for the present study from these seven divisions. Two districts per division were chosen for the present study. A total number of six districts were selected. From these six chosen districts, twelve private schools were selected through simple random sampling techniques. After selecting the private schools, advertisements given by them were downloaded and analyzed using Fairclough’s (1992) three-dimensional model. Based on the data analysis, the study found that English and urdu are the most dominant languages in the advertisements. The study also found that the schools used poetic words, quotations, and Islamic verses etc. to persuade the readers to take admissions in the schools. The study hopes to stimulate interest in this area so that this area can be revisited afresh and the established views can be reexamined.