The Variant Use of Verb in Pakistani English Newspapers: A Corpus-Based Study

Abstract

The present study deals with the variable use of verb in Pakistani English. It describes the verbs in Pakistani English that are similar to Standard British English semantically but vary at lexical level. It is a qualitative descriptive study which intends to identify the lexical choices of PE speakers/ writers. Two corpora: BNC and PENC have been used in present study to identify and describe those verbs qualitatively and for studying nativization and variation in these verbs. While using the corpus of newspaper, the present study anticipates to recognize the lexical choices of Pakistani people which contribute in making Pakistani English a distinct variety. It also aims to ascertain the pragmatic aspects of Pakistani English that contribute to bring lexical changes in it.