A Corpus-Based Study of Hedges and Boosters in Transgender Representation in Pakistani Newspapers Articles

Abstract

This paper focuses on newspaper discourse on transgender portrayal by analyzing hedges and boosters accompanied by Fairclough's (1995) Three-Dimensional Model. Hedges and boosters are directly related to the construction of certainty and uncertainty in discourse. Based on Pakistani newspaper articles from Dawn and The News, the research looked for common patterns of the linguistic formations of transgender and discursive ideologies. Hedges such as ‘may’ and ‘could’ potentially reduce discourses as they progress and indicate social ambiguity, whereas boosters like ‘must’ and ‘clear’ could support demands for rights. The study found that Dawn used hedges such as ‘may’ and ‘could’ 86 times, whereas The News used them 101 times, indicating a cautious tone. In contrast, boosters like ‘must’ and ‘clear’ appeared 35 times in Dawn and only 23 times in The News, showing different levels of assertiveness. This dual approach reflects distinct editorial stances on transgender discourse in Pakistani media. The analysis showed that it is possible to advance understanding of how the media influences the perceptions of society and the applicability of an approach to the construction of equality-minded discourses. Future studies should expand the media contexts so that less is left unknown about how minorities are depicted.