Tongues of War: Deconstructing the Lexical Narratology of Children in Conflicted Regions

Abstract

Children belonging to regions subjected to conflicts, particularly Palestine, Kashmir, and Syria, are every so often rendered via philanthropic, radical, and political lenses consequently over-looking their linguistic expressions for psychological unrest. The purpose of this research is to vocalize such aspects where the linguistic expressions of children under conflict zones are disregarded. This research critically examines the narratives of such children aging 7 to 17 from each region in order to scrutinize traumatic experiences from the wars reflected through their languages. This research analyzes the linguistic patterns exhibited in these children’s language in order to re-evaluate such testimonies not only for emotional persuasion but as sociolinguistic texts of prime importance which build upon systemic oppression and subjugation. This research utilizes qualitative comparative methodology projected on discourse analysis and sociolinguistic narrative while drawing the theoretical framework from the Narrative structure theory by William Labov, Trauma theory by Cathy Caruth (1996), and further decolonizing sociolinguistics in order to examine the language under pressured circumstances. The data is collected from public platforms such as testimonies (translated) and humanitarian reports from organizations like UNICEF and Save the Children, as well as interviews and documentaries accessible from social media. The findings of this research imply that children from the above-mentioned regions share certain similar lexicons to express their hope, fear, and loss, and simultaneously exhibit local vocabulary deeply influenced by their political and cultural contexts. Their languages imply struggle, agency, and psychological turmoil these children of war-torn regions go through. The research reveals that the narratives of such children are not just echo of conflicts, but their language acts as a tool to show resistance and survival. The study informs about children narratives not just reflections but trauma embedded linguistic markers are visible, it arises the need of specialized educational and psychological institutions in such conflict regions for assessment of trauma inflicted language.