FROM PENAFLEX TO PIXELS: A MULTIMODAL CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF THE SHIFTING LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE IN PAKISTAN'S METROPOLITAN CENTRES

Abstract

This research examines how parts of the linguistic landscape of Pakistan (LL) in metropolitan cities such as Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad have changed in terms of traditional physical media, for example, from penaflex banners to digital pixels on screens and social media. Using multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), this paper will examine how languages, images, and semiotic materials demonstrate power relations, glocalisation, and social stratifications in urban environments. Based on the 10 signs gathered in commercial areas and on digital platforms, the analysis shows that English is dominant at the elite level, transliterated terms are Urduized in semi-urban contexts, and the existence of a language of digital protest in environmental activism. The trend towards pixels enhances the underrepresented voices, which, in the case of Sindh, were the anti-canal movements, and reinforces stereotypes about genders in social media clips. Results underscore the role that globalization plays in local linguistics, where English serves as a marker of socioeconomic status, and digital LL brings together in resisting. The research will inform about the knowledge of glocalisation of language in postcolonial contexts and suggest a policy of linguistic equity and inclusive digital representation. The shift between the physical and digital LLC highlights the role of ideology, identity, and technology in the urban setting in Pakistan.