Voicing Gender: Lexical Choices and Identity Construction in Pakistani Political Discourse

Abstract

In the Pakistani sociopolitical context, language serves as a key resource for projecting identity, authority, and interpersonal stance. This study investigates gender-based lexical variation in the political discourse of Pakistani politicians. A corpus of 40 political speeches—20 delivered by female politicians and 20 by male politicians between 2019 and 2024—was compiled from televised talk shows, parliamentary sessions (Senate and National Assembly), and formal public addresses. Using AntConc for keyword extraction, frequency counts, and lexical profiling, complemented by analytical support from large language models (LLMs) for pattern interpretation, the study identifies systematic differences in lexical choices across genders. Findings indicate that male politicians tend to employ a more authoritative and assertive register, whereas female politicians frequently draw on softer, more polite, and relational vocabulary. These patterns demonstrate that gendered linguistic styles continue to shape political communication in Pakistan, with lexical choices reflecting broader sociocultural expectations and identity performances.

Keywords: Corpus linguistics, AntConc, critical discourse analysis, lexical profiling