TRANSFORMING AUDIENCES’ MENTAL CULTURE THROUGH SHIFTING EUPHEMISTIC DEVICES
Nadia Anwar  and Zarbakhat Rao 

ABSTRACT
The viewers of Pakistani dramas face various challenges in terms of how and to what extent they are subjected to the whims of the writers/scriptwriters. By overlooking the socio-culturally acceptable euphemistic dimensions of communication, this study contends that certain Pakistani dramas threat both positive and negative face of the viewers. These Face-Threatening Acts (FTAs) can either be serious or mild depending on who in what context employs them. Euphemisms can be regarded as a linguistic check against the use of malicious, indecent and religio-culturally non-compatible/ nonconforming language. They expose the public to a standard norm that facilitates reception of a material in a positive way rather than jarring their finer sensibilities. This paper investigates the way certain linguistic/euphemistic formations deliberately manipulate the dramatic script to get higher TRP (Television Rating Point)/or fame. This will be done by checking and assessing the compatibility of politeness strategies used in the selected drama with the local norms, values and prevalent culture. In order to provide an appropriate theoretical underpinning to the research, Brown and Levinson’s (1987) politeness theory will be blended with the appropriated model posited by Chen Hongwie (1999) that deals with the construction of mental culture. Researches’ observation will be validated by semi-structured interviews conducted with two groups of female viewers of the selected drama. Language, which belongs to the institutional culture, is dictated by rules which are acknowledged and observed by all members of society. It helps in mirroring the intricacies and nuances of culture that ultimately create the value system of any society.  Euphemisms, in this respect, are a true reflection of such a system. However, under the influence of global trends and market needs writers manipulate euphemistic strategies in order to transform the established mental culture of the recipients of their works.For the purpose of analyzing this phenomenon two dramas Meri Behan Maya (2011, Geo TV) and Dhoop Kinarey (1987, PTV) by Haseena Moin are selected in order to see how and why, over the time, language of Pakistani dramas has changed in order to cater to the needs of transforming mental culture of the audience. Particular research objective is to examine the degree to which drama writers are able to threat or save the audience face. The qualitative data analysis revealed that euphemisms used in Pakistani dramas tend to manipulate the politeness strategy. They are neither the demand of the script nor employed to gain a specific purpose but to attract audience through sensual language.
KEY WORDS: Euphemism, Pakistani Drama, Mental Culture, Face Threatening Acts, Politeness Strategies