Critical Discourse Analysis of Liaqat Ali Khan’s Speech in American Senate

This study aims toanalyticallyinvestigate the core ideological aspects of Liaqat Ali Khan’s(the 1st prime minister of Pakistan) speechwhich he delivered when he visited The United States of America(hereafter America) and addressed the American senate in 1950.This speech holds special significance as it was on the occasion of the 1st state visit of any Pakistani prime minister toAmerica.Thisexploration presumes that discourse is a product which is linked with society and societal practices. In this study, qualitative research methodology has been chosen and content analysis approach was adopted for analyzing the text of the speech.Though, there are different approaches to critical discourse analysis but the current study explores the analysis of discourse content i.e. how the linguistic components can add to circulate the ideologies in speeches. This approach is known as social and cognitive approach (socio-cognitive)and was presented by Van Dijk.The outcomes of the study conveyed the fact that Liaqat Ali khanwanted to present the aims and ideology of Pakistan infront of the world. Though he was fully aware of the challenges, issues and problems of Pakistan, yet his speech reflected the bold mindset, strong philosophy and objectives of a newly born state.It is also a fact that powerful political personalities and their speeches can easily control the minds of people, hence this speech holds a central place in the discourse that shaped the language of future leaders.