Metaphorical Framing of Pakistan’s 2025 Flood: An Ecolinguistics Analysis of Selected Newspaper Articles

Abstract

This study investigates the metaphorical framing of Pakistan’s 2025 flood through an ecolinguistics analysis of selected newspaper articles from Dawn and The Nation. Using Conceptual Metaphor Theory and a qualitative research approach, this study explores how language shapes public understanding of environmental disasters (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980). The findings show that floods are frequently portrayed as violent agents, historical milestones, and material destroyers through war and conflict-related metaphors. The analysis also highlights themes of climate injustice, ecological imbalance, governance failure, and human responsibility. The study demonstrates that media discourse plays a significant role in influencing ecological awareness and shaping perceptions about climate-related crises in Pakistan.