Linguistic Variation across Pakistani Book Blurbs on Four Textual Dimensions:

A New Multidimensional Analysis

Abstract

Language of book blurbs has been extensively studied as a distinct register in recent times. This study aims at exploring the patterns of linguistic variability in a corpus of Pakistani book blurbs on new textual dimensions identified as a result of employing new factor analysis. A standardized corpus of Pakistani book blurbs was built by using online and print sources. The corpus, comprised 1311 book blurb texts, was categorized with respect to three independent situational variables: Publisher location, Publication medium and Literary source. Data were compared on four dimensions of New MD analysis, generated as a result of applying new factor solution matrix on the whole blurb data. The four new dimensions identified were as follows: 1) Abstract Informational Description versus Concrete Human Focus; 2) Interactive Stance versus Formal Reportage of Facts; 3) Informational Density versus Elaborated Expression; and 4) Expression of Personal Stance and Judgment. The results revealed that the language of Pakistani book blurb register considerably varied across its categories. Of the three variables, literary source was found to be the most potential source of variation as it accounted for maximum shared variance of the whole blurb data. The study provides an important insight into the nature of linguistic variation across different categories of Pakistani book blurbs on new textual dimensions.