Framing Action Through Embodiment: The Function of verbs in News Reporting

Abstract

This study explores the role of action verbs in Urdu news media discourse through the theoretical framework of Embodied Cognition (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980; 1999) and Linguistic Framing (Entman, 1993). Gathering a corpus of Urdu news texts from 2019-2020, the analysis of this study shows how verbs selection systematically maps abstract sociopolitical realities onto sensorimotor schemas including construction, movement, verticality, force, consumption, and communication. Certain verbs including banana (to make), chalna (to walk), uthna (to rise), and peena (to drink) demonstrate embodied logic of meaning-making and exhibit how readers cognitively simulate physical actions to interpret complex events. Additionally, these verbs function as framing devices that allocate agency, imply volition, and direct moral evaluation, thereby shaping public perceptions of legitimacy, authority, and cultural values. These findings reveal that Urdu journalism is not linguistically neutral but strategically employs metaphors to shape meaning, reinforce social norms, and guide ideological positioning. By integrating corpus-based analysis with qualitative schema interpretation, this study contributes radical instances to scholarship on language, cognition, and media, giving new insights into the cognitive foundations of framing in South Asian news reporting.