AN ANALYSIS OF RELIGIOUS LEXICAL LOCALISATION IN SINGLE NATIONAL CURRICULUM-BASED ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

This study investigates how religious lexical items are used to localise English in SNC-based English textbooks for Grades 6–8 in Pakistan. Grounded in the framework of World Englishes, the study examines how English in school textbooks is shaped by local religious and sociocultural realities rather than presented as a culturally neutral language. Using qualitative textual analysis, the study analyses three English textbooks and identifies religious lexical items embedded in unit titles, reading passages, dialogues, comprehension questions, exercises, and writing tasks. The findings show that religious vocabulary is not limited to isolated lesson content; instead, it is systematically distributed across multiple pedagogic spaces. Textbook 6 mainly representsreligious lexis through prophetic biography and festival discourse, especially in units related toSeerat-un-NabiandEid-ul-Fitr. Textbook 7 presents a denser and more structured religious discourse through themes such as the last sermon, worship, sacrifice, and ritual practices. Textbook 8 extends religious lexical representation into broader moral and social domains such as tolerance, justice, leadership, and community values. Overall, the study finds that religious lexical items function as an important means of localising English in Pakistani school textbooks. It concludes that English in these textbooks is represented as a culturally embedded and religiously meaningful medium shaped by the Pakistani Muslim educational context