Sociolinguistics
Azadeh Sharifi moghadam; Haniyeh Shirvani
Abstract
The present study investigates the effect of the authors’ gender on the speech features of the characters with different genders. In so doing, two stories were selected in which the genders of the authors were different from those of the main characters. The theoretical framework used in the present ...
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The present study investigates the effect of the authors’ gender on the speech features of the characters with different genders. In so doing, two stories were selected in which the genders of the authors were different from those of the main characters. The theoretical framework used in the present study was Lakoff’s (1975) theory of gender language which was more in historical harmony with the two corpuses under study. The verbal characteristics of the main characters of the two stories show that despite the authors' awareness of gender differences in language, they have left traces of their gender in the speech of their characters. A comparison of the two stories shows that Al-Ahmad is more successful in using appropriate language in the speech of the main character. The feminine linguistic features in the speech of his main character are: swearing, prayers and cursing, hesitations and doubts, direct quotations, as well as emotional attributes. On the other hands, the same features in Raheem’s speech is not in accordance with his masculinity. Based on the findings of this research it can be concluded that gender language is inevitable and completely cultural-bound.
Sociolinguistics
Azadeh Sharifi moghadam; Fatemeh Tahmasbi
Abstract
Cognitive Sociolinguistics is an interdisciplinary subfield of linguistics that tries to cognitively describe language varieties in society by means of teachings of its two constituent disciplines. The purpose of this article is to describe the conceptual metaphors of death in folk language within social ...
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Cognitive Sociolinguistics is an interdisciplinary subfield of linguistics that tries to cognitively describe language varieties in society by means of teachings of its two constituent disciplines. The purpose of this article is to describe the conceptual metaphors of death in folk language within social context. The data were collected from a set of proverbs, funeral and tombstone inscriptions which were then analyzed in terms of conceptualizing death as well as the source domains used for conceptualization. The most frequent types of source domains were personification, direction, distance, existence, destruction and captivity. Among the conceptual domains mentioned, personification and destruction show a unified pessimistic view towards death, while in other source domains both positive and negative meanings were used. It shows the dual nature of death in the mind of Iranians. In personification, both the agent and the patient depart from their basic meaning and are conceptualized by different concepts. Moreover, funeral inscriptions show more optimistic and mystical views than tombstone inscriptions. The findings of this study show the dichotomies as well as the positive and negative attitudes towards death among the language users.
Language Policies
Azadeh Sharifi moghadam; mohammad reza fakhr rouhani; maryam hajiloo
Abstract
Honorifics are social deixis which serve as signs of respect and politeness for references to certain noun phrases in order to show dignity of addressee(s). The purpose of this study is to compare the use of honorific terms and phrases in the two religions of Islam and Zoroastrianism. The data were collected ...
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Honorifics are social deixis which serve as signs of respect and politeness for references to certain noun phrases in order to show dignity of addressee(s). The purpose of this study is to compare the use of honorific terms and phrases in the two religions of Islam and Zoroastrianism. The data were collected from written and oral religious texts which were then examined and compared to each other in terms of structures, meanings and pragmatic use. The findings are as follows: In the two religions, honorifics appear both before and after the nominal; however, Islamic honorifics are longer in structures and more various in types, while in Zoroastrian they appear before the head. In both corpora in addition to religious figures, honorific terms were used for the places, objects and phenomena related to religion. In addition to unmarked honorifics, the corpus of the two religions contained marked honorifics which appear with some certain names. Both religions contain prohibited verbal and non-verbal behaviors (taboo) such as silence which can be referred to as a common feature in the two ceremonies. Finally, both religions contain items opposite to the honorifics with the meaning of hatred and disgust. Along with the similarities mentioned above, the significant difference between the two corpora is that the use of honorifics in Islam is motivated by a kind of religious duty known as ‘amity’ and ‘animosity’.
Language and Culture
A. Sharifi Moghaddam; M. Bahreini; V. Abolhassanizadeh
Volume 1, Issue 2 , April 2017, , Pages 64-71
Abstract
Compliments are universal categories which are found in all languages but they are more common in some languages like Persian. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of social variables of “age” and “gender” on the amount of usage of compliments by Persian speakers. ...
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Compliments are universal categories which are found in all languages but they are more common in some languages like Persian. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of social variables of “age” and “gender” on the amount of usage of compliments by Persian speakers. To do this, a questionnaire including 15 questions was given to 100 male and female Kermani participants in different age-groups. The research theoretical framework was Brown and Levinson’s (1978) politeness theory. Static analyses indicate that there is significant difference (P< 0.0001) between the usage of compliments by the participants of different ages; in older age-groups they use more compliments to show politeness to their addressees. However, there is no significant difference (P = 0.28) between male and female Persian speakers in using compliments although the structures of compliment representations are different. This point reveals that both gender. Groups use compliments in their verbal interactions to show politeness.
