Research Paper
Sociolinguistics
Khadijeh noorani; زندی zandi
Abstract
This research, based on Byman’s theoretical framework and emphasizing the importance of interpretation grounded in cultural context, analyzes the communicative language of Iranians from the perspective of foreign travel writers. The methodology of the study is qualitative, relying on thematic content ...
Read More
This research, based on Byman’s theoretical framework and emphasizing the importance of interpretation grounded in cultural context, analyzes the communicative language of Iranians from the perspective of foreign travel writers. The methodology of the study is qualitative, relying on thematic content analysis of travelogues. Accordingly, 30 foreign travelogues were selected. The unit of analysis focused on the language used in Iranian conversations. Data were collected using a checklist and analyzed through double coding along with peer review to ensure the validity and reliability of the results. The data analysis revealed that the communicative language of Iranians can be examined through two key categories—“internal/external confrontation” and “hierarchy of status”—and three concepts: “politeness,” “respect/courtesy,” and “cleverness.” Some travel writers, with deep understanding, have accurately reflected the cultural dimensions and social functions of these behaviors, while others, due to unfamiliarity with semantic systems and cultural schemas, have offered superficial or stereotypical interpretations. The findings emphasize the necessity of a culturally contextual approach in interpreting travelogue narratives and show that neglecting cultural and social contexts can lead to incomplete and unrealistic understandings of Iranian linguistic behaviors.
Research Paper
Discourse Analysis
Parvin Sadeghi; مسعود Dehghan; Sayed Ahmad Parsa
Abstract
Vehicle inscriptions, as a form of vernacular media, provide a platform for articulating the perspectives, values, and attitudes of marginalized social groups—particularly drivers—who are often excluded from access to official media. This study aims to critically analyze the mechanisms of ...
Read More
Vehicle inscriptions, as a form of vernacular media, provide a platform for articulating the perspectives, values, and attitudes of marginalized social groups—particularly drivers—who are often excluded from access to official media. This study aims to critically analyze the mechanisms of legitimation and delegitimation embedded in these inscriptions, employing Theo van Leeuwen’s (2008) framework of critical discourse analysis. Methodologically, the study is qualitative and follows a descriptive-analytical approach. The data consist of 4,810 inscriptions collected from three authoritative textual sources: Autol-nameh (Hadian Tabaei Zavareh, 2010), Machine Inscriptions (Parsa, 2011), and Machine Inscriptions: Apotropaic Verses (Hamidi, 2002). The inscriptions were coded and analyzed based on Van Leeuwen’s legitimation strategies, including authorization, moral evaluation, rationalization, and mythopoesis. The findings indicate that vehicle inscriptions legitimize discourses such as religiosity, patriotism, family loyalty, and lawfulness and play a critical role in delegitimizing discourses surrounding economic inequality, institutional inefficiency, gender discrimination, consumerism, and public distrust. The high frequency of strategies like moral evaluation and rationalization reveals that these inscriptions function beyond mere aesthetic expression; they serve as powerful discursive tools for reflecting and contesting dominant ideologies in contemporary Iranian society.
Research Paper
Language and Culture
Maryam Zamani; Behnaz payamni
Abstract
The analysis of the illustration titled “The Third Trial: Esfandiar’s Battle with the Dragon” from the Shah Tahmasp’s Shahnameh, from the perspective of cultural semiotics, is the subject of this study. To this end, following a brief introduction to the views of prominent semiotic ...
Read More
The analysis of the illustration titled “The Third Trial: Esfandiar’s Battle with the Dragon” from the Shah Tahmasp’s Shahnameh, from the perspective of cultural semiotics, is the subject of this study. To this end, following a brief introduction to the views of prominent semiotic theorists, the research draws on Yuri Lotman’s theory regarding the opposition between nature and culture to interpret visual signs and recover their meanings. By aligning the dominant cultural signs within the illustration and the text, and exploring their semantic dimensions, hidden layers of meaning within the artwork are revealed. This method allows readers to gain deeper insight into the illustrator’s mindset regarding the narrated story. This is a theoretical study carried out using a descriptive approach and content analysis methodology. Its aim is to identify and interpret visual signs and their relationship with the Shahnameh text. After analyzing the illustration, the research compares its semiotic elements with the text to evaluate their connections, similarities, and differences, as well as the contextual conditions under which the illustration was produced. Findings indicate that in addition to remaining faithful to the Shahnameh’s narrative, the illustrator also incorporated cultural symbols from his own era in shaping the visual elements
Research Paper
Discourse Analysis
Mohammadreza Tusi Nasrabadi; Abdolhassein Heidari
Abstract
The popular slogans of the Iranian Islamic Revolution, as linguistic manifestations of resistance and reflections of social discourse, contain diverse elements of folk culture whose analysis can lead to a deeper understanding of the linguistic, ideological, and cultural mechanisms of that period. The ...
Read More
The popular slogans of the Iranian Islamic Revolution, as linguistic manifestations of resistance and reflections of social discourse, contain diverse elements of folk culture whose analysis can lead to a deeper understanding of the linguistic, ideological, and cultural mechanisms of that period. The aim of this study is to analyze colloquial language in the slogans and wall writings of the Islamic Revolution, drawing on Michel Foucault’s power–knowledge discourse theory and Norman Fairclough’s three-layer framework of critical discourse analysis. The methodology is qualitative and quantitative, using a descriptive–analytical approach. The corpus under examination includes 301 samples of slogans and wall writings from the revolutionary period, analyzed based on six main indicators of folk culture (taboo, conversational speech, folk poems, curses, popular beliefs, and proverbs). The findings indicate that colloquial language was not only a means of expressing immediate emotions, but also a discursive tool for redefining political legitimacy and cultural resistance. The analysis shows that by appropriating colloquial language, the people formed a kind of bottom-up resistance discourse through which they were able to challenge the official narrative of power. In this discourse, body language, humor, children, and women also entered the political arena, producing—in Foucauldian terms—a form of power emerging
Research Paper
Discourse Analysis
Mahmood Reza Moradian; Parisa Najafi; Hamze Naderi Nasab
Abstract
Hedges are linguistic tools that reduce the certainty of statements, enabling speakers to manage responsibility, protect face, and navigate social relationships. This study explores hedging in family court discourse, using Hyland’s (1996, 1998) interpersonal model, which frames hedges as interactional ...
Read More
Hedges are linguistic tools that reduce the certainty of statements, enabling speakers to manage responsibility, protect face, and navigate social relationships. This study explores hedging in family court discourse, using Hyland’s (1996, 1998) interpersonal model, which frames hedges as interactional resources balancing propositional meaning with social relations. Data were collected from 15 divorce court hearings and analyzed through a corpus-based quantitative and qualitative discourse approach. Participants were grouped into legal professionals (judges/lawyers) and lay individuals (spouses), and hedge usage was examined by type (lexical/syntactic), gender, and interactional context. Results show hedge use is influenced by social roles, gender, and communicative goals. Unexpectedly, men used more hedges than women, suggesting a strategic function—mitigating responsibility, softening claims, and preserving self-image. Legal professionals used the fewest hedges, likely reflecting institutional norms and the demand for authoritative speech. Lexical hedges appeared more frequently than syntactic ones, possibly due to psychological pressure, time constraints, and the urgency of courtroom communication.This study, situated at the intersection of language, gender, power, and identity, reveals that hedges serve as strategic tools of discursive agency in high-stakes legal settings. The findings have implications for legal discourse analysis, institutional linguistics, and training in courtroom communication, especially within family law.
Research Paper
Sociolinguistics
Maryam Haji Mohammad Jafar; Hamed Abdi
Abstract
This study examined the naming strategies of Iranian airline companies through the lens of cognitive onomastics, exploring how these names reflect cultural identity, ideological values, and cognitive frameworks. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research analyzes 20 airline names, categorizing ...
Read More
This study examined the naming strategies of Iranian airline companies through the lens of cognitive onomastics, exploring how these names reflect cultural identity, ideological values, and cognitive frameworks. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research analyzes 20 airline names, categorizing them into national-historical, religious-ideological, geographical-regional, and transnational-hybrid groups. The findings reveal a hierarchical preference: geographical names (35%) dominate, emphasizing regional pride and tourism appeal, followed by national-historical names (25%), which reinforce Iran’s pre-Islamic and post-revolutionary identity. Transnational-hybrid names (40%) demonstrate a strategic balance between local heritage and global marketability, while explicitly religious names (5%) are underrepresented, suggesting the aviation industry’s pragmatic distancing from overt ideological messaging. The study aligns with cognitive onomastics theories and sociolinguistic trends, highlighting how airline names serve as dynamic intersections of cultural memory, cognitive salience, and economic pragmatism. The results underscore the tension between tradition and globalization, with names acting as linguistic markers of Iran’s negotiated identity in a globalized world.
Research Paper
Language & Media
Masoumeh Hosseinzadeh Shahri; Zahra Rezaee Torshizi; Narjes Monfared
Abstract
پژوهش حاضر با رویکردی بینارشتهای به بررسی تأثیر اخبار جعلی تولیدشده توسط کاربر در گفتمان رسانه اجتماعی بر اعتماد و رفتار خرید مصرفکننده با توجه به نقش تعدیلگری ...
Read More
پژوهش حاضر با رویکردی بینارشتهای به بررسی تأثیر اخبار جعلی تولیدشده توسط کاربر در گفتمان رسانه اجتماعی بر اعتماد و رفتار خرید مصرفکننده با توجه به نقش تعدیلگری مسئولیت اجتماعی شرکت پرداخت. به سبب ماهیت بینارشتهای پژوهش از رویکردی ترکیبی (کمّی و کیفی) بهره گرفته شد. در بررسی کیفی، با تلفیق مفاهیم نظری از حوزه تحلیل گفتمان و بازاریایی، به واکاوی رویة تولید خبر جعلی توسط کاربر و کنش گفتمانی مسئولیتپذیری اجتماعی شرکت پرداختیم. سپس، با تکیه بر مدل مفهومی پژوهش، پرسشنامه استانداردی تهیه شد و بر روی جامعة آماری پژوهش آزمون شد. جامعه آماری پژوهش با روش نمونهگیری هدفمند و فرمول کوکران به دست آمد که مشتملبر 384 نفر از کاربران اینستاگرامی بودند. یافتههای پژوهش کیفی، به بازنمایی مفاهیم نهفته در گفتمان خبر جعلی و مسئولیتپذیری اجتماعی شرکت منجر شد. نتایج پژوهش کمی نشان داد اخبار جعلی تولیدشده توسط کاربر در گفتمان رسانه اجتماعی بر رفتار خرید مصرفکننده تأثیر مثبتی دارند. همچنین اعتماد مصرفکننده به برند، نقش میانجی دررابطه بین اخبار جعلی تولید شده توسط کاربر در گفتمان رسانه اجتماعی و رفتار خرید مصرفکننده داشت و مسئولیت اجتماعی شرکت، رابطه بین اخبار جعلی تولید شده توسط کاربر در گفتمان رسانه اجتماعی و اعتماد مصرفکننده به برند را تعدیل نمیکند.
