https://sociolinguistics.journals.pnu.ac.ir/ Journal of Sociolinguistics en daily 1 Tue, 02 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0330 Tue, 02 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0330 https://sociolinguistics.journals.pnu.ac.ir/article_12192.html This study explores the semiotics of Iranian stand-up comedy between 2011 and 2021, using Roland Barthes' five codes as a framework for analysis. The research addresses two main questions: How can stand-up comedy be examined through these five codes, and which of these codes are most prominent in the signifying language of Iranian stand-up? What themes and messages are conveyed through this language? To answer these, 19 lexias were selected from five stand-up performances—four broadcast on national television and one from online media. The analysis revealed 27 cultural codes, 16 semantic codes, and 14 symbolic codes. Cultural codes most frequently referenced political and economic issues, while symbolic codes often highlighted tensions between the public's views and those of the authorities. These findings suggest that Iranian stand-up comedians, as voices of society, use humor to call for reconsideration of political and economic strategies. The study not only provides insight into the themes of Iranian comedy but also offers practical value. For policymakers, it presents a reflection of public sentiment, while for comedy writers, it highlights how semiotic tools can be used to enhance meaning and engagement in comedic content. https://sociolinguistics.journals.pnu.ac.ir/article_12399.html From the perspective of pragmatics and discourse analysis, this research examines the speech acts of legal opinions. Searle divides speech acts into five types: declarative, directive, expressive, representative, and commissive. The present study aimed to investigate the types of speech acts and their frequency in divorce case judgments based on Searle's classification. The present research was conducted using a descriptive-analytical and corpus-based method. The data were randomly collected in the form of 50 judgments from the National Judicial Decisions System. The research corpus includes 1364 speech acts extracted from the text of these judgments. Then, the types of speech acts and their frequencies were identified and analyzed based on specific principles. The findings showed that the highest frequency belonged to representative speech acts with 38%, and declarative and directive speech acts were used with an almost equal frequency of 27%. The findings also indicated that the judge – who is the author of these texts – in court and judicial authorities, based on evidence, documents, and their knowledge, issues verdicts and is always in a position where they confirm their opinion with representative and declarative acts and persuade their audience to take action with directive acts. https://sociolinguistics.journals.pnu.ac.ir/article_12400.html The aim is to understand how language is employed for communicative acts (such as requests, apologies, criticisms, and activism) within Iran’s digital environment, considering cultural restrictions and censorship. The research adopts a qualitative discourse analysis approach, focusing on interactive user samples. Data were collected from 200 public examples between March and November 2024, using purposive sampling. The analysis was carried out in three stages, utilizing the frameworks of Searle (types of speech acts) and Brown and Levinson (politeness strategies): first, identifying and categorizing speech acts; second, analyzing linguistic strategies (direct and indirect) and politeness components; and third, interpreting the discourses within their cultural and technological contexts. Findings reveal that Iranian users predominantly employ indirect strategies (72–81%) for requests and criticisms, along with a blend of positive and negative politeness, influenced by concepts such as “saving face” and “courtesy.” Significant differences emerged between Instagram, which emphasizes visual content and social relations, and X, which is more text-based and news-oriented. On Instagram, emotional speech acts and politeness is more frequently observed, whereas X focuses more on assertive acts and more explicit criticisms. Moreover, these platforms play vital roles in fostering social-political activism and expressing user identities. https://sociolinguistics.journals.pnu.ac.ir/article_12815.html Investigating the diachronic changes of names during the last fifty years and acknowledging the relationship between social transformations and name changes, this study aimes at demonstrating how these changes have influenced the selection of names for children in Boukan from1973 to 2023 and to find an appropriate answer for these questions: 1.which language(s) dominate the names chosen by Boukani parents in the last fifty years in general and in each decade in particular? 2.What gender-based differences emerge in name selection in the last 50 years in general and across decades? 3.How did the names chosen from each language changed over these years? And 4.What social, political, and ethnic implications are revealed through these naming choices? Using civil registry data, the names are first categorized in to Arabic, Persian, Kurdish, Turkish and Foreign and their relevant frequencies were tabulated and then their frequency patterns were analyzed against socio-political conditions. Research as such were done in other Kurdish cities and the gap for Boukan names was felt and this study is a step to fill it. https://sociolinguistics.journals.pnu.ac.ir/article_12875.html This study employs an integrative, interdisciplinary approach to examine how the discourse of resistance is articulated in the poem "Dar Amvaj-e Sind" (In the Waves of Sind) by Hamidi Shirazi. To this end, John Searle's theory of speech acts is utilized as a tool for analyzing micro-level linguistic layers, while Laclau and Mouffe's discourse theory serves as a framework for macro-level semantic interpretation. Data analysis was conducted across three interconnected levels (speech acts, narrative structure, and discourse), and the findings are interpreted in relation to the historical context of the second Pahlavi era. The results indicate that the purposeful distribution of speech acts across different stages of the narrative provides the linguistic material necessary for articulating the discourse of resistance. This discourse is organized around the central signifier of "sacrifice" (isar) and, through processes of othering, foregrounding, and marginalization, consolidates the identity of "Self" against the "Other." A comparison of this poem with the official discourse of the second Pahlavi era reveals that the poem, by articulating a different conception of national identity, emerges as a competing discourse, thereby transforming a historical defeat into a discursive victory. https://sociolinguistics.journals.pnu.ac.ir/article_12882.html Names in Iranian culture have historically served a multifaceted function, extending beyond mere identification to symbolize identity, legitimacy, power, and social belonging. This interdisciplinary study in the field of socio-onomastics examines naming transformations during the Safavid era—a period marked by the institutionalization of Shi’ism, wherein names became instruments of political and cultural legitimization. The research aims to analyze the role of names in shaping religious identity and power structures under Safavid rule.Methodology: This qualitative, descriptive-analytical study draws data from historical sources, including ʿĀlam-ārā-ye ʿAbbāsi, Kholāsat al-Tavārikh, Ahsan al-Tavārikh, literary texts, and popular narratives such as those by Hossein Kord Shabestari. Names are analyzed based on linguistic origin (Persian, Turkish, Arabic, Shi’i) and social status. Comparative analysis of pre-Safavid and Safavid naming practices in folk narratives enables tracing the evolution of naming conventions.Findings: The results reveal that naming individuals and places after Shi’i Imams, integrating religious titles with political authority, and sacralizing public spaces were key strategies in consolidating Iranian-Shi’i identity. This naming discourse permeated elite circles, popular culture, literature, and social narratives, becoming a cornerstone of Safavid political and cultural legitimacy. https://sociolinguistics.journals.pnu.ac.ir/article_12813.html Nouns are words derived from environmental sounds that, by creating sound associations, add to the richness of the speech and create sensory and tangible images in the mind of the audience. Nahj al-Balagha, as the most important written Shiite heritage after the Holy Quran, is full of literary and rhetorical nuances such as noun verbs. This diversity in usage both adds to the rhetorical and aesthetic richness of the Imam's speech and provides a platform for a deeper understanding of his concepts.This research, using a descriptive-analytical method and based on a modern semantic approach, examines the semantic domains of phonetic verbs in Nahj al-Balagha in order to identify the origin of their production in the Imam's speech. The findings show that Imam Ali (AS) used forty-eight nominal verbs (such as "scream","hello", "happen", "qalqal","jaljal", etc.), They depict a wide range of human, animal, and bird sounds, the sounds of objects colliding, and natural phenomena, most of which originate from vocal organs such as the larynx, pharynx, and mouth, or from nature. https://sociolinguistics.journals.pnu.ac.ir/article_12936.html In the framework of semiotics, sign systems form the basis of human social and cultural activities for representing the knowledge hidden in signs. These signs may be manifested in the language or image system. Achieving abstract concepts in these two systems can help in classifying signs and representing them in the form of a knowledge base.In the present study, an attempt is made to use, within the framework of computational semiotics, the semantic relations of image signs that have been obtained in the framework of frame semantics obtained from linguistic signs of image captions to classify images. Then, this achievement is used to develop a knowledge base that contains these semantic relations between images. The results of this study indicate that extracting abstract concepts from frame-based semantic representation of image captions can help both the semantic classification of images and determine the semantic relations of images. The classification and relationship of images can be expressed as a triple containing the type of relationship and two image elements. This representation can be used in the construction of a knowledge base, as well as in the conceptual search of images. To conduct this research, the Flickr30k corpus is used. https://sociolinguistics.journals.pnu.ac.ir/article_12881.html Names reflect linguistic and cultural transformations and are closely tied to the identity and historical memory of societies. In Iranian history, the names of rulers and political elites have served as tools for legitimization or cultural resistance against religious and political domination. This interdisciplinary study explores naming patterns among Iranian rulers from the Elamite period to the Timurid era, analyzing names as socio-linguistic elements that express power structures, religious-cultural identity, and political legitimacy.Using a descriptive-analytical method and historical sources, the study reveals that the Elamite rulers adopted names linked to native deities and divine concepts to reinforce their authority. This pattern continued through the Achaemenid and Sasanian periods, where names conveyed moral and religious ideals. Following the Islamic conquest, naming became a means of acquiring religious-political legitimacy. During the Ghaznavid and Seljuk periods, the interplay among Turkic, Islamic, and Persian names reflected cultural dynamism and strategic identity-building. Under the Mongol and Timurid rule, naming practices aligned with conquered cultures to enhance social acceptance and consolidate power. https://sociolinguistics.journals.pnu.ac.ir/article_12814.html This study aims to investigate the discursive acts of resistance in Behrouz Boochani’s No Friend But the Mountains (2018), demonstrating how language can challenge disciplinary institutions of power and serve as a tool for reclaiming agency. The theoretical framework of the study is grounded in Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis across three levels—textual, discursive practice, and social practice—integrated with the dynamic multilingualism approach.The research adopts a qualitative methodology within an interpretive-critical discourse analysis framework. The unit of analysis consists of “paragraphs containing resistance-oriented events,” representing instances of linguistic struggle between the institutional authority and the incarcerated subject. The dataset comprises 45 paragraphs, selected purposively from the English version of the book and analyzed systematically.Findings indicate that the author employs discursive strategies of resistance both as acts of reclaiming agency and as challenges to the surrounding institutional order. Such acts, while consciously asserting individual identity, also pave the way for the manifestation of collective and transnational identity. No Friend But the Mountains thus represents not only a literary work but also a paradigm of resistance-oriented linguistic activism in prison literature, wherein language functions not merely as a medium for representing experience but as an active, generative, and agentive force. https://sociolinguistics.journals.pnu.ac.ir/article_12873.html One of the subjects examined in semiotics is the system of fashion and its mode of meaning-making within various cultural and social contexts. Relying on the theoretical findings of semiotics, we have attempted to focus on a particular type of fashion called wearable jewelry. Many artists have engaged in jewelry design at some point in their lives, and their works have served as a foundation for many fashion designers. One notable example is Parviz Tanavoli, who turned to artistic jewelry during his artistic career. In this essay, we aim to answer the question: What is the relationship between Tanavoli’s wearable jewelry and fashion? And how do these pieces create a distinct lifestyle? Our goal is to demonstrate how the meaning of an object evolves within the fashion system and how lifestyle changes accordingly. To address these questions, we employed a semiotic approach, which is a modern method for analyzing both verbal and nonverbal languages. Our analysis led to the conclusion that Tanavoli’s jewelry has transformed from an artistic object to a functional object, and finally into a cultural object, thereby creating a unique artistic lifestyle. https://sociolinguistics.journals.pnu.ac.ir/article_12874.html Choosing a name is a tool to introduce people's identity . In this article, the evolution of naming in 3 generations in Soleqan district of Tehran city has been studied. Accordingly, 2326 names of people born between 1330 and 1393 were collected through the family tree. These names have been collected in 4 identity groups, including religious, national, transnational and neutral identities. The results show that names derived from religious identity have the highest frequency, followed by names with neutral names and national and transnational identities, respectively, in this division. Examining the evolution of names shows that religious names have a growing trend in the third generation; But the transnational names are on the downward trend and the tendency towards national and neutral names, which was very few in the first generations, has found an upward trend in the next generations. Regarding names with religious, national and neutral identities, the results show that these names have a growing trend in both men and women, while names with transnational identity are completely removed in the third generation in men and women. has been and has not been seen. https://sociolinguistics.journals.pnu.ac.ir/article_12935.html This study aimed to investigate the preferences of Iranian seventh-grade students toward learning LOTEs, identify factors influencing these preferences, and analyze gender differences. The research population consisted of 1,004 students from five provinces in Iran, selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected using a 34-item questionnaire, the validity and reliability of which were confirmed through factor analysis. The findings revealed that students’ preferences for LOTEs varied significantly. Additionally, three factors—individual factors, educational factors, and socioeconomic factors—were found to explain students’ preferences for LOTE learning, with significant differences in the impact of these factors on their preferences. Furthermore, while gender differences in language preferences were significant, no significant gender differences were observed in the influencing factors. The implications of these findings for policymaking in Iran’s educational system regarding foreign language education are discussed, and suggestions for further studies are provided.Keywords: language preferences, languages other than English, factor analysis, gender differences, Iranian seventh-grade students, convenience sampling