Abstract This article explores the semantics and pragmatics of ten social category terms, used in the largely undocumented Jish Arabic linguaculture (ways of speaking and living). By consulting native Jish Arabic speakers, examining WhatsApp messages texted by them, and using Natural Semantic Metalanguage, each of these terms is described and explicated in simple, (semi-)universal concepts. This makes the explications easily understood and readily cross-translatable, and thus accessible to cultural insiders (people living in Jish) and cultural outsiders. In addition, this study reveals complex dynamics of identity and belonging, especially when it comes to one of these terms, jishshāwiyyi (جشّاوية). While this term should in principle refer to all the residents of il-jishsh (الجش) ‘Jish,’ it is used to refer to only about 70 % of them. This study, therefore, contributes to the fields of linguistics, sociology, and anthropology. In particular, it explores the interplay between language and social identity in Jish, showing how speakers signal belonging, mark boundaries, and negotiate relationships in everyday interaction.
Abstract This study seeks to survey the types of metaphor in Bill Clinton’s two speeches delivered in the Jordanian Parliament and the Israeli Knesset in 1994, and how these metaphors are used to intensify different emotions to foster peace between Jordan and Israel. I argue that Clinton uses metaphorical language in his speeches because it is emotionally more intense (Charteris-Black, Jonathan. 2011. Politicians and rhetoric: The persuasive power of metaphor . New York: Palgrave Macmillan), which consequently heightens the effect of his messages. I also argue that Clinton used prophetic sayings, which were expressed in metaphors, to communicate the values of peace contrasted with the negatives of war. The findings indicate that the epideictic forms of Clinton’s oratory in fostering peace between Jordan and Israel are facilitated in part by transferring socio-pragmatic meanings through the use of metaphors “designed” (Martin, James R. 1999. Grace: The logogenesis of freedom. Discourse Studies 1(1). 29–56) in accordance to the audiences’ “cultural rhetorical resources” (Liebersohn, Yosef Z., Yair Neuman & Zvi Bekerman. 2004. Oh baby, it’s hard for me to say I’m sorry: Public apologetic speech and cultural rhetorical resources. Journal of Pragmatics 36(5). 921–944) to arouse the audience’s feelings. Further, Clinton’s use of prophetic sayings wrapped in metaphors aims at viewing himself as “sounding right” with “right intention” (Charteris-Black, Jonathan. 2011. Politicians and rhetoric: The persuasive power of metaphor . New York: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 20).
Abstract Indirectness is a pervasive feature of everyday interaction, yet its functions remain fragmented across theoretical traditions. While inferential pragmatics has largely treated indirectness as a deviation from direct expression motivated by politeness or mitigation, interactional and indexical approaches emphasise how meaning emerges through contextualisation cues, framing, and uptake in real-time interaction. This article proposes a compact analytic typology of Faces of indirectness – Involvement, Autonomy, Control, and Frame – defined not by linguistic form but by the interactional problems indirectness helps manage. Each Face is operationalised through a set of diagnostic dimensions: interactional action, cue constellation, designed gap, and uptake signature. Using illustrative extracts from the DiaBiz (Pęzik, P., G. Krawentek, S. Karasińska, P. Wilk, P. Rybińska, A. Cichosz, A. Peljak-Łapińska, M. Deckert & M. Adamczyk. 2022. DiaBiz – An annotated corpus of Polish call center dialogs. In Proceedings of the 13th conference on language resources and evaluation (LREC 2022) , 723–726. European Language Resources Association) corpus of service-call dialogues together with private anonymised relational chat fragments, the study demonstrates how these Faces become recognisable in sequential interaction. The analysis shows that indirectness functions as a resource for managing alignment, rights, procedural trajectories, and interpretive context across both relational and institutional settings. The proposed framework offers a method-oriented approach to analysing indirectness that links interactional function with observable cues and uptake trajectories.
Abstract This article explores associative anaphora in the Qurʾān, a discursive device in which a definite noun phrase refers to a previously mentioned or implied entity through an inferable semantic connection rather than by direct repetition. Although associative anaphora is traditionally defined in the linguistic literature as a relationship between a definite anaphor and an indefinite antecedent that is often based on stereotypical part-whole or functional associations, its use in the Qurʾān reveals a much broader and fine-grained typology. Three types of associative anaphora in the Qurʾān are identified here: (1) the descriptive type, which expands the semantic scope of the antecedent, (2) the spatially-contained type, which refers to a sub-element such as a location within a previously mentioned domain, and (3) the part-whole type, where individual elements are linked to a broader category. Unlike regular anaphoric pronouns that have a minimal referential role and primarily maintain cohesion through repetition, instances of associative anaphora in the Qurʾān are often chosen deliberately to enrich meaning, reframe referents, and invoke theological or moral dimensions. The analysis shows that Qurʾānic associative anaphoric devices operate within a specific rhetorical and theological framework that relies heavily on contextual knowledge, exegetical insight, and shades of meaning to guide interpretation and augment textual cohesion.
Abstract Studies have examined the important role the Nigeria Police plays in the Nigerian security system. However, the investigation of the discursive representation of the Nigeria Police and its personnel in Afrobeats (hip hop) is yet to be largely explored. This study, thus, within the ambit of the Foucauldian Discourse Analytic approach and Halliday’s Transitivity, investigates the representation of the Nigeria Police in selected songs of Nigerian Afrobeats artistes. These songs were selected for their discursive portrayal of the Nigeria Police, informed by personal experiences, community interactions, and the broader lived experiences of Nigerian citizens. The analysis reveals a pervasive narrative of police brutality, extortion, corruption, and oppression, the perpetuation of a culture of fear, mistrust, and powerlessness among citizens. It further foregrounds the police as champions of brutality and harassment, who blur the lines between law enforcement and criminality, and often serve as an oppressive tool for political leaders to suppress dissenting voices. Through the lyrics of their songs, Nigerian Afrobeats artistes have revealed that the Nigeria Police Force and its personnel have largely been unprofessional in their conducts, as evident in their engagements with the ‘ordinary’ citizens of the country.
