Tag: (E) martyr

(2017) English, Arabic – Religion

Habib, Sandy (2017). Dying for a cause other than God: Exploring the non-religious meanings of martyr and shahīd. Australian Journal of Linguistics, 37(3), 314-327.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07268602.2017.1298395

Abstract:

This paper looks into the non-religious meanings of English martyr and its near Arabic equivalent شهيد shahīd. It compares and contrasts them and provides an explication of each, using NSM. Both concepts refer to a person who was killed. Both are hailed for sacrificing their lives. To be called a martyr, a person has to have been killed for adhering and fighting for a higher cause, such as peace, the environment or their country; this person can be from any country and of any ethnicity. To be called شهيد  shahīd, on the other hand, a person must have been killed on political grounds only and has to have been an Arab living in an Arab country.

The two explications are built out of mostly simple and universal words. This means that they are easy to comprehend and translatable into any language. Their translatability grants cultural outsiders access to their exact meaning.

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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

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(2014) Christianity, Islam – Religion

Habib, Sandy (2014). Dying in the cause of God: The semantics of the Christian and Muslim concepts of martyr. Australian Journal of Linguistics, 34(3), 388-398.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07268602.2014.898223

Abstract:

Martyrdom is unquestionably an important concept in the discourse of Christianity and Islam. This religious concept challenges the minds of many people, particularly because it calls believers to adhere to their beliefs even if they are tortured to death. Notwithstanding, countless martyrs populate the historical accounts of these two monotheistic religions.

This paper examines and defines the Christian and Muslim concepts of martyr and شهي shahīd, respectively. The focus is not on the English word martyr and the Arabic word شهي shahīd as such. The labels have been chosen for the sake of convenience. The explication of martyr represents the concept as perceived by Christians in general, irrespective of their mother tongues. The same goes for the Islamic concept of شهي shahīd. The explication represents the Islamic concept as perceived, not only by Arabic-speaking Muslims, but by Muslims in general. The paper delineates the similarities and differences between the two concepts and provides an NSM explication of each.

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Research carried out by one or more experienced NSM practitioners

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(2011) English, Hebrew, Arabic – Religion

Habib, Sandy (2011). Contrastive lexical-conceptual analysis of folk religious concepts in English, Arabic, and Hebrew: NSM approach. PhD thesis, University of New England, Armidale.

Abstract:

The primary aim of this dissertation is to explore a number of religious concepts in English, Arabic, and Hebrew. It is the first detailed study of folk religious concepts from a linguistic vantage point. The concepts included in the study are those behind the English words angels, the devil, God, heaven, hell, martyr, sin, and grace, as well as their Arabic and Hebrew near-equivalents. The theoretical framework is that of the NSM approach.

To lay the groundwork, Arabic and Hebrew versions of NSM are established, which had not been done before. Semantic explications of the target religious concepts are then developed in terms that are both comprehensible to ordinary people and translatable between the three languages (English, Arabic, and Hebrew). This allows for easy identification of the similarities and differences among the various concepts in the languages under investigation.

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Research carried out in consultation with or under the supervision of one or more experienced NSM practitioners

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