Tag: (T) Persian

(2020) Persian – Ethnopragmatics


Arab, Reza (2020). Ethnopragmatics of hāzer javābi, a valued speech practice in Persian. In Kerry Mullan, Bert Peeters, & Lauren Sadow (Eds.), Studies in ethnopragmatics, cultural semantics, and intercultural communication: Vol. 1. Ethnopragmatics and semantic analysis (pp. 75-94). Singapore: Springer.

DOI: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-32-9983-2_5

Abstract:

This study, the fifth chapter in the volume in which it is published, examines the speech practice designated as hāzer javābi (literally, ‘ready response’ in Persian (Farsi)) using an ethnopragmatic approach; that is, it attempts to capture the ‘insider’ understandings of the practice by making use of semantic explications and cultural scripts. It is one of only a few papers about the Persian language that employ the ethnopragmatic approach. Section 5.1 introduces the practice, offers some classical and contemporary examples, and draws attention to differences in similar-but-different speech practices in English and some other languages. Section 5.2 describes the analytical framework, i.e. ethnopragmatics. Section 5.3 provides historical and cultural contextualization, aiming both to scaffold a more precise understanding of the concept and to explain its cultural prominence. Section 5.4 presents a script for hāzer javābi. Section 5.5 discusses broader issues and provides concluding remarks.

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

(2000) Persian – Politeness


Sahragard, Rahman (2000). Politeness in Persian: A cultural pragmatic analysis. PhD thesis, University of Leicester.

This exploratory study attempts to analyse some features of Persian politeness, in particular the central term of تعارف  ta’arof. This important central concept is highly elaborate and complex, and it is often mentioned in Persian conversation, yet surprisingly it has received very little attention in pragmatics.

Using questionnaire, interviews, and discourse completion tasks, this study elicited information on تعارف  ta’arof from native speakers: their views and perceptions of the meaning and functions of تعارف  ta’arof, the distribution of تعارف  ta’arof with regard to age, gender, social class, and familiarity, as well as the language and strategies involved in a few controlled situations. Based on these results, five important components of تعارف  ta’arof were identified. They are ادب  adab, احترام  ehteraam, رودربایستی  rudarbaayesti, تواضع  tavaazo, and مهمان-نوازی mehmaan-navaazi. حیا  hayaa, شرم  sharm and کمرو  kamru are brought up as part of the discussion around رودربایستی  rudarbaayesti. The various component concepts, and تعارف  ta’arof as a superordinate concept, were then analysed using the Natural Semantic Metalanguage as an analytic framework for cultural pragmatics. As a prior step, it was necessary to establish the Persian exponents of NSM primes (referred to by means of the old terminology primitives). The resulting 38 exponents were then used to formulate explications for تعارف  ta’arof and its five subcomponents. Conventional descriptive methods of giving explanations were also used.

Another aspect of the study is its investigation of the performance of Iranian EFL learners in polite language situations in English, using a discourse completion questionnaire. The results show that these learners tend to transfer their native تعارف  ta’arof norms of being polite in their English responses. EFL teachers in their interviews had suggested this trend. This calls for the adoption of techniques to help learners become aware of the sociopragmatics of being polite in English.


Sound application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner

(2004) Persian – NSM primes


Sahragard, Rahman (2004). Semantic primitives in Persian. Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences of Shiraz University, 21(1), 77-93. PDF (open access)

In general, identifying the putative semantic primitives in Persian has proved to be unproblematic. On the whole, this study supports the hypothesized set of universal semantic primitives.


Sound application of NSM principles carried out without prior training by an experienced NSM practitioner