The present study aims to investigate the various request constructions used in Classical Arabic and Modern Arabic language by identifying the differences in their usage in these two different genres. Also, the study attempts to trace the cases of felicitous and infelicitous requests in the Arabic language. Methodologically, the current study employs a web-based corpus tool (Sketch Engine) to analyze different corpora: the first one is Classical Arabic, represented by King Saud University Corpus of Classical Arabic, while the second is The Arabic Web Corpus “arTenTen” representing Modern Arabic. To do so, the study relies on felicity conditions to qualitatively interpret the quantitative data, i.e., following a mixed mode method

This study aims to study argumentation in political debates by figuring out the logical fallacies employed in the debates of Clinton and Trump, the presidential nominees of the 2016 elections, and Biden and Trump, the leading contenders in the 2020 United States presidential election. The study attempts to answer the questions: (1) What relevance fallacies are adopted in the debate between Trump and Clinton? (2) What rhetorical devices are used to influence the audience and gain voters besides fallacies in the debates selected? The study analyses two texts from two arguments using Damer's (2009) taxonomy of relevance fallacy and rhetorical devices based on Perrine’s (1969) model of communication and interpersonal rhetoric to answe

Although language research has focused on blackmail in general, less attention has been paid to emotional blackmail. To date, researchers could not locate any literature that examines emotional blackmail from a linguistic standpoint. The current study is intended to fill this gap by scrutinizing emotional blackmail from a pragma-stylistic point of view by examining the style of the characters in selected episodes extracted from the American Breaking Bad series. To carry out the study, an eclectic model comprising kinds of emotional blackmailers by Forward and Frazier (1997), Searles’ speech acts (1979), Grice’s maxims (1975), Brown and Levinson’s politeness (1987), Culpeper’s impoliteness (1996), and Simpson’s stylistic le

Social variables have a tremendous impact on the language spoken by the male and female genders, particularly in Eastern cultures. Because men and women in Arabic cultures are typically raised separately, they speak somewhat differently depending on their gender. Arabic is used exclusively in educational institutions in the Arab world. The objective of the present study was to examine certain social and linguistic aspects of the language spoken by females and males in mixed academic organisations from ‎the point of view of female academics. It also ‎examined some noted gender differences in previous gender studies of the interactional styles of the ‎two genders in higher education institutions in Iraq from the perspective of f

The study targets exploring the similarities and differences between Iraqi and Malaysian learners of English in refusing marriage proposals. Also, it examines the favored politeness strategies that learners use to protect their interlocutors’ face, heeding both their social distance and status. Data were gathered by a Discourse Completion Task (DCT) which contained six marriage situations. Responses were analyzed based on Beebe et al.’s (1990) refusal taxonomy and Scollon et al.’s (2012) politeness system. The findings indicated that both the Iraqi and Malaysian learners preferred the indirect refusal strategies in marriage proposals, as well as the hierarchical politeness in the form of independence strategies regardless of t

This paper provides a review of scholarly research on the depiction of hostility in critical media discourse analysis. The study is intended to analyze how hostility is differently portrayed and manifested in media discourse. The review begins by defining the multifaceted concept of hostility, encompassing cognitive, emotive, and behavioral dimensions. It then outlines the systematic process used to identify, gather and purposely select 30 relevant articles to hostility in media discourse. The method involves selecting 100 initial articles and gradually refining them to 30 articles that specifically address the themes of racism, anger, hate speech, prejudice, and aggression. These articles are sourced from diverse academic journals

This study is intended to examine the concept of transcultural identity in the travel book The Global Soul: Jet Lag, Shopping Malls, and the Search for Home by (Iyer, 2001). Jeffries’ model of critical stylistics (2010) (henceforth, CS) has been selected to analyze the book. To be more specific, Negation is selected to analyze the concept under study. As such, the study aims at finding out how Negation is used to portray ideological meanings representing the concept of transcultural identity in one non-fictional travel book; and finding out the ideologies related to the concept analyzed. The analysis of the data shows that Negation is a suitable analytical tool to reach the ideational meaning of the text towards the concept of tra

The present study cognitive aims to investigate the negation phenomenon in American political discourse under Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) principles. The research sample includes two speeches given by Clinton and Trump in their election campaigns in 2016. Since the nature of the study follows the social-cognitive approach, the researcher adopted two models of analysis to achieve the study’s objectives: First, the theoretical framework of MST (developed by Fauconnier (1994), Fauconnier and Sweetser (1996) to examine meaning construction resulting from building different levels of negative mental spaces by two different genders the selected speeches. Second, pragmatic model to examine the role of gender from the functional per

Humor is an interesting phenomenon that has been studied widely, yet it is considered a universal trait that cannot be an old subject for a study. This study is conducted to investigate humor from a universal pragmatic lens in a stand-up comedy show, namely, You Wanna Hear Something Crazy?. It aims to study humor as a coin with two sides, the production side and the understanding side. To achieve the aim of the study, the researchers use an eclectic contains Grice’s CP model (1975) and Habermas’s UP model (1979, 1984, 1987, 1998). The study has noted that while using the observance and the non-observance of the cooperative maxims to produce humor, the universal validity claims of truth, sincerity, and normative rightness for rea

This study unveils the ideologies of women empowerment encoded in the Mona Lisa Smile movie (2003). It reveals how the stereotypical image of women born only to be wives and do the duties of upbringing and housework is challenged. Katherine Ann Watson (Julia Roberts), the main character in the movie, wants to make a difference in the next generation of women. She rejects the imposed traditional ideologies. Linguistically, she opposes conventional thinking and seeks to persuade her students that life is about more than getting married. The primary focus of this study is to examine and clarify how the characters’ linguistic choices convey their ideologies concerning the notion of women empowerment. To do this, the researchers apply

Conflict is a common but complicated phenomenon. It has been extensively researched in many domains, including philosophy, sociology, psychology, and linguistics. Using the Critical Discourse Approach, this study examines the issue of self-society conflict in The Handmaid’s Tale. The significance of this work lies in the identification and explanation of the discursive strategies that force the ideological polarization of the positively portrayed self versus the negatively portrayed other. The purpose of this study is to answer two questions: what are the discursive strategies used in The Handmaid’s Tale to create a positive or negative representation, and how are these strategies implemented? Five extracts from The Handmaid’s

Animation is an industry that is expanding more quickly than ever. Every child’s favorite activity is watching cartoons. Therefore, it is essential to be cautious of the kinds of cartoon films children and teenagers tend. Because children and teenagers are the target audience for these films. This study aims at exposing a hidden enactment, namely racism, in a well-known cartoon film, Lion King, which has been selected accurately by the researchers because it shapes a set of ideas about black people and constructs prejudiced beliefs in their minds. This study is to answer the inquiry ‘Is the ideology of racism imposed in Lion King? And how?’ The significance of the present paper lies in highlighting the educational function of

The researchers of the present study have conducted a genre analysis of two political debates between American presidential nominees in the 2016 and 2020 elections. The current study seeks to analyze the cognitive construction of political debates to evaluate the typical moves and strategies politicians use to express their communicative intentions and to reveal the language manifestations of those moves and strategies. To achieve the study’s aims, the researchers adopt Bhatia’s (1993) framework of cognitive construction supported by van Emeren’s (2010) pragma-dialectic framework. The study demonstrates that both presidents adhere to this genre structuring to further their political agendas. For a positive and promising image

The present study aims at scrutinizing the impoliteness types, causes, and purposes utilized by Iraqi English language learners when refusing marriage proposals. Thus, it attempts to answer the questions: (1) what are the impoliteness formulas used by the Iraqi learners of English in refusing marriage proposals?, and (2) What are their impoliteness triggers/causes and the purposes? The study is significant in bridging the gap that few linguistic types of research concentrate on studying intentionality and emotions allied with impoliteness. Data were collected from 35 Iraqi learners of English responding to 6 situations of marriage. The data were analyzed using Culpeper’s (2011) formulas of impoliteness and Bousfield’s (2007) imp

The present study attempts to examine verbal/nonverbal impoliteness in the classroom interaction and outside it in one of the movies, namely, The Marva Collins. Impoliteness, which is significantly studied within pragmatics, is a negative attitude towards particular behaviors. It always presumes to have emotional concerns for at least one participant who has caused it. This study is an attempt to examine verbal/nonverbal impoliteness in The Marva Collins movie. The study aims to investigate the different types of impoliteness strategies used in the four selected scenes and find out whether the speaker’s status has anything to do with the types of impoliteness. Besides, the functions performed are also examined by following a qual

In the framework of this study, the phenomenon of transfer is probed pragma-linguistically and socio-linguistically concerning marriage situations among Iraqi EFL learners. The study also strives to look at the refusal strategies most commonly employed by Iraqi female English as a foreign Language (EFL) learners compared to their counterparts, American native speakers of English. The study involved 70 female participants who answered a Discourse Completion Task (DCT), which contained ten marriage proposals to be refused. Each situation entailed refusal of a person from a higher, an equal, and lower status. The researchers adapted Beebe, Takahashi, and Uliss Weltz’s (1990) taxonomy of refusal for analyzing the data comprehensively.

The rise of online platforms has transformed the discourse landscape, enabling users to create and share content actively, thereby shaping public perceptions and societal narratives. Understanding the dynamics of this discourse is essential for comprehending its socio-political implications. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) concerning online platforms, exploring how language is utilized across various digital contexts to influence identity formation and social inequalities. Methodologically, the review systematically searches electronic databases, including Google Scholar and ProQuest, using keywords related to CDA and online platforms. A total of 30 relevant studies are purpo

Depp and Heard's trial has reaped significant attention due to the domestic violence allegations directed towards each other. This paper sheds light on the repressed narrative beyond the mere words spoken aloud. It delves into an overlooked aspect, i.e., nonverbal communication. Previous studies focused on one or two categories of nonverbal communication. Therefore, the current study investigates the types and sub-types of nonverbal communication exhibited by both rivals within the courtroom setting. To examine the credibility and repressibility of nonverbal communication, the researchers have carefully watched (28) videos representing the whole trial's event. Some nonverbal communication was traced through the whole (28) videos fro

This review paper examines the crucial impact of YouTube on learning English as a Foreign Language. Recently, learners’ interaction and development of their skills have been improved due to the integration of digital platforms into language education. YouTube is regarded as one of the most prevalent platforms due to its accessibility, multimodal content, and capacity to simulate real-life communication. This study tackles thirty selected research articles from various cultural and institutional backgrounds to identify the pedagogical benefits and challenges associated with using YouTube in teaching English. Conventional methods of teaching English as a foreign language encounter difficulties in improving students’ engagement and

Emotional blackmail is generally defined as manipulating others' emotions for personal gain. It is a type of manipulation that damages healthy relationships among people and turns them into toxic relations leaving the victim in a state of depression and under stress of losing something s/he holds dear. This study aims to identify the pragmatic techniques of emotional blackmail used by both blackmailers and victims in "No One Would Tell" (2018).  To do so, the researchers developed an eclectic model comprising Forward and Frazier's (1997) emotional blackmail, Searle’s speech acts (1979), Brown and Levinson’s politeness strategies (1987), Culpeper’s impoliteness strategies (1996, 2005), and Mayfield's taxonomy of fallacy (2007)

This review investigates the practice and influence of chatbots and ChatGPT as employable tools in writing for scientific academic purposes. A primary collection of 150 articles was gathered from academic databases, but it was systematically chosen and refined to include 30 studies that focused on the use of ChatGPT and chatbot technology in academic writing contexts. Chatbots and ChatGPT in writing enhancement, support for student learning at higher education institutions, scientific and medical writing, and the evolution of research and academic publishing are some of the topics covered in the reviewed literature. The review finds these tools helpful, with their greatest advantages being in areas such as structuring writings, gram

Identity crisis is a dominant literary theme, especially in most Arab women writers’ works. However, it has not been given enough attention from a linguistic point of view. By so doing, the current study intends to fill this gap by analyzing the identity crisis from a pragma-stylistic perspective by examining the writer's style in three purposely selected extracts from Diana Abu-Jaber’s novel Origin (2007). The study aims to examine the identity crisis by using pragmatic and stylistic tools and to explore the effects of Abu-Jaber’s stylistic choices on the readers of her work. To conduct this study, an eclectic model comprising Searle’s speech acts (1979), Brown and Levinson's politeness theory (1987), Leech's model of figur

Rap songs often feature artists who utilize explicit language to convey feelings such as happiness, sorrow, and anger, reflecting audience expectations and trends within the music industry. This study intends to conduct a socio-pragmatic analysis of explicit, derogatory, and offensive language in the songs of the American artist Doja Cat, employing Hughes’ (1996) Swearing Word Theory, Jay’s (1996) Taboo Words Theory, Luhr’s (2002) classification of social factors for sociolinguistic examination, Salager’s (1997) categories of hedges for pragmatic assessment, and Austin’s (1965, 1989) theory of speech acts. The researchers collected the data using the AntConc corpus analysis tool. The data shows the singer’s frequent use

This study examines emotional blackmail from a discursive pragmatic standpoint to gain insights into how this psychologically manipulative phenomenon is revealed in the discourse of some American movies. Five extracts from five American movies are purposely selected and analyzed using an eclectic model based on a discursive pragmatic approach to navigate this unexplored study area. The model incorporates Halliday’s (2014) transitivity system, Martin and White’s (2005) attitude system, Forward and Frazier’s (1997) types and tools of emotional blackmail, and Mayfield’s (2010) informal fallacies. The present study is guided by four research questions that identify the types and tools of emotional blackmail employed in the selec