The implicit meaning in Surat Yusuf of the Glorious Quran: pragmatic perspective
Keywords:
Glorious Qur’an, implicature, implicit meaning, pragmatic inferences, presuppositionAbstract
Implicit meaning is a sort of meaning that is not overtly identified in a communication. This definition gives rise to a problem of fragmentation. Thus, this paper aims to delimit the range of implicit meaning and to shed light on its types and devices utilized to express this meaning, detecting the functions behind the hidden meaning. Applying Larson’s (1984) and Verschueren’s (1999) approaches, eight extracts are selected from Surat Yusuf to be analyzed in terms of implicit meaning used. The paper concludes that implicit meaning is not a fixed entity; it can be molded and remodeled in the linguistic interaction and consequently its functions vary according to the situation in which they occur. Furthermore, implicit meaning appears to function as focusing on new information, avoiding redundancy and repetition, demanding politeness, suspense and motivation, using ironically and metaphorically, avoiding discomfort, and giving more explanation for the sake of warning or intimacy.
Downloads
References
Abbott, B. (2000). Presuppositions as nonassertions. Journal of pragmatics, 32(10), 1419-1437. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-2166(99)00108-3
Akmajian, A., Farmer, A. K., Bickmore, L., Demers, R. A., & Harnish, R. M. (2017). Linguistics: An introduction to language and communication. MIT press.
Bach, K., & Harnish, R. M. (1979). Linguistic communication and speech acts.
Bloom, L., & Lahey, M. (1978). Language development and language disorders.
Breheny, R., Katsos, N., & Williams, J. (2006). Are generalised scalar implicatures generated by default? An on-line investigation into the role of context in generating pragmatic inferences. Cognition, 100(3), 434-463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2005.07.003
Burton-Roberts, N. (2005). Robyn Carston on semantics, pragmatics and'encoding'. Journal of linguistics, 41(2), 389-407.
Croft, W. (2000). Explaining language change: An evolutionary approach. Pearson Education.
Cruse, D. A. (2000). Meaning in language: An introduction to Semantics and Pragmatics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dryer, M. S. (1996). Focus, pragmatic presupposition, and activated propositions. Journal of pragmatics, 26(4), 475-523. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-2166(95)00059-3
Goodman, N. D., & Frank, M. C. (2016). Pragmatic language interpretation as probabilistic inference. Trends in cognitive sciences, 20(11), 818-829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2016.08.005
Kearns, K. (2000). Definite Descriptions. Modern Linguistics Series: Semantics. London: Macmillan Press Limited.
Larson, M. L. (1984). Meaning-based translation: A guide to cross-language equivalence (Vol. 366). Lanham, MD: University press of America.
Leech, G. (1983). Principles of Pragmatics, New York: Longman Group Limited.
Levinson, S. C. (1983). Pragmatics Cambridge University Press. Cambridge UK.
Lyons, J. (1977). Semantics. Volume I. Cambridge UP, Cambridge.
Muhaimi, L., & Nawawi, N. (2016). Textual Representation of Identity in Classroom Discourse. International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Culture, 4(6), 53-62.
Saeed, J. I. (1997). Cognitive Semantics.
Searle, J. R. (1969). How to derive ‘ought’from ‘is’. In The is-ought question (pp. 120-134). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Shapira–Lishchinsky, O. (2019). The implicit meaning of TIMSS: Exploring ethics in teachers’ practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 79, 188-197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2018.12.013
Smith, N., & Wilson, D. (1979). Modern linguistics: The results of Chomsky's revolution (Vol. 255). Midland Books.
Stubbs, M. (1983). Discourse analysis: The sociolinguistic analysis of natural language (Vol. 4). University of Chicago Press.
Tyler, S. A. (1978). The Said and the Unsaid Mind, Meaning, and Culture.
Van Dijk, T. A. (1998). Ideology: A multidisciplinary approach. Sage.
Verschueren, J., & Verschueren, J. (1999). Understanding pragmatics. Oxford University Press.
Wakusawa, K., Sugiura, M., Sassa, Y., Jeong, H., Horie, K., Sato, S., ... & Kawashima, R. (2007). Comprehension of implicit meanings in social situations involving irony: A functional MRI study. NeuroImage, 37(4), 1417-1426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2007.06.013
Yule, G. (1996). Pragmatics, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Yusuf, A. (2001). Holy Qur’an: Transliteration in Roman Script with Arabic Text and English Translation. Islamabad: Research Institute, International Islamic University.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2021 International journal of linguistics, literature and culture
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Articles published in the International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Culture (IJLLC) are available under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives Licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Authors retain copyright in their work and grant IJLLC right of first publication under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Users have the right to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles in this journal, and to use them for any other lawful purpose.
Articles published in IJLLC can be copied, communicated and shared in their published form for non-commercial purposes provided full attribution is given to the author and the journal. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
This copyright notice applies to articles published in IJLLC volumes 6 onwards. Please read about the copyright notices for previous volumes under Journal History.
