A Pragmatic Study of English and Arabic National Anthems
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25130/Lang.10.1.P2.13Keywords:
Anthems, Speech Acts, Presuppositions, Collective sentiment, Assertive typeAbstract
The present study conducts a pragmatic analysis of two national anthems, one English (Canada) and one Arabic (Egypt). Anthems usually express patriotism, loyalty, love, and respect. In addition, they reflect the identity and unity of the nations. In this regard, the current study tries to find out how different types of speech acts are employed, and how historical events and cultural identity are presupposed through the linguistic structure of the anthems. In this regard, the present study aims to identify speech acts and presuppositions represented in the national anthems to show historical events, enhance unity, and encourage people to behave in a right way for the sake of their country. It is hypothesized that national anthems may enhance a collective sense of national pride and unity as speech act theory can reflect these aspects. In addition, the historical events of the country could be presupposed through the language of anthems. The following procedures are followed: Reviewing the relevant literature about the field of Pragmatics, delving into the history of anthems and presenting the theoretical background of the selected national anthems. Moreover, selection of a representative sample of national anthems from English-speaking and Arabic-speaking countries. To achieve the objectives of the study, the model adopted consists of two layers that are; speech acts, and presupposition. The research results that the most frequent type of speech acts is the assertive type followed by directive one. Furthermore, the existential presupposition is the most frequent type across nearly all anthems, followed by factive presupposition, hence, these results conclude that anthems primarily employ directive and assertive speech acts that urge individuals to act, convey essential national values, and provoke strong emotional reactions. In the same vein, presuppositions allow anthems to communicate significant cultural and historical tales implicitly, so fostering a shared communal consciousness. Finally, analyzing the data qualitatively and quantitatively according to the model of analysis.
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