A pragmatic analysis of speech acts in short surahs of the Holy Quran

Abstract EN

This study examines speech acts in two short surahs of the Quran.

It aims at delving into the illocutionary speech acts and their pragmatic functions in surah Ad-dhuha and surah As-sharah, in addition, direct and indirect speech acts have also been investigated.

The importance of this study lies in investigating speech acts and their pragmatic functions in the aforementioned Quranic verses, in addition to the reasons behind their occurrence to help get a deep understanding of these verses.

Data on the translation of the source text have been collected from the Quran and its books of tafsir.

Eleven examples, related to speech acts, have been selected for analysis on the basis that they have not been tackled pragmatically before and they include many direct and indirect speech acts.

Moreover, they comprise underlying pragmatic functions that are not said in the text.

Qualitative content analysis has been used to examine the source data by consulting the widely used traditional exegetical and rhetorical books to determine the source text intentionality.

Additionally, the present study concludes that two types of illocutionary speech acts which are directives and commissives are performed in the previously mentioned surahs.

Furthermore, only two pragmatic functions which are ordering and promising occur.

All the directives occur as direct speech acts and all the commissives occur as indirect speech acts.

The circumstances in which these two short surahs were revealed and the effect intended to achieve on the recipients are reasons that might determine the occurrence of direct and indirect speech acts.