A functional analysis of periphrasis in English and Arabic

Abstract EN

Periphrasis is considered as a linguistic device in English and Arabic languages since it is associated with daily use of language.

The speaker expresses meaning by using excessive language to convey a meaning which might be conveyed with shorter or fewer words.

The aim of this study is to explore the notion of periphrasis in English as well as Arabic arrive at cases of similarities and dissimilarities between them.

The study consists of three sections which in turn have subsections.

The first two deal with periphrasis and its uses.

Related terminologies are also discussed with reference to distinct types of periphrasis and its morpho-syntactic construction in English as well as Arabic respectively.

Differences and similarities between both languages in terms of the definition and uses, related terminologies, types and structures make the third section.

Finally, the findings are summed up in the conclusion of the study which states that English and Arabic languages are not the same concerning the notion of periphrasis since each language has its own system and term.