A pragma-stylistic study of using the present tense in narratives

Abstract EN

It is normally known that " literary language " is different from " ordinary language " .

That is , it is full of deviation , while, Prat,(1977:80) maintains that " ordinary language " is accompanied by ordinary rules , and outlines the work of Grice (1975) concerning the appropriate conditions that accepting a particular illocution-conditions which language users assume to be in effect.

In this study , the present tense is not referred to as an indication to the moment of speaking or action .

Rather , in narratives , it signals that this genre is " unmediated " .

As such , the present tense is heavily used by writers , regardless of the time being , to signify that a text can be read at any time.

Moreover, it can be noted , that the shift from the past to the simple present tense offers readers an opportunity to think seriously of what is being said .

It, thus,invites thought and suspense .

As far as the writer is concerned , it seems that the writer resorts to the simple present tense just to comment , highlight and criticize some incidents or events within the story.