Speech and thought presentation in English and Arabic : a contrastive study

Other Title(s)

عرض الكلام و الفكرة في اللغتين الإنكليزية و العربية : دراسة مقارنة

Dissertant

al-Ukayli, Asil Kati Bunyan

Thesis advisor

al-Jawadi, Kazim Haydar

Comitee Members

al-Jumayli, Abd al-latif
al-Rabii, Alya Muhammad
al-Shaikhli, Lubna R.

University

University of Baghdad

Faculty

College of Arts

Department

English Department

University Country

Iraq

Degree

Master

Degree Date

2005

English Abstract

In actual life and in literature, people, or the characters in novels and other literary pieces of work, relate their speech or the speech they hear and express the thoughts in their minds or in the minds of others.

The term used for this process is speech and thought presentation (S&TP).This is a recent term embracing the various forms, or modes, used in achieving such presentation.

The study of S&TP deals with the identification and analysis of the modes used in such presentation and their stylistic functions.

The present study has undertaken to investigate the S&TP modes used in English and Arabic and to find out what aspects of similarity and difference exist between those used in the two languages.

The research has been conducted on the basis of four hypotheses, viz.

1.

Different modes form stylistic variants and not only syntactic variants.

2.

The grammatical forms used to display speech and thought as well as the functions of each form differ from English to Arabic.

3.

The use of verbs is essential for expressing speech and thought in both English and Arabic.

4.

The expression of indirect speech and indirect thought in both English and Arabic requires syntactic changes related to the use of tenses and pronouns.

The study has revealed an important fact, viz.

that S&TP has received admirable attention in English studies, whereas in Arabic studies it does not seem to have received the attention it deserves.

As a result, the researcher had to work on a virgin ground in the Arabic language and create terms for the Arabic modes, and then to conduct an unprecedented comparison between English and Arabic in this respect.

The fact that this field had not been ploughed before has been the opinion of three notable Arabic language authorities consulted by the researcher.

Thus the study has opened a new field in Arabic with the aid of the English model and has arrived at significant findings in the comparison conducted between English and Arabic in S&TP.

These findings are summarized in the following points: 1.

S&TP modes differ from each other formally, i.e.

in the forms used to display each mode, and stylistically, i.e.

in the stylistic functions with regard to the degree of narratorial interference.

Thus, hypothesis no.

1.

is validated.

2.

The grammatical differences between English and Arabic result in differences in the formal features which indicate the use of a particular mode.

The most striking differences are the changes which accompany indirect speech and indirect thought.

The changes which accompany the use of indirect speech and indirect thought in English exceed those applied in Arabic by two, which include: a.

Tense shifting.

This is applied in indirect speech and indirect thought in English and it is not applied in indirect speech and indirect thought in Arabic.

b.

Change in word-order.

Indirect speech questions in English undergo a change in the word order which is not applied in indirect speech questions in Arabic.

Thus, the first part of hypothesis no.2.

is validated, whereas hypothesis no.

4.

is partially validated because the expression of indirect

Main Subjects

Languages & Comparative Literature

No. of Pages

211

Table of Contents

• APA
• MLA
• AMA

Language

English

Data Type

Arab Theses

Record ID

BIM-755188