Abstract

The expression inshallah is one of the most common expressions in daily interactions among Jordanians. The paper assumes that the expression has various non-literal meanings besides the literal one which is an invocation to Allah to enable the speaker to achieve a positive or a negative action. The non-literal meanings, on the other hand, are all cases of flouting Grice’s maxim of quality, whereby the speaker does not mean what the words literally mean; however, the addressee or the hearer can figure out the message intended by the speaker. The paper has found out that the various non-literal meanings inshallah serves are: irony, which a typical means for flouting the maxim of quality, threatening, wonder, yes/ok, prohibition, and wishing. Moreover, the study has found out that the utterances containing the expression inshallah will not give the same meaning after the removal of inshallah. And this can be considered another major contribution for the paper since it coined a diagnostic for deriving the non-literal meanings of inshallah. (p. 162)

Highlights

  • This paper studies one of the most common expressions among Muslims, who come from various cultural, racial and linguistic backgrounds

  • The study will provide a diagnostic test that will be used to identify the non-literal meanings of the expression that are in turn considered floutings of the maxim of quality

  • The study claims that the Maxim of Quality, which states that ‘a person should not say anything he or she believes to be false or lacks adequate evidence for’, is extensively or repeatedly flouted when it comes to the expression inshallah to provide new non-literal meanings

Read more

Summary

Introduction

This paper studies one of the most common expressions among Muslims, who come from various cultural, racial and linguistic backgrounds. The expression inshallah is so common that it has penetrated every aspect of a Muslim’s life. It is commonly used in nearly every statement regarding the future. This paper provides a unique account of the expression It claims that inshallah can deliver various meanings some of which are not literal and some are not related to the future or the original meaning of the expression. The study will provide a diagnostic test that will be used to identify the non-literal meanings of the expression that are in turn considered floutings of the maxim of quality. The study will show that this expression extensively flouts the maxim of quality in particular to provide totally new meanings the expression does not carry or provide literally

Methods
Discussion
Conclusion
Full Text
Paper version not known

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.