1- Department of Arabic language and Literature, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University , a.sayadani@azaruniv.ac.ir
2- Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University
2- Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University
Abstract: (304 Views)
Sociolinguistic approaches specifically highlight the concepts of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) that have roots in social theories to the social classes, the power and etc. Emphasizing this principle, Jan Blommaert believes that a vast range of issues related to power emerge in the language. Accordingly, his CDA deals with analyzing power relations and effects. In Blommaert’s perspective, the indexicality of power in the communication structure is based on the indexicality of polycentricity of units of social inequality, symbolic ideology, and identity principle (enacted and ascribed identities). Blommaert specifically argues that the distribution of power within society determines the degree of inequality. From this perspective, inequality should not be understood as a stable attribute of individuals or groups, but rather as a particular configuration of cognitive value capacities embedded in an organized system. Accordingly, the symbolic recognition of identity potentials and behavioral linkages reinforces the dual dynamics of power and inequality at multiple levels. For indexicality of any of the issues in the communication structure, Blommaert uses specific methods, including finding the origin of any metaphors and specific language expressions, considering emotional presuppositions and their symbolic meaning, describing their formal features. Khalid Ahmad’s novel Shargh al-Da’iri serves as a sociolinguistic document of contemporary Egyptian society. Within the novel, voices operate as instruments of power and domination, with each group of characters deploying specific discourses to legitimize their authority. Consequently, local discourses are interconnected with broader social and political structures and processes of change. Blommaert’s concept of multi-centered power indexing precisely captures this relationship, this study tried to delve into the multi-dimensional discourse of the characters from the perspective of power and polycentric units. The results showed that each group legitimizes itself through its distinctive discourse. Within this framework, language operates as a means of reproducing social inequality. The multiplicity of voices is characterized by ongoing competition and tension, with each voice carrying its own ideological and identity-based orientations.
Keywords: Sociolinguistics, Polycentric Levels, Power Concept, Jan Blommaert, Arabic narratology, Novel Shargh al-Da’iri, Khalid Ahmad.
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