Volume 7, Issue 4 (Journal of Studies in Applied Language (JSAL) 2024)
JSAL 2024, 7(4): 45-70 |
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Al-Salti S. (2024). Travel in Omani Maqamat Writings: A Textual Semiotic Study [In Arabic]. JSAL. 7(4), 45-70.
URL: http://jsal.ierf.ir/article-1-154-en.html
URL: http://jsal.ierf.ir/article-1-154-en.html
Lecturer in Arabic Language and Literature, Department of Education, University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Saltanate of Oman , saeedabuahmed@gmail.com
Abstract: (812 Views)
This study focuses on examining Omani Maqamat to extract the characteristics of travel within them. Although the concept of travel overlaps with the general structure of Maqamat, the way it is portrayed differs. This research analyzes the Omani Maqamat through a textual semiotic approach based on Greimas' model, considering binary oppositions and focusing on three sequential progressions in the narrative plot while limiting the characters to six actants. According to Greimas, there are only six roles or functions underlying all narratives, which form three interconnected pairs: Sender + Receiver, Subject + Object, Helper + Opponent (Conflict). Greimas considers the structure of a narrative very similar to grammatical structure and believes that narrative grammar, like linguistic grammar, is limited. From his perspective, all stories are influenced by a single structure. In his view, the relationship between Subject and Object (identification subject) is similar to the direct relationship between subject and object in grammar. Likewise, the relationship between Sender and Receiver is comparable to the indirect subject-object relationship. What matters most to Greimas is the underlying and constructive grammar of narratives, not individual texts. A narrative chain, formed by two actants whose relationship generates fundamental actions, allows the presence of binary oppositions. Greimas' structural theory can be examined through the actantial model, binary oppositions, and the syntactic model (Contractual, Performative, and Disjunctive sequences) .Travel in the Maqamat represents a structural foundation where the narrator is fundamentally in search of the hero through travel. In the Omani Maqamat, the narrator is more present in movement and journey. The Maqamat start with the words of Ibn Duraid and conclude with the Maqamat of al-Khalili, totaling 31 Maqamat and one discourse. The narrators travel from one place to another. Despite the fact that the writing of these Maqamat spans from the 8th to the 20th century, the essence of the journey does not change; rather, only the method of traveling evolves. For instance, while camels and horses were the most common means of travel, Abdullah Khalili in some of his Maqamat transforms it into a more modern vehicle like a car. The theme of travel in Omani Maqamat brings forth the conflict between traveling and staying, and in this duality, semiotics is shaped. The separation or departure plot begins with the renunciation of travel to achieve its goal.The journey in the Maqamat is not narratively unreachable because, due to the brevity of the Maqamat and the gradual unfolding of events, the narrative moves from separation to a chain of events where facing obstacles such as deserts, mountains, harsh nature, and rough lands occurs. The study also concludes that the travel process often revolves around the narrator, and past actions reappear in a new form. The primary purpose of the Maqama is educational and instructive. The authors use a set of words related to the generality of travel. The most common contexts in which travel-related vocabulary appears include migration, hardships of the journey, the quality of the vehicle, speed, and reaching the destination. In summary, travel is formed as a discursive structure that takes place over different periods—sometimes short, lasting only a few hours, and sometimes long, lasting several months. Spatially, the journey might occur within a small space like a village or a vast area across continents.
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Discourse Analysis
Received: 2024/06/5 | Accepted: 2024/08/22 | Published: 2024/11/30
Received: 2024/06/5 | Accepted: 2024/08/22 | Published: 2024/11/30
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