Students Research

Mohd Nour.jpg

Dr Mohd Nour Al Salem examined a thesis about compounds in the Ammani register of Jordanian Arabic. The thesis explores variation between different types of expletive compounds used in the Ammani dialect, associating these variations to social factors. The study aims to enrich sociolinguistic research through the analytical study of morphological variation.

1. Affef Ghai and Sharif Alghazo published a paper in Open Education Studies. The paper explores the expression of gratitude in English and Arabic doctoral dissertation acknowledgements. This research is based on Affef's PhD thesis.

The Expression of Gratitude in English and Arabic Doctoral Dissertation Acknowledgements

Abstract

This corpus-based study explores the expression of gratitude in the acknowledgement section of doctoral dissertations in both English and Arabic. The objective is to analyse how gratitude in academic discourse is structured in these languages and to explore any differences related to gender. The study examines 80 dissertations (40 in English and 40 in Arabic), further divided by the authors’ gender (20 male and 20 female for each language). Data collection involved searching for doctoral dissertations from various sources, verifying the authenticity of the native language through biographical checks, and categorising the acknowledgements based on the year and field of study. The analysis utilised a mixed-methods approach based on Hyland and Tse’s (2004) framework, enabling quantitative and qualitative text analysis. The study revealed distinct differences in gratitude expression patterns between English and Arabic dissertations: English acknowledgements often used performative verbs and adjectives, while Arabic acknowledgements primarily employed nominalisation. Notably, Arabic texts showed no use of passive constructions or adjectives. Gender-related differences were also observed, such as the preference for nominalisation among male Arabic authors and the preference for bare mention among female English authors. These findings underscore the significant cultural and linguistic influences on the construction of gratitude in academic acknowledgements. The research contributes valuable insights into pedagogical approaches to teaching academic writing and highlights the interplay between language, culture, and gender in scholarly communication.

2. A PhD dissertation defence on metadiscourse markers in Arabic and English research article abstracts was held at the School of Foreign Languages at the University of Jordan on Sunday, August 11, 2024. The dissertation, titled "A Multi-Dimensional Analysis of Metadiscourse Markers in Arabic and English Research Article Abstracts," was presented by student Khawla Lounis, under the supervision of Professor Sharif Alghazo.

3. A PhD dissertation defence on awareness discourse regarding the COVID-19 crisis was held at the School of Foreign Languages at the University of Jordan. PhD student Siham Zaidoni wrote a thesis titled "A Multimodal Discourse Analysis of Arabic and English COVID-19 Awareness Campaign Posters" under the supervision of Professor Sharif Alghazo

Trending

Conference Presentation by Dr Sharif in February 2026

Professor Dina El-Dakhs Speech

Talk by Dr Sharif Alghazo

Students Research