Exciting News: Professor Yasir Suleiman-Malley Appointed Honorary Professor at the University of Jordan – And Joins Our Research Group!
We are absolutely delighted to share a truly significant development for our team: Professor Yasir Suleiman-Malley, the esteemed Emeritus Professor of Modern Arabic Studies at the University of Cambridge, has been named an Honorary Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature, School of Foreign Languages, at the University of Jordan.
This prestigious appointment comes as a recognition of Professor Suleiman-Malley's profound contributions and standing as a distinguished and internationally leading scholar. His groundbreaking work in sociocultural linguistics, with a specific focus on the Middle East, has fundamentally shaped the field.
His extensive and influential publications include:
This is especially exciting for our research group, as Professor Suleiman-Malley will also be joining us as a valued member. We eagerly anticipate the invaluable intellectual enrichment, mentorship, and collaborative opportunities his presence will bring directly to our team and our research projects.
Our Research Group Actively Participates in the LAGB 2024 Annual Conference!
Our research group recently had the distinct honor of participating in the Annual Conference of British Linguistics (LAGB) 2024, widely recognized as one of the premier events in the field. Dr. Jarrah proudly represented our university and group, contributing significantly through two key presentations:
"The Syntax of Expressive Demonstratives in Jordanian Arabic"
"A Phasal Approach to Complementizer Agreement in VSO Contexts"
The conference provided an invaluable platform for networking with leading scholars, exchanging cutting-edge ideas, and engaging in dynamic discussions on the latest linguistic developments. Our active participation reinforced the LAGB's crucial status as an essential venue for advancing research and fostering academic collaboration within the linguistics community.
We're excited to highlight two recent impactful publications from Dr. Hussein Alhawamdeh, showcasing his insightful research into the complex interplay of religion and politics in early modern English drama. Dr. Alhawamdeh's work consistently offers fresh perspectives on how Islamic imagery and texts were strategically employed for political commentary in pivotal moments of British history.
Published in Orbis Litterarum, this paper delves into Edward Young's nuanced use of Islam and his appropriation of The Alcoran of Mahomet (specifically the 1649 English translation). Dr. Alhawamdeh examines how Young's 1721 play, The Revenge (an adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello), functions as a political allegory. The article focuses on the character Zanga, a Muslim Moor, who undertakes a "personal Jihad" against George I and his political allies, driven by revenge for his nation's destruction. Through this analysis, Dr. Alhawamdeh demonstrates how Young's references to Islam serve as a vehicle for political commentary on the Tories' rebellions in the early 18th century, offering new insights into the strategic role of religion in shaping political discourse.
You can find the paper here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/oli.12436
Dr. Alhawamdeh's article, published in The Seventeenth Century—one of the top journals in its field—marks another significant contribution. This paper examines how Charles Saunders's 1681 play, Tamerlane the Great, appropriates Islamic imagery and The Alcoran of Mahomet (specifically its 1649 English translation) to critique the political dynamics of the Restoration period. Dr. Alhawamdeh analyzes the play's dramatization of two models of royal sons from the Tory perspective: the loyal Arsanes, representing the Duke of Monmouth's idealized expectation, and the illegitimate Mandricard, reflecting condemnation of Monmouth's alignment with radical Protestants. His research uncovers how Saunders's work uses Islamic references to support political allegory, drawing parallels between Islamic royalism and the divinity of monarchs to advocate for the divine right of kings.
You can find the paper here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0268117X.2022.2155694
New Publication: Exploring the Social Pragmatics of Unarticulated Explicatures in Jordanian Arabic
We are delighted to share a new and significant publication from our research group: "On the Social Meanings of Avoiding Fully-Articulated Explicatures and the Role of Pragmatics in Utterance Explication." Co-authored by Marwan Jarrah, Sukayna Ali, Yousef Aljabali, and Hanan Al-Jabri, this paper is published in Lodz Papers in Pragmatics. This insightful article delves into the fascinating concept of explicatures—elements of an utterance that are inferentially developed to enhance clarity. The authors specifically focus on instances where speakers intentionally avoid fully articulating these explicatures to serve vital social functions within communication.
Through a meticulous analysis of real-life interactions in Jordanian Arabic, the paper vividly demonstrates how the partial or incomplete articulation of explicatures becomes a powerful tool for achieving diverse communicative goals. These include culturally specific aims such as avoiding the "evil eye," protecting the addressee's positive face, and tactfully navigating sensitive or taboo topics like illness.
This pioneering research highlights the profound connection between linguistic choices and cultural norms, unequivocally showcasing pragmatics' central role in shaping social interactions. It not only expands our understanding of how language operates in authentic contexts but also provides invaluable insights into how speakers skillfully navigate social conventions and manage delicate issues in everyday communication.
You can find the paper on the following website:
https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/lpp-2024-0001/html