Are poetic similes cognitively constrained? A case of Malay poetic similes

This study examines the application of Cognitive Constraint Theory (CCT) to Malay poetic similes. Based on this theory, poetic structures like simile, zeugma and synaesthesia are in fact, governed by certain cognitive principles. These principles or "cognitive constraints", as they are better known within this approach, ensure the interpretability of the poetic structures on the part of the reader. In this study, a corpus of 587 Malay similes from twentieth century poems were analysed using the methodological framework introduced by Yeshayahu Shen, the proponent of CCT. The study showed that while Cognitive Constraint Theory works at a high level of generality, a more detailed analysis considers the effects of culture, history and specific linguistic choices

Interpersonal metadiscursive Features in contemporary Islamic Friday sermon

The Islamic Friday sermon is one of the most influential and educational means that plays an effective role in shaping the attitudes and beliefs of the individuals and society at large. Through the use of a powerful language, religious orators affect congregations emotionally and intellectually to achieve the Friday sermon’s purposes. This paper examines how religious orators influence their listeners through the deployment of interactive and interactional metadiscourse features. The interpersonal metadiscourse is operated as framework to realize sermons as a form of social engagement, since it considers the crucial role of the use of discourse to manage both: the social relationship, and the organization of texts. Hyland's (2005) model of metadiscourse was adopted to analyse 30 transcriptions of Islamic Friday sermons delivered in the English language. The findings revealed that metadiscourse resources are used extensively, and that the orators rely more on the use of the interactional resources to achieve their persuasive aims. The findings will give insights on how metadiscourse markers can be effectively used to construct a persuasive context whether in religious discourse or other discourses such as spoken discourse. It gives meaningful hints to the students of religious schools about how to use metadiscourse features in formulating the sermon

Combating H1N1: metaphors of war in a Malaysian newspaper

In April 2009, reports of a new strain of a deadly flu virus emerged in Mexico. The scarcity of information available on this new threat can be observed clearly in the language used in the news reports. This study investigates the use of conceptual metaphors of the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic in the newspaper and how these metaphors helped to construct the notion of a pandemic in the media. Metaphors of illness and disease are a prominent tool in the discourse of disease in the news. The conceptual metaphor theory by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) was utilized as a framework in this study to investigate the coverage of the pandemic in the newspaper. The data was extracted from a corpus of news reports from The New Straits Times Malaysia from April 2009 to August 31, 2009 when the disease was at its peak. The results of the study yielded various metaphorical linguistic expression of war and construction of the pandemic in the news. Metaphors of war were found to be prominent, and it had a rhetorical function in helping to structure and control the situation. By highlighting certain aspects of war, the concept of disease was given a form and structure and thus, made it more tangible and controllable

The employment of metaphors in Najib's speeches on economy

The cognitive and affective appeal of metaphor exploits subconscious discernment that is aroused non-verbally and then developed through language. It is the subliminal potential of metaphor that reinforces the performance of leadership and this explains the frequent usage of such rhetorical tool in speeches by many politicians (Charteris-Black 2011: 2). This study examines metaphors in the speeches of the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia on the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP). The cognitive metaphor framework by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) has been utilised in examining any emerging patterns from the PM’s speeches. The Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP) as proposed by Pragglejazz Group (2007) has been adopted in the analysis of the data. The results from the analysis have shown several interesting conceptual metaphors underlying some of the metaphorical expressions in the speeches by the Prime Minister, including the ECONOMY IS A SPORT conceptual metaphor. Such findings have provided some insights into the way conceptual metaphors are used in political speeches as a way to evoke certain understanding of concepts related to the economy and also as a mechanism of persuasion

Metadiscourse resources across themes of Islamic Friday Sermon

Friday sermon is a formal speech delivered during the act of worship by the Muslims held before Friday prayer. It is a weekly event that involves disseminating information as well as persuading the congregation through preaching and teaching. In Friday sermons, as a rhetorical religious genre, religious orators usually try to convince an audience using different strategies and language devices such as metadiscourse. Metadiscourse is a rhetorical strategy used to achieve persuasive and communicative purposes as it helps writers (speakers) to engage their audience and guide their understanding of a text. To get insights into how metadiscursive devices contribute to the theme of a sermon, the current study aimed to examine the distribution of rhetorical devices frequency in three themes (belief, practice, and spiritual) of Islamic Friday Sermon (IFS) delivered in English. To achieve the aim of this study, Hyland’s (2005) interpersonal model of metadiscourse was adapted to analyse metadiscourse devices that were deployed in thirty sermons (10 per theme) delivered between 2012 and 2018. The findings reveal the dominant presence of metadiscourse in the sermons of practice/action theme. This indicates the vital role of metadiscourse features in the nature of sermons as a teaching method. Revealing the status of MD rhetorical devises in three different themes can help raise awareness among orators on the appropriate use of MDMs to support the theme of a sermon and make their speeches meaningful, coherent and persuasive

Learning styles, personality types and reading comprehension performance.

This study aims at reviewing the relationship between learning styles, personality and reading comprehension performance. In the last two decades, ample studies have been done to examine the relationship between learning styles, learner’s personality and performance in academic settings. The reviewed studies substantiate that there is a relationship between personality types and/or traits of the learners, the way they establish their learning styles and their academic success in school and university both at an undergraduate and postgraduate level. Therefore, learners depending on the type of their personality resort to different learning styles or preferences which-in turn- affect their learning performance. However, there are no studies – either theoretical or empirical – examining exclusively the role of personality and learning styles on reading comprehension performance. Moreover, the findings with regard to the bulk of research on the relationship between personality and success in reading comprehension- are not that congruent. Accordingly - due to the scarcity of the research on showing the relationship between personality, learning styles and achievement in reading comprehension, and also incongruity of the research results on personality and reading comprehension performance - the current study proposes that further research on the above areas would be of the great need

Management of turn distribution in academic discourse among undergraduate science students in a Nigerian public university

The purpose of this study is to analyze the management of turn distribution in academic discourse based on three turn taking systems of taking the turn, holding the turn, and yielding the turn by some undergraduate science students of a public university in Nigeria. The participants engaged in a discussion based on a chart presented by Global Peace Index on relative peace around the world from 2015 to 2016. The discussion which was video recorded, lasted 15 minutes. The study was underpinned by Sacks, Schegloff and Jefferson (1974) Turn-taking theory. Conversation analysis, using Drew and Heritage (1992) transcription notations, was used to transcribe the data. The result indicated that ‘pleading’ was among the strategies used by some participants of this study to take a turn. Also, gaze was used by some participants of this study as a strategy for seeking information not as a sign of nominating the next speaker.Keywords: Academic discourse, conversation analysis, Turn distribution, turn takin

Getting physical with the market: a study of metaphors in the business times

This study investigates the metaphorical linguistic manifestations of the conceptual metaphor, market movements are physical movements, using Charteris-Black and Ennis’s (2001) notion of conceptual metaphors. Following a corpus linguistic approach for data collection purposes, it analysed 50 unique Business Times articles randomly identified from a total of 292 articles. An expert within the business context provided expertise in the interpretation of specific types of data derived from the corpus. The findings show that the metaphorical linguistic expressions generally concretise the abstract concept of the economy and market movements and mainly comprise of verbs and nouns. This paper illustrates some of the examples of the relevant metaphorical expressions and discusses how the domain of physical movements helps to structure the domain of market movements. The findings of this study, however, can only be generalised to the samples involved in this study

Immigration in the United States 2016 presidential debates: a functional analysis

This paper describes an analysis of the three U.S. 2016 presidential debates published in The New York Times using Benoit’s (2007a) functional theory. The three presidential debates in the U.S., which occur every four years, remain as the most sensitive political rhetoric that lead to the election of the next U.S. President. These debates include discussion of different issues between the two presidential candidates. One of these issues is immigration. The U.S. presidential debates have been researched by many on various aspects but there has not been a study that focus primarily on the issue of immigration in the three 2016 U.S. presidential debates. All statements regarding this issue between the two presidential candidates, Trump and Clinton, were extracted from these debates and analyzed using Benoit’s (2007a) functional theory. Findings revealed that attack statements occurred more than acclaims, and defences were less used than acclaims. The statements included in these debates pertained to policy (30%) and character (70%). As expected, general goals were employed more often using acclaim function rather than attack and defend. However, ideals were employed more often using defence than to acclaim and attack. Due to different contexts, situations, and participants, Benoit’s (2007a) functional theory may not be generalized for all debates. This study reveals certain inconsistencies regarding some of the hypotheses of Benoit’s (2007a) functional theory in relation to our knowledge of the presidential debates, specifically the issue of immigration

Educating Effervescent Women Scientists through Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables

The series Anne of the Green Gables is sequential children books that focus on Anne Shirley, the story's protagonist. The series of books explore Anne's life from a girl to a charming pretty young lady. In the story, Anne is portrayed as an inquisitive young girl. She explores her life philosophically. She also explores many aspects of nature and its relation to science. Her inquisitiveness is extremely sharp, that the skill helps her in learning the science of everyday life. The paper discusses Anne of the Green Gables' use in educating female students to enjoy STEM education. At present, the proportion of women engineers in Malaysia is disproportionate, and the Ministry of Education is working on inculcating female students' effervescence in STEM subjects. The methodological framework utilised in this study adhered to the approach of the phenomenological case study's paradigm. Interviews were conducted, and qualitative data were gathered and analysed using Atlas.ti, a qualitative data analysis software. The findings indicated that female students could draw links between themselves and Anne, the protagonist in the novels. The protagonist's various occupational explorations helped female students understand that they can excel in STEM and arouse their interests to become scientists or engineers. In conclusion, the use of literary texts written by female authors such as Anne of Green Gables could draw attention from female students towards STEM. This study fills the gap in the existing literature where no scholars have used the classic Anne of Green Gables to illicit interests among young female students