A pragmatic and discourse study of common deixis used by Yemeni-Arab preachers in friday Islamic sermons at Yemeni mosques

Abstract

The usage of deixis in sermons, especially in Islam, has been understudied. This study investigated deixis in Friday sermons by Muslim preachers in Yemen using pragmatics and discourse analysis. The shape, purpose, feature, and frequency of the three main categories of deixis (personal, spatial, and temporal) were analyzed. The researcher translated 65 Yemeni-Arab sermons into English from offline and internet sources. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed in the study. The results showed that these three forms of deixis were often found in each corpus, with the personal type predominating and pointing to many context-dependent referents. Preachers employed deixis to structure discourse and for pragmatic reasons. Deictic terms were employed to engage listeners and structure discourse.

Keywords

• Yemeni Arabic
• Friday sermon
• discourse analysis
• personal deixis
• spatial deixis
• temporal deixis