JOURNAL OF RESEARCHES IN LINGUISTICS
Year:2016 | Volume:8 | Issue:1 (14) |Papers Count:6

Traditional Grammarians have recognized three categories in Persian including infinitive, verbal noun and HAcsele Masdar (HM).There have been much debates on the nature of these categories especially concerning their inclusion in the category of verbs or nouns. In this paper these categories are studied within the framework of the typological prototype. According to Croft (2003) the semantic class of words alone cannot distinguish parts of speech cross-linguistically. Instead, another criterion named propositional act function is required. The semantic class includes objects, properties and actions. The propositional act functions are reference, predication and modification. It will be demonstrated that the category of infinitive and verbal noun are both a combination of action and reference. HM is not a subclass of infinitive at all, because it lacks the semantic feature of action. What has been called HM in traditional grammar is indeed the result of a derivational process with the aid of the suffix aÏi creating nouns from adjective and adjectves from nouns. The typological prototype approach provides a universal conceptual space for parts of speech that works cross-linguistically. However, the non- prototypical combinations of semantic class and propositional act functions often embrace more than one member in individual languages. In such cases we can distinguish different categories using formal and functional criteria.

This paper investigates the syntax of Persian complex predicates, within the argument-structure prominence theory of Grimshaw (1992). Since many linguists have been concerned with Persian complex predicates, we critically review their proposals. The previous studies about it consists of incorporation and light verb procedures. We show that argument- structure of the verbal elements in its heavy function is not different from argument -structure of its corresponding form in complex predicates, as most linguists have supposed, the so- called light verbs are shown to be thematically Light and bleached Rather, they but it assigns i·±-roles to arguments in the sentence. As the paper supposes non-verbal element of the complex predicate can be whether an argument or a part of it. In the latter, the non- verbal element is a kind of predicate. Some times the non-verbal element as argument is somehow semantically idiosyncratic and unusual. The theme together with the verbal element result in a single meaning which is the necessary condition for the formation of complex predicate. As the last point, our hypothesis prefers argument- participation to Grimshaw & Mester's argument- transfer.

This paper analyzes the realization of ideology in political caricatures based on two approaches of Cognitive Semantics and Critical Discourse Analysis. In this research, among Iranian caricatures of 1391-92 years criticizing USA's war policies, six caricatures were selected and divided into two pictorial and verbo- pictorial groups. The data were analyzed on the basis of multi-modal metaphor theory of Forceville (1994), and the claims of Musolf (2012) on the role of conceptual metaphors in CDA. The questions were how ideological metaphors are represented in two verbo-pictorial modes of Caricatures, and how these conceptual metaphors are used as a useful tool in achieving the ideological goals of CDA. The results illustrate that the concept of FREEDOM, PEACE, SECURITY, and HEALTH are conceptualized through the opposite concept of WAR. In the first group of caricature, the symbols of Freedom and Peace were used in the pictures and the mapping of war semantic elements on these target domains were evoked by two techniques of fusion and unexpected filling of a schema. In the second group of caricatures, in which personification of USA help expressing the metaphors of the pictures, the same techniques were used in the mapping of targets and the source domain of WAR. Moreover, the anchoring role of written message in the baloonics expresses the meaning relations between targets and source concept. Finally, the uses of metaphor have great roles in the creation of political irony and in the creating, reveling and expressing the political ideological relations a caricaturist wants to do.

The power of ecolinguistic approaches, a burgeoning approach in critical studies, lies in their ability to transcend the readers beyond the determinisms of language and encourage friendly and humane relationships with nature and all species of life. This paper appraises how language contributes to the oppression and exploitation of animals by scrutinizing the definition of animals given in Moin Persian to Persian Dictionary. The results show how Moin Dictionary, by concentrating mainly on environmental problems, fails to criticize the environmentally destructive cultural values institutionalized unconsciously by Iranians, and directs attention away from alternatives. This dictionary portrays animals as objects, resources or token species. According to the results, intensive confinement, oppression and slaughter of animals depend on the implicit consent of the population. By applying a critical approach, this paper attempts to expose ideologies embedded in the discourse of this dictionary.

In recent years, extensive studies have been conducted in the field of the effect of bilingualism in different aspects on third language learning, which has been proven to be positive and sometime negative in various studies. The present research aimed to examine the effect of artificial bilingualism (learning foreign/ second language through schooling) on the third. The participants included 24 Chinese Persian learners in the Persian Language Center at IKIU. The learners were classified based on their domination on English. So, there existed two groups, the first knew English as a foreign language in different levels while the second only knew Chinese as their mother tongue. Each group included 12 applicants. The data were gathered based on their final scores in four skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. Then the data were analyzed. Results showed that there was positive significant relationship between bilingualism and the level of achievement in Persian learning. In addition, findings represented that the higher the level of bilingualism is in learners, the progress in Persian learning would be more observable. Therefore, it can be concluded that there is a significant relationship between the domination on bilingualism and third language learning.

For many years the study of correspondence between syntactic phrases, specially Noun phrase and verb phrase, has been considered as one of the most important linguistic subjects by linguists. This paper aims to show that the structure of Persian DP like CP is divisible into three domains, namely: lexical- thematic domain which belongs to thematic roles, modifier domain which belongs to functional phrases like adjective phrase and number phrase and determiner domain which belongs to features like definiteness, so there is correspondence between DPs and CPs in their structure.