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Showing 4 results for Narrative Text


Volume 1, Issue 2 (10-2014)
Abstract

One of the style-oriented features of narrative texts is frequent application of “epithet” with various functions. In documents and texts of narrations, epithet often refers to persons through expressing the parentage relationships, such as a proper noun; however, in addition to the foregoing, in many of cases not as per such parentage relationships, but through a virtual implication, it makes a certain name for someone to show him/her as considerable in being attributed to a certain feature, so that again it virtually names other phenomena or even abstract concepts. Whereas the epithet discussion is fully based on Arabic culture, it causes certain challenges in translating narrative texts into Persian; especially due to the fact that apparent inclusion of the same in Persian text as a proper noun hides the relevant variable semantic implications; like the fact that due to the syntax and spelling differences between Arabic and Persian languages, the aforementioned also causes further problems in terms of writing. The action of translating narrative text into Persian language enjoys a considerable background, but after all, the problems caused by epithet inclusion in such action have not been studied in any independent work. Relying on several samples taken from the narrations of Bihar Al- Anwar Book, this study addresses and analyzes some of the major issues caused by transferring epithet in translating narrative text into Persian and then practically gives certain solutions to solve such issues and problems.
Rafiq Nosrati, Farindokht Zahedi,
Volume 4, Issue 16 (12-2011)
Abstract

The experience of time, like anything else in the world, can manifest itself in the text. Time is regarded as a structural element of the text. One characteristic of narrative is that time is considered as the main element of representation tool and the represented object. Therefore, time is described in the light of the chronological relationship between story and the representing text. By analyzing the time of the story and the time of the representing text, it can be concluded that in all the four plays of Naghmeh Samininarrative has two kinds of temporalities: the cyclic and the linear. The linear temporality gives a dramatic characteristic to the text, while the cyclic temporality gives an epic characteristic to the text. The cyclic temporality is always connected to a particular place and somehow reveals the feminine subjectivity governing the text. This study aims to show that when the linear temporality is dominant, the text is dramatic, and when the cyclic temporality is dominant, the text becomes narrative, while both temporalities exist in these four plays simultaneously.

Volume 5, Issue 4 (12-2014)
Abstract

Telling or not telling story clearly distinguishes between narrative and non-narrative texts. As in narrative texts, there is a narrator, so there should be at least one audience. The most important factors, which determine the characteristics of the audience can be enumerated as: “level of narrative”, “level of narrator’s participation” and “level of his/her perception”. Here, in addition to explanation of two kinds of inter- and extra- text audience, we try to introduce direct and indirect signs of the presence of the audience. Thus the essential questions, which form the foundation of our study, are: “What is the difference between narrative and non-narrative texts?”, “How direct and indirect signs of the presence of the audience manifest in a story?” and the last question is: “What’s the meaning of inter- and extra- text audience in a text?”. This study through descriptive-analytic method and use of library resources represents direct and indirect signs of presence of the audience and it also explains differences between inside and outside the text audience in stories and narrative texts. The results of this study show that inside the text audience is identical with imagery addressee and outside the text audience is a real reader.

Volume 16, Issue 2 (5-2025)
Abstract

Silence is a topic that has been widely investigated in recent decades, and researchers such as Jaworski (1997), Kurzon (1997) and Huckin (2002) have published studies on this topic. Silence is usually considered as complementary to speech, but scrutinizing its nature reveals two points: first, silence is not specific to language, it exists in other semiotic resources as well; second, the non-use of speech does not always mean silence. Sometimes information is communicated not through words, but with the help of other types of signs. Therefore, analysis of just language is not enough to study silence; it is necessary to employ a multimodal approach that takes into account all the modes involved in communication. The purpose of this study is to investigate silence with respect to the various modes involved in novel as a communicative act. The question this research aims to answer is how silence is manifested in different modes that form a novel, how it is involved in creating meaning and how it makes a difference to the elements of novel. For that purpose, silence has been examined in three modes, conversation (representation of speech), text (writing), and narrative in the novel "Suvashun" by Simin Daneshvar. It is worth mentioning that due to the lack of an articulate single theoretical framework, a mixed approach has been adopted. Results show that different modes create different types of silence with different functions, and these types, besides communicating meaning, affect novel elements by developing unintrusive limited omniscient narrator, theme, characterization, etc.

1. Introduction
In recent decades, the discourse and communicative functions fulfilled by silence have been emphasized in various fields such as linguistics, semiotics, psychology, etc. Silence has been traditionally considered as complementary to speech; however, scrutinizing its nature reveals two important points: first, silence is not specific to language; it exists in other semiotic modes as well; second, the non-use of speech does not always mean silence. Therefore, to study the function of silence in any kind of text, including novel, relying solely on linguistic data is not sufficient, and other semiotic modes must be taken into account as well. The present study aims to investigate silence with respect to the various modes involved in the Persian novel “Suvashun” as a communicative act. These modes include speech (conversation), writing (author's text) and narrative. 
The questions this research aims to answer are threefold: first, how silence is manifested in different modes that form a novel; second, how it affects the different elements of the novel; and lastly, how it participates in creating meaning.

2. Literature Review
There is a considerable amount of research on silence, addressing its meaning, pragmatics, typology, semiotic function, social and political functions and of course, its relationship to speech. In this regard, the works of Jaworski (1992, 1993, 1998, 2006), Kurzon (1997, 2007), Huckin (2002), Nakane (2007), and Dinkler (2013) are noteworthy. Also, relevant to this research are previous works on multimodality and multimodal semiotics. Multimodality (which means the existence of more than one semiotic mode in a given context) has its roots in Halliday's Systemic Functional Linguistics, social semiotics, and conversation analysis (Jewitt et al., 2016). Kress and van Leeuwen (2001) and Kress (2010) are the works addressing multimodality and whose theoretical principles have been employed here.
It should be noted that due to lack of a proper unified approach enabling the study of silence from different angles and in different modes, we have developed and utilized a mixed analytic framework based on the aforementioned resources.

3. Methodology and Analytic Framework
Using the mixed approach mentioned above, identifiable instances of silence in the novel "Suvashun" were examined in three modes: speech (conversation), writing (author’s text) and narrative. In the mode of speech, the participants in the communication are the characters of the story, and silence is explored in terms of how it can occur in the conversations of the characters. In the text, the participants in the communication are the author and the reader, and silence that is examined is usually the author's silence. In narrative, the participants in the communication are the narrator and the narratee, and the silence of the narrator is investigated. 
To determine the types of silence that can occur in conversations, we have adopted concepts discussed in Nakane (2007), who proposes four types of conversational silence, including pauses during turn-taking, non-participation in conversations, lack of speech on various topics, and lack of speech specific to interactive situations. Additionally, we have utilized concepts from Kurzon (2007), who identifies four types of conversational silence: pauses, silent answers to questions, silence by some participants in conversations involving three or more people, and silence during interrogations (usually by law enforcement officers, intelligence agencies, etc.).
To explore the types of silence that can occur in the mode of writing or text, we have adopted the concepts outlined in Huckin (2002). These types of textual silence include speech-act silence, presuppositional silence, discreet silence, genre-based silence, and manipulative silence. Finally, to identify the types of silence in narrative, we have referred to the classifications provided by Dinkler (2013), who discusses two types of silence: narrator’s silences and those related to point of view.

4. Results
The results obtained from the novel show that the silences in the mode of speech or conversations are not limited to those mentioned in literature. We should also consider instances of irrelevant answers to questions, and discreet silence in conversations. Therefore, the identified types of silence were pauses, silent answers to questions, non-proportion in conversations, irrelevant answers to questions, and discreet silence in speech. Excluding pauses as they lack communicative value, the other types of silence were examined and analyzed. These silences often belonging to Zari (the main character), play an important role in plot progression and characterization.
In the mode of text, instances of discreet silence and genre-based silence were examined. In the novel “Suvashun”, the whole story can be considered as a type of discreet silence, as the author, out of caution, uses myths and historical events to indirectly criticize the country's state of affairs at the time of writing the novel. Also, bearing in mind that genre-based silence is unmarked and only its violations can be determined, it should be noted that in this novel no instance of its violation was found.
In the mode of narrative, instances of narrator silence and the types of silence related to the point of view were examined. The narrator’s silences mainly involve providing insufficient information and silencing some characters by summarizing their conversations. The types of silence related to point of view also include cases of ideological silence, as well as silence related to phraseology and psychology of the characters. By providing insufficient information, the narrator adopts a limited omniscient point of view. Additionally, silence at the ideological level of point of view help to form the theme of the novel, and silence at the phraseological level of the point of view aims to avoid the challenges of representing a specific dialect in Persian abjad writing system (Shirazi dialect in this case). In addition, silence at the psychological level of the point of view has helped to create an unintrusive narrator.
The findings of the present research show that investigating silence as an active and impactful element in discourse cannot be limited to linguistic data; and it is necessary to examine all modes involved in the novel as a communicative act. Silence can be manifested in different modes and in each mode, it has its own functions and meanings. It is the concurrent function of these silences across different modes that, along with the function of other elements, form the overall meaning and the reader's experience of the literary work.
 

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