Livestock Symbolism in Jordanian Popular Proverbs: A Semiotic Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1603.17Keywords:
livestock, proverbs, Jordanian Arabic, applied linguistics, semioticsAbstract
This paper explores the semiotic representations of livestock in Jordanian proverbs. Specifically, it examines the cultural and symbolic meanings of these proverbial expressions. To this end, livestock-related proverbs were collected from two popular books written about proverbs in Jordanian culture. Barthes' (1957) semiotic theory was adopted to analyze the data of the study. The findings have revealed that livestock are used in the Jordanian proverbs to signify both positive and negative meanings, traits, and values. This study has identified the following positive traits in the data: distinguished status, skill, uniqueness, strength, endurance and patience. It has also revealed the following negative traits: worthlessness, poor judgment, foolishness, laziness, mockery, stubbornness, baseness, submissiveness, bad taste, and resentment. The findings have shown that livestock-related proverbs express more pejorative connotations than positive ones. The study supports previous literature that animal proverbs are culture-specific, and their meanings depend on the context in which they are used.
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