بررسی واژگان نشان دار اجتماعی در منطق الطیر عطار بر اساس رویکرد تحلیل گفتمان انتقادی فرکلاف
آرشیو
چکیده
اشعار عطار نیشابوری با وجود درون مایه عرفانی، سرشار از واژگان نشان دار اجتماعی است. این واژگان دارای بار معنایی خاص و معانی ضمنی هستند که می تواند نشان دهنده ارزش ها، نگرش ها و ایدئولوژی های اجتماعی باشد. واژگان نشان دار که دارای ارزش های بیانی، رابطه ای و تجربی هستند، به طور مستقیم و غیر مستقیم بر نحوه درک و تفسیر موضوعات مختلف تأثیر می گذارند و به بازتاب و تقویت هنجارهای اجتماعی کمک می کند. عطار در منطق الطیر با کمک گرفتن از ابزارهای بلاغی متعدد مانند تمثیل، استعاره و به ویژه نماد یا سمبل در قالب حکایات و گفتگوهای متعدد با بهره گیری از مضامین عرفانی و فلسفی، روابط انسانی و اجتماعی را بررسی و نقد می کند. این پژوهش با روش توصیفی-تحلیلی و با در نظر گرفتن شرایط تاریخی-اجتماعی زمان عطار، بر اساس رویکرد تحلیل گفتمان انتقادی فرکلاف، به بررسی واژگان نشان دار اجتماعی در منطق الطیر عطار می پردازد. در این پژوهش تلاش شده تا ارتباط بین زبان و ساختارهای اجتماعی در متن مورد نظر تحلیل گردد و با تمرکز بر واژگان کلیدی و نشانه های اجتماعی نحوه بازتاب ارزش ها، هنجارها و روابط قدرت در مهم ترین نهادهای جامعه یعنی سیاست، تصوف و شریعت در اثر عطار بررسی شود. نتایج این مطالعه نشان می دهد که واژگان نشان دار اجتماعی در منطق الطیر نه تنها در به تصویر کشیدن جامعه آن زمان کمک می کند، بلکه به درک عمیق تر از تفکر فلسفی و عرفانی عطار نیز منجر می گردد و می تواند منبعی مفید برای مطالعات زبان شناسی، ادبیات و جامعه شناسی در زمینه ارتباطات اجتماعی و فرهنگی در ادبیات فارسی باشد.A Critical Discourse Analysis of Socially Marked Lexicon in ʿAttar’s Manteq al-tayr Using Fairclough’s Approach
While rooted in mystical tradition, the poetry of ʿAttar Nayshaburi abounds with socially marked lexicon—words carrying specific semantic loads and connotations that reveal underlying social values, attitudes, and ideologies. These lexemes, embodying expressive, relational, and experiential values, directly and indirectly shape the interpretation of themes, simultaneously reflecting and reinforcing social norms. In Manteq al-tayr [The Conference of the Birds], ʿAttar employs rhetorical devices—allegory, metaphor, and especially symbolism—within nested narratives and dialogues to critique human and social relations through mystical and philosophical lenses. This descriptive-analytical study, contextualized within ʿAttar’s socio-historical milieu, applies Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework to examine socially marked lexicon in Manteq al-tayr. It explores the interplay between language and social structures, focusing on how key lexemes and social signs mirror values, norms, and power dynamics within pivotal institutions (politics, Sufism, and religious orthodoxy). Findings demonstrate that these lexemes not only depict ʿAttar’s society but also deepen our understanding of his philosophical and mystical thought, offering a valuable resource for linguistic, literary, and sociological studies of Persian literature’s socio-cultural dimensions.
Introduction
Manteq al-tayr, a masterpiece of Persian literature, uses allegory and linguistic symbolism to interrogate social and mystical themes. This study analyzes its socially marked lexicon through Fairclough’s CDA model (description, interpretation, explanation), revealing how language encodes historical power structures. This framework enables the analysis of the relationship between language and social structures during ʿAttar’s time, yielding a deeper understanding of how the social values and norms of that era are reflected in Manteq al-tayr. The analysis of marked social lexicon serves as a powerful tool for deciphering the intricate connections between language, power, and society. Given that every discourse is fundamentally a collection of lexical choices, word selection is of paramount importance in critical discourse analysis. By examining semantic connotations, norm production, power dynamics, and cultural shifts, researchers can gain profound insights into how discourses are formed and transformed across different societies. Accordingly, this paper analyzes key terms and social markers in Manteq al-tayr, aiming to illuminate new dimensions of the work.
Research questions
The study addresses the following research questions:
Within the framework of critical discourse analysis, what values and significations do marked social lexicon in Manteq al-tayr carry?
Which power structures and social institutions does ʿAttar critically challenge in Manteq al-tayr?
Background of the Research
Numerous studies have been conducted on ʿAttar’s poetry; however, given that the examination of literary subjects through the lens of linguistics and discourse analysis is a relatively recent development—and with emphasis on the fact that no similar research has been conducted on another mystical work—the present study appears to be unprecedented in the field of critical discourse analysis of marked social lexicon in ʿAttar’s Mantiq al-tayr. In this regard, the research is both innovative and original.
For instance:
Ardeshirzadeh’s (2018) dissertation, titled “Real and Symbolic Characters and Proper Nouns in ʿAttar Nayshaburi’s Manteq al-tayr,” examines the characters in ʿAttar’s work and their literal or symbolic roles in the book’s narratives.
Farrokhnia and Heydari (2011), in their article “Thresholds of Social Connection and Disconnection in ʿAttar Nayshaburi’s Manteq al-tayr,” analyze the discourse of the birds and their characteristics in Manteq al-tayr, deciphering the allegorical codes within the text.
Methodology
This study employs a descriptive-analytical approach utilizing Fairclough’s model of critical discourse analysis (CDA). For data collection, textual analysis methodology was applied through the following procedure: A close reading of Manteq al-tayr was conducted to identify recurrent instances of marked social lexicon; the identified lexicon were systematically classified into thematic categories, including: living environment and socio-historical conditions of the poet’s era, cultural and political contexts, social stratification, human relations and interactions; data analysis followed Fairclough’s three-dimensional CDA model: systematic detection of marked lexicon; semantic analysis; discursive interpretation; and analysis of the results.
Discussion and Analysis
This study examines socially marked lexicon in ʿAttar Nayshaburi’s Manteq al-tayr, employing Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis (CDA) framework to analyze the text’s language across three levels: description, interpretation, and explanation.
Description: At this primary level, the study identifies and extracts key lexicon and phrases bearing social significance within the text. These lexical items—characterized by their ideological, cultural, and social connotations in Manteq al-tayr—are systematically cataloged. The analysis focuses exclusively on linguistic and structural features, deliberately suspending deeper semantic investigation.
Interpretation: The second analytical tier explores the connotative meanings and textual relationships of these marked lexicon. Socially marked lexicon is examined within ʿAttar’s historical and cultural milieu to demonstrate how these lexical choices reflect contemporaneous attitudes, value systems, and power dynamics. This interpretive stage elucidates the mechanisms of ideological transmission through linguistic means.
Explanation: The final stage investigates the sociolinguistic motivations behind these lexical selections and their role in either reinforcing or challenging dominant power structures. Fairclough’s CDA framework conceptualizes language here as both an instrument and a site of socio-ideological negotiation—capable of either perpetuating or subverting established norms. Through this tripartite analysis, Manteq al-tayr emerges not merely as a literary artifact, but as a discursive arena where ʿAttar’s critical engagement with his social reality is linguistically encoded.
The findings demonstrate that the language of Manteq al-tayr transcends its literary function, embodying complex sociopolitical dimensions that Fairclough’s three-tiered model effectively uncovers.
Conclusion
The analysis of socially marked lexicon in ʿAttar’s Manteq al-tayr, employing Fairclough’s discourse analysis model, reveals that the work conveys profound socio-cultural messages not only linguistically but also symbolically. The lexical choices in this mystical masterpiece serve a dual function: while transmitting Sufi concepts, they simultaneously reflect the prevailing social attitudes and structures of ʿAttar’s era. Through Fairclough’s framework, we have identified three key discursive elements embedded in the text: Power relations, ideological constructs, and social identity formation. These semantically charged terms play a pivotal role in shaping the work’s social discourse. This study demonstrates how critical discourse analysis can illuminate the complex interplay between language, culture, and society in pre-modern literary texts, offering methodological implications for analyzing other works of classical Persian literature.
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