0.Introduction

The Arabic language is rich in courtesy expressions and formulaic formulas. According to Farha (1991: VII), courtesy expressions are truly the essence which makes the language sound so beautiful and meaningful. The most common situations in which these specific expressions are used are: weddings, the birth of a baby, a new haircut, when someone prepares a meal, when someone buys something new, when meeting someone for the first time and when seeing someone after a long time.

Although the importance of these formulas, there are few contrastive studies between courtesy expressions used in different Arabic dialects, namely Al-Shurafa, 1997, Arman and Halwani, 2015, Al Ahmad, 2015 and Ramajo Cuesta, 2015. This study aims at a positive contribution in this field of research.

1.Purpose of the study and research participants

The purpose of the study is analyzing formulas used in Arabic for the following communicative situations:

1. - expressing best wishes in weddings

2. - expressing best wishes for newborns

Previous research (Ramajo Cuesta, 2012, 2015) showed that due to the formulaic nature of Arabic, real language samples might be collected through different instruments^([458]) including role plays, interviews, muted videos… In the present study, data was collected through questionnaires that inquired the participants about the expressions that they usually use in different situations^([459]).

Participants of the study are female native speakers of Arabic with ages between 18 and 36^([460]) years old from the following regions:

1. - the GCC countries (UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia)

2. - the Levant region (Syria and Palestine)

The independent variable is “origin”. According to the taxonomy of Arabic dialects of Abboud-Haggar (2010) and Vicente (2008), Syria and Palestine are part of the Levant^([461]) and the GCC countries belong to the dialects spoken in the Arabian Peninsula^([462]).

2. Data analysis

In order to analyze the formulas that are used to express good wishes in weddings and the birth of a new baby, the expressions are divided into two categories: formulaic expressions and formulas in form of a prayer to bless the event.

2.1. Formulaic expressions

If someone gets married, buys something new or has a baby, it is customary to say the word مبروك which means “congratulations” as shown in tables 1 and 2.

Participants share the same set expressions and prayers, although some formulas are only used in The Arabian Peninsula. For instance, in Saudi Arabia and in the United Arab Emirates, it is frequent to use: منك المال ومنها العيال “from you (male) the money and from her (female) the children”. It has a rhyme in Arabic, which makes it a common expression.

For newborns, the UAE and Oman use an uncommon phrase to other countries. For a baby boy it is said الطارش which means that when the boy grows up, he will be helpful towards his father as well as his work. The literal meaning in the UAE dialect is “the sender”. Likewise, الحاسر means a woman that will help in the household.

2.2. Formulas in form of a prayer

“God gives you happiness” is a regular expression for many situations and it is very commonly used for marriage couples and for newborns. The compliment of a newborn baby is very important for the parents and family members as they receive small prayers for their baby. For instance, يتربى في عزكم “God brings him happiness and safety” is commonly said as it means that the baby will be raised safely in the hands of the parents.

Furthermore, expressions against the “evil eye” are used in both occasions: الله يبعد عنكم عيون الحساد “God keeps away the evil eye”. The use of Maašaallah “May God protect you” is very frequent when complimenting (Ramajo and Yousefian 2015, Migdani, 2010, Mughazy, 1999).

2.3.Responding to best wishes

Responses to best wishes are also set expressions as shown in tables 5 and 6. الله يبارك “God bless you”, الله يسلمك “God keep you safe” or آمين “Amen” are common expressions.

3.Conclusions and pedagogical implications

This study has some pedagogical implications. If Arab learners of a L2 translate literally these formulas, pragmatic failure might occur (Al Khateeb 2009, Ramajo and Ainciburu 2015). At the same time, if learners of Arabic as a Foreign Language do not use these formulas, this might cause native Arab speakers to feel uncomfortable due to the belief in the ‘evil eye’ as shown in the study of Mursy, 2001^([463]).

As courtesy expressions play a very important role in Arabic culture, learners should be aware of them in order to fully master the language (Ramajo Cuesta, 2013b). Research in interlanguage pragmatics and sociolinguistics has suggested that foreign language learners have difficulties in reaching higher levels of pragmatic and sociolinguistic competence without receiving specific instruction (Warga y Scholmerge, 2007:221, apud Smith, 2009:47). Explicit instruction seems to have a positive impact in the development of the pragmatic and cultural competence of language learners (Dastjerdi and Farshid, 2011, Ramajo Cuesta, 2012, Ramajo Cuesta, 2013a) Thus, introducing courtesy formulas with real language samples and comparing their use to that of the students ‘mother tongue helps learners to identify the differences between both languages and the communicative situations that could lead to cultural misunderstandings.

Conducting studies of different speech acts between various languages and cultures enrich the research in the field of politeness and provide valuable material that will help learners to acquire the pragmatic competence in a foreign language.

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REFERENCES

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Notes