An Analytical Review on Voice in Persian and Arabic Rhetoric

Rhetoric is one of the most important literary sciences whose rules and principles are used to explain the eloquence and rhetoric of the word. Semantics is one of the main disciplines of rhetoric that measures the word in terms of its secondary meanings and its compatibility with the condition and position. The first rhetorical books were written in Arabic and the Persian rhetoricians have always benefited from them. Their adherence to the rules and definitions of Arabic rhetoric and their neglect of the differences and features of speech in Persian language have resulted in mistakes in rhetorical sources, to the extent that some of the terms and rules have been presented in these books are not used in Persian and most of the examples are in Arabic. One of the topics discussed in semantics, under the title of "Insha-ye-Talabi" (it is when the speaker wants something from the audience), is about voice. The definition and also the position of voice in Arabic Language are different from what in Persian, while the related discussions have been entered in Persian rhetoric regardless to the differences. The explanation of these differences between Persian and Arabic rhetoric in discussions about voice makes the review of Persian rhetorical sources and the division of speech in semantics necessary. It has been tried, in present paper, to present an analytic criticism of the position of voice due to its syntactic and semantic features in Persian rhetoric. The results can be used in adjustment of Persian semantics and criticism of speech division discussions.