فصلنامه زبان شناسی اجتماعی
سال دوم شماره 2 (پیاپی 6، بهار 1398)

Sexism in language is a well-known discourse in linguistics. In sexist language, the choice of particular linguistic variations leads to gender bias in favor of one gender and against the other. Sexism has been widely researched through the corpus-based methods in international studies but it has not been investigated by analytical corpus processes in Iranian contexts. This study discusses sexism in Persian language word formation in Hamshahri Corpus version 2 based on Baker’s (2006, 2010, 2017) corpus-based approach. To this end, the words formed by the morphemes man and woman were selected as the representative words in each gender category and the frequency and concordance were explored using Antconc. The data were then examined by first assigning semantic values to the corpus and then running statistical tests. The results showed the existence of sexism in the word formation of the Contemporary Written Persian Language; it seems that the morpheme man is used more frequently than woman in forming words in Persian Language. Moreover, the findings showed that positive characters are represented by the morpheme man and negative characters are represented by the morpheme woman. This study can reveal parts of Iranian’s viewpoints of sexism in order to stop such a social problem.

Identity and vogue are in constant relationship in a discursive regime and as a process pursue the flow of semiosis. Vogue tries to reach an idealized presence with the bond that establishes on the one hand between what it has, but which has become the habit and what the other has , which is not the habit yet and can be considered the result of the reconciliation with itself. Thus, the discourse of the vogue takes the path in parallel with the reconstruction of identity where we encounter with an idealized body, since in this respect the vogue portrays an image of the other. This similarity with the other creates a distance with the body-habit. The vogue moves in a contradiction with two negative and positive poles. This contradiction guarantees in its turn the rationality of the vogue. The main objective of semiotic analysis of vogue is to show how the vogue passes over the boundary of structures and habits and enters the discourse of chaos –idealism in its own system of social order through a processual and rational manner.

The present study aimed at critically analyzing two newspapers published in Iran and Pakistan and unraveling the views of the editorial boards of a Persian language newspaper and an Urdu language newspaper as a representative of two opposing political views in Saudi Arabia's stance toward Yemen. For this purpose, 88 news articles in each corpus reporting the Yemeni crisis were randomly selected and analyzed based on Van Leeuwen’s (2008) model of social actors. The results showed that Hamshahri represents Saudi Arabia more with activation, negative appraisement and spatialization features to represent Saudia Arabi as an aggressive and criminal who plays an active role in making war and murder. On the other hand, Yemen is more represented with subjection, aggregation and association features to emphasize its unity and alliance between Yemen government and the Yemeni people. Also, it represents a unity between Shiite government and Yemen people as passive actors who are oppressed and attacked with many deaths and injuries. Jhang represents both Saudi Arabia and Yemen more with activation, spatialization and aggregation features, and the Houthis with the negative appraisement as rebels and warmongers. Also, Jhang represents Saudi Arabia repeatedly with instrumentalization and spatialization features in order to support Saudi Arabia by reducing its role and its responsibilities in the crisis.

The uniformity of specialized terms of science and the clarity of scientific concepts to establish a common language among disciplines are essential in the domain of language planning. In this comparative research, the principles and policies of the Academy of Persian Language and literature (from 1989 to now) and the Infoterm were studied. To get an understanding of how theses principles and policies work in coining words in the Academy of Persian Language and literature, the scientific terms approved by the Academy of Persian Language and Literature were examined. This study is a type of theoretical research. The research method was content analysis and the data consisted of 40 scientific terms approved, published in its first to thirteenth booklet (1997-2016). The finding showed that the principles and coining of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature are in line with the principles and policies of the Infoterm. However, the synonyms and multiplicity of terminology and the conceptual plurality in various fields of science coined by the Academy of Persian Language and Literature causes confusion among experts in the scientific fields which is suggested to be at the Academy of Persian Language and literature 's agenda.

Today the UN general assembly plays the role of a tribune to achieve general diplomatic goals, and the leaders of nations take full advantages of this opportunity to communicate with the international media and to negotiate with the officials of other countries. The present research attempts to analyze President Rouhani’s speech at the UN General Assembly in 2017 based on James Paul Gee’s (2014, 2018) discourse analysis approach. The results show that Rouhani has focused on eight central issues in his discourse: (1) Democracy and human rights; (2) Moderation; (3) Cultural and religious diversity; (4) Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and response to violation of it; (5) Interaction and negotiation; (6) Iran missile power; (7) Terrorism support by USA; and (8) Iran economical capacity. The main reason to foreground these issues is the current debates in the world and intertextuality with president Trump’s UN speech. These findings also reveal that the most prominent identities in Rouhani’s speech are Iran and Iranian nation and the most important connection is between peace and security on one hand and development and progress of nations on the other. Also, the legal system can be considered as the dominant sign system and knowledge in Rouhani’s speech.

As a consequence of the digital revolution, the growing of mass media, and the phenomenon of globalization, our contemporary world has been changing from various perspectives. Because of these changes, human society has been facing various new challenges. Due to close relations between society and language, social changes have always been a cause of various changes in language, and have had a significant influence on the traditional structure of many languages. Current research looks into the linguistic changes in contemporary Persian in connection with politeness elements by using Brown and Levinson's politeness theory through field work. 200 professors, students of previous generation, in the 29-69 age range, and  200 current undergraduate students at the University of Tehran, in the 18-25 age range, were a target of our questionnaire for the Survey. The forms of addressing/naming in four types of linguistic performances at the University of Tehran have been investigated in this research. The results of the investigation showed clearly that in comparison with the past, positive politeness has been growing gradually, and has been passing negative politeness in students' language strategies at the University of Tehran.

Sociability and social interaction are the main attributes of extraversion which cause people to enjoy interacting with others, be more inclined toward social activities, be more adventurous and risk-taking, seek excitement in the company of others rather than in themselves, be more successful in social relationships, and be willing to play more social roles. The current study aimed at investigating the relationship between extraversion, and its attributes, sociability and social interaction, with the oral performance and its components including cohesion and fluency, pronunciation, grammatical accuracy, and lexical resources of Iranian English language learners. To this end, 257 English language learners attended an oral interview and subsequently answered the personality questionnaire of Goldberg (1999). The results of the structural equation modeling analysis indicated that extraversion and willingness to engage in social interactions has indirect significant effects on the oral performance of English language learners. The results of the study are discussed and implications are suggested.