Arabic Proverbs and Idioms as a Mirror of Gender and Society: A Case Study from al-Guṣba (Southern Iran)

This paper discusses the reflection of the social roles of women and men in Arabic vernacular proverbs and idioms used in the town of al-Guṣba (Southern Iran). Recurrent topics and concepts associated with certain gender roles found in these proverbs and idioms are honor, family (duties) and childre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes 2021-01, Vol.111, p.99-120
Main Authors: Leitner, Bettina, Hasani, Abdul-Sahib
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aufsätze
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Summary:This paper discusses the reflection of the social roles of women and men in Arabic vernacular proverbs and idioms used in the town of al-Guṣba (Southern Iran). Recurrent topics and concepts associated with certain gender roles found in these proverbs and idioms are honor, family (duties) and children, sterility, polygyny, and divorce. The analysis of attitudes towards females and males as reflected in the language data analyzed are useful for social and cultural anthropologists interested in Southern Iranian Arab communities and the situation of women in these societies as well as for Arabic dialectologists and sociolinguists interested in the linguistic properties of Arabic vernacular proverbs and idioms. The main part of the analysis is preceded by a short chapter on the Arabic dialect of al-Guṣba and linguistic and stylistic notes on the analyzed proverbs and idioms. The examples of proverbs and idioms are all provided with glosses and shall serve as useful material for further general linguistic analysis for both Arabic dialectologists and linguists.
ISSN:0084-0076