The intentionality of speech acts in the novel (East of the Mediterranean) by Abdel Rahman Munif - a semantic and pragmatic study-

Abstract

One of the tasks of pragmatics is to study language in its communicative context. The scope of pragmatics theory has expanded to study language as a social communicative system, not just a linguistic one. This has gained the attention of researchers in modern linguistics, as the analysis of speech and the determination of the functions of utterances are closely related to the context and situation accompanying the act of utterance. The conceptual and functional path of language has changed under the theory of speech acts, with which language has become a system of interactive behavior, going beyond the function of reporting and description to achievement, influence, changing facts, and creating events within the communicative process. Therefore, this research deals with speech acts and their impact on the novel "East of the Mediterranean" by the Saudi writer “Abdulrahman Munif”, through the analytical and pragmatic approach. The research is concerned with the elements that have an impact on the interpretation of speech and the embodiment of the intention that the speaker wants to send to the recipient. The literary style of “Abdulrahman Munif” is not immune to analysis in light of the theory of speech acts, as it contains a set of direct and indirect intentions, and this is what the researcher wants to highlight by standing on pragmatic concepts such as the act of saying, the performativity act, the act of influence, and intentionality. The research also tried to explore the impact of speech according to the pragmatic perspective and its ability to change reality and create the event instead of describing it or informing about it.