Pragmatic features in Surah Yusuf

Abstract

The theory of Speech Acts, also known as Pragmatics, is a philosophical theory that concerns itself with language and its functions, explaining how language relates to the objective world and highlighting the functional nature of language. This theory places language within the context of human action and explores the functions and goals of human action realized through sentences. The story of Prophet Joseph (Yusuf), peace be upon him, mentioned in the Holy Quran as "the best of stories," is a beautiful and eloquent narrative about his life, presented in the twelfth Surah of the Holy Quran under the same name. In this story, Allah Almighty mentioned fundamental concepts such as reliance on God (Tawakkul), infallibility (Ismah), and patience (Sabr), which are clearly manifested in the events of the Quranic narrative. This research aims to illustrate how Speech Acts manifest in the dialogues of the characters in the story of Joseph (peace be upon him). In this study, the Speech Acts in the story of Joseph (peace be upon him) were analyzed, such as Declarative (Representational), Persuasive (Directive), Commissive (Phatic), and Expressive Acts, with a focus on their impact within the pragmatic context. The research also aims to analyze the Speech Acts in the story of Joseph (peace be upon him), examine their frequency, and clarify the impact of the context and the characters' psychological and social circumstances on the nature of their discourse. The research followed a descriptive-analytical methodology to understand the nature of the speech acts in their various contexts. The results revealed that the characters in the story of Joseph (peace be upon him) relied mainly on the Declarative Act in their dialogues, followed by the Persuasive Act to a lesser extent. Furthermore, the Declarative Act had the lowest rate of repetition in this story. The social status and psychological dimension of the characters had a direct impact on the type of their speech acts. The actions related to each speech act used in the characters' discourses vary according to the social status of the speaker and the audience, and sometimes they are contradictory to one another.