Quran and Hadith Studies

Quran and Hadith Studies

Mechanisms of Motion Employment in Surah al-Naml Based on Leonard Talmy’s Theory

Document Type : Promotional article

Authors
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran
2 Associate Professor, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Cognitive linguistics, one of the leading schools in modern linguistics, emphasizes the description and explanation of the language structure and function. “Leonard Talmy”, a theorist in this field, in his theory of “lexicalization”, examines the systematic relationship between specific semantic elements and particular morphemes. He believes that to determine the lexicalization pattern in languages, some semantic elements, such as “Motion,” can be considered independent of surface structures. The main basis of Talmy’s theory rests on the concept of “actual motion event” and its semantic components. Due to the narration of various stories full of dynamism (such as the story of the Prophet Solomon, the Queen of Sheba, and the ants) in Surah al-Naml, this surah offers an appropriate context for analysis within Talmy’s theory. So, this paper can uncover novel dimensions of narrative structure, temporal dynamism of the events, and their organization in the surah. Using a descriptive-analytical method and based on the motion elements in Talmy’s theory, this article examines the motion events in Surah al-Naml. According to the results, in the surah, the motion schemas are highly diverse, in such a way that the narrative of the Prophet Moses (AS) is a symbol of “stative and positional motion”. In contrast, the story of the Prophet Solomon (AS) and the hoopoe serves as a prominent example of “translational motion.” Finally, the interactions between the Prophet Solomon (AS) and other creatures, especially in the story of ants, clearly demonstrate “multi-directional motion”.
Keywords
Subjects

Qurān-i Karīm.
Aḥmadī, Muḥammad Nabī, Fahīmih Qurbānī. "Vākāvī Ṭarḥvārih-hā-yi Taṣvīrī dar Sūrah-yi Mubārakih-yi Naml bā Rūykark Zabānshināsī Shinākhtī". Majalah-yi Pazhūhish-hā-yi Zabānshinākhtī Qurān. No. 2(2022/1400): 167-184.
Asvadī, ʻAlī, Sūdābih Muẓafarī, Kubrā Barzigarpash. " Taḥlīl  Shinākhtī ʿUnṣur Ḥarkat dar Sūrah-yi Kahf bar Asās Naẓarīyih-yi Talmy. Majalah-yi Zabānpazhūhī Al-Zahra University. No. 42 (spring 2023/1401): 69-95.
Dāwūd, Muḥammad. al-Dilāla wa al-Ḥarka: Dirāsah liafʻāl al-Ḥarka: Dirāsah liafʻāl al-Ḥarka fī ʿArabīyya al-Muʿāṣirah fī Iṭār al-Manhaj al-Ḥadītha. Cairo: Dār Gharīb, 2002/1423.
Ḥamīrānī, Manṣūr, Dāwūd Ṭāwūsī. "Taḥlīl Zabān Shinākhtī Ḥarkat dar Sūrah-yi Infiṭ ār bar Asās Dīdgāh Talmy". Majalah-yi Muṭāliʻāt-i Sabkshinākhtī Qurān. autumn 2025/1403.
Mir Khāliqdād, Fāṭimah, Valī Allāh Ḥasūmī. "Taḥlīl Kārkard Afʿāl Ḥarkatī  dar Qurān-i Karīm bā Rūykark Shinākhtī". Nashrīyh-yi Muṭāliʻāt Qurānī va Ḥadīth. no. 24 (spring and summer  2020/1398): 103-133.
Nāẓimīyān, Hūman, ʻAlī Asvadī, Ilāhih Mukhtārī. "Taḥlīl Shinākhtī Afʿāl Ḥarkatī  Ijrām Āsimānī dar Qurān-i Karīm bar Asās Naẓarīyih-yi Talmy". Majalah-yi Pazhūhish-hā-yi Adabī Qurānī. No. 40 (autumn and winter  2023/1402): 39-58.
 
 
Send comment about this article
Enter Name.
Enter a valid email address.
Enter a vaid affiliation.
Enter comments (At leaset 10 words)
CAPTCHA Image
Enter Security Code Correctly.
Volume 58, Issue 1 - Serial Number 116
Spring & summer 2026
August 2026
Pages 105-127

  • Receive Date 01 October 2025
  • Revise Date 03 February 2026
  • Accept Date 13 May 2026