The Pragmatics of Directive Discourse in Verses Indicating Public Etiquette and Social Transactions: A Pragmatic Study

Abstract

This study presents a purely applied investigation of the pragmatics of Quranic verses indicating public etiquette and social transactions, with some theoretical discussio n of pragmatic theory in general and speech act theory in particular. The researcher adopted the descriptive-analytical approach. The findings indicate that the imperative and prohibitive forms are among the linguistic devices employed in the Holy Quran to guide people toward observing public etiquette and engaging in proper social transactions. The imperative and prohibitive forms are used in the Quran to provide believers with clear and firm instructions concerning appropriate conduct in social dealings and public morality. The imperative is employed to encourage people to perform righteous deeds and engage in proper transactions. Strong and binding expressions are used to convey commands, whereas prohibition constitutes a linguistic means of warning against and preventing improper behavior and misconduct in social dealings. Categorical and cautionary expressions are used to convey prohibitions, indicating the urgent necessity of avoiding such actions.