The Pragmatics of Space Expressions in Spoken Jordanian Arabic

摘要

This study aims at studying space expressions in Spoken Jordanian Arabic （SJA）. Moreover, it aims at discussingthe pragmatics of space expressions in SJA. The researchers use two methods to collect colloquial spaceexpressions. Firstly, the researchers use eight specific images for a little girl who is asked to determine her position.Secondly, space expressions are extracted through unstructured interviews and general observations. It has beenfound that using space expressions is vital for speakers. Moreover, some space expressions do not carry a pragmaticfunction. Some of space expressions may express different pragmatic functions, such as hospitality, threat, andencouragement. Some of the colloquial space expressions are culture-specific; they would not be clear apart fromtheir culture, since they might not be found in another dialect or language.