The Pragmatics of the Rhetorical Question in Selected(English)Qur’an Chapters

This paper interrogates the pragmatic choice of the rhetorical question(RQ)as a linguistic resource in some disputational discourse in the verses of the English translated Qur’an.It argues that the choice of this sentence-type not only puts the speaker in a position of control in powerful assertion of facts,but also strengthens the pragmatic acts in the context to be more emphatic.Adopting Mey’s(2001)Pragmatic Acts theory and Caponigro and Sprouse’s(2007)Concept of Common Ground,the paper does a close reading of the last forty Quranic chapters for a critical analysis and finds that RQ accounts for 15%(61)of the 410 verses in the seventeen(17)chapters that have RQs out of the last forty chapters investigated.We find that the Authorial Voice in the Qur’an employs the RQ as an argumentative strategy to perform the pragmatic acts of challenging,inviting,affirming,reminding,reinforcing,assuring,appealing,and warning in series of intellectual engagements with the addressees in order to put them in a reflective mode.It is concluded that the RQ is an effective,dialogic,evidence-gathering,change-seeking pragmatic tool for securing improved attitude and ideological understanding from the addressees.Addressees are sought after to be convinced by the Speaker in a dialogue,and then left alone to decide,which presents the Speaker as One that uses rational argument in the context of disputation to persuade humans in real dialogues so as to seek change.

Rhetorical Questions in Wen Xin Diao Long:An Enthymematic Analysis

There have been countless studies on the rhetorical question(RQ);however,few are on its argumentative function,and fewer still on its logical functions with regard to“enthymeme/rhetorical syllogism”,the core of Aristotle’s logos(logical appeal).This study,based on the incompleteness and probability features of“enthymeme”,attempts to systematically explore the distinct ways and generating mechanism of the RQ’s argumentative function,via examining the RQ-rich masterpiece,Liu Xie’s Wen Xin Diao Long(WXDL).After enthymematically analyzing RQs in WXDL,we find that the RQ enthymeme achieves strong deductive capability by implying or suggesting an assumption(as the major premise),providing a solid argument(as the minor premise),and suggesting or implying a claim(as the conclusion).Moreover,this inquiry shows that RQ’s logical functions are accompanied by salience of the suggested assumption or assertion inherited from the question itself.This investigation can not only provide reference for broadening RQ research scope and its research method,but also verify and even enrich Aristotle’s notion of enthymeme,thus promoting the exploration and application of core Western rhetorical concepts.