Motaleat-e-zaban-e-farsi

Motaleat-e-zaban-e-farsi

Semantic Diversity of Prepositions as a Stylistic Feature of the Bayān al-Adyān

Document Type : Original Article

Author
leila kordbache
Assistant Professor, Lexicography Department, Academy of Persian Language and Literature, Tehran, Iran (Corresponding Author).
10.22034/jmzf.2026.581998.1269
Abstract

1. Introduction
In stylistic studies, all elements present in a text are of significance, and in examining the syntactic structure of language, “particles” are no less important than verbs, words, adjectives, adverbs, and pronouns. Therefore, it is necessary to examine particles from various perspectives in order to gain a better understanding of their role and characteristics in the formation of style, and to address questions such as:
“Although particles, within the syntactic structure of the Persian language, function not as major grammatical constituents but rather as markers, do they nevertheless have significance and an influence on the formation of written style?”; “In addition to the formal characteristics of particles, such as being simple, reduplicated, basic, or compound, as well as their displacement, what role does the semantic potential of particles play in the formation of written style?”; and “Can demonstrating the existence of polysemy in the use of prepositions and conjunctions in the earliest stylistic periods of Persian prose call into question the previously identified characteristics that emphasize the simplicity of the written style of those periods?”
These questions underscore the role and significance of particles in determining the style of writing in Persian texts.

2. Methodology
The research method employed in this study is library-based and is grounded in findings obtained through a line-by-line examination of the book Bayān al-Adyān. The instances identified were subsequently divided into two groups, namely “prepositions” and “conjunctions” (the latter will be examined in a separate study). Each preposition was then analyzed according to its distinct semantic functions, with a maximum of two textual examples provided for each semantic distinction. Finally, after establishing the existence of semantic multiplicity among prepositions, we introduced this characteristic as a stylistic feature of the writing of this work and regarded it as an indication of the absence of strict adherence to semantic explicitness and simplicity in one of the oldest texts of the Persian language.

3. Discussion
In stylistic studies, the attention devoted to these important syntactic elements, particularly to their semantic domains, has not been commensurate with the significance that the subject of prepositions and conjunctions warrants. This is precisely the issue addressed in the present article:
ـ Joz / جز
1. It indicates exception and exclusivity (Sadeghi, 1349a: 468) and is used to distinguish one thing from another; it is synonymous with “other than” (gheyr az): “The name of God was widespread and well known among the Arabs, and they did not call anyone by that name except the Most High Deity” (Abu al-Maʿāli, 1376: 20).
2. It is used to express an instance similar to one that has been mentioned previously; it is synonymous with “like” (mānd-e): “The predecessors and the leading philosophers... such as Agathodemus, Hermes, Pythagoras, and others like them, held that the Exalted Truth is One, Eternal, and Perfect” (ibid.: 28).

4. Conclusion
An examination of the “meanings of prepositions” in the Bayān al-Adyān, one of the oldest texts of Persian prose, confirms the semantic breadth of prepositions. This is a noteworthy characteristic that can, as a stylistic indicator, demonstrate that in the prose style of the early period—which we know as the Morsal style and whose predominant characteristics are considered to be simplicity of expression, the absence of affectation and artificiality, and the avoidance of semantic complexity—the existence of polysemy in particles, as the smallest linguistic units, can call into question the claim of simplicity and the avoidance of semantic complexity in written works from the early centuries of Persian prose.
On the other hand, it should be noted that Bayān al-Adyān is a book dealing with a description of pre-Islamic and Islamic religions and sects, and its subject matter was essentially not a suitable context for linguistic artistry or the employment of diverse semantic forms. This is because the ultimate purpose of such texts was the transmission of a message rather than the conveyance of aesthetic beauty. In light of this point, we observe that the existence of polysemy in the use of particles in a non-literary text constitutes an emphasis on the natural acceptance of polysemy among linguistic units in the earliest periods of the Persian language—an aspect that can be regarded as one of the prominent indications of a departure from simplicity and semantic explicitness in expression.
Therefore, in view of the findings obtained from the examination of the semantic range of prepositions in the Bayān al-Adyān, we consider it necessary to add the semantic breadth of particles to the previously identified stylistic characteristics of prose texts from the fourth and fifth centuries AH.
 
کتاب‌شناسی
الف: کتاب‌ها
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ب : مقاله‌ها
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3)      صاحبی، سیدمحمد (1397)، «ویژگی‌های دستوری کمیاب و برجسته در ترجمۀ ذخیرة‌الآخرة»، دستور، فرهنگستان زبان و ادب فارسی، دورۀ 19، شمارۀ 1، صص 17 ـ 49.
4)      صادقی، علی‌اشرف (1348)، «نظریۀ زبان‌شناسی آندره مارتینه و زبان فارسی»، مجلۀ دانشکدۀ ادبیات و علوم‌انسانی دانشگاه تهران، سال 17، شمارۀ 1، صص 143 تا 160.
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7)      کمالی‌مقدم، حمید، حیدری، حسن (1403)، «تحلیل نحوی سبک نثر در داستان‌های جلال‌آل‌احمد»، فصل­نامۀ بین‌المللی علمی ـ تخصصی مطالعات زبان فارسی(شفای دل سابق) ، سال هفتم، شمارۀ 18، صص 124 ـ 146.

  • Receive Date 16 April 2026
  • Revise Date 12 May 2026
  • Accept Date 21 June 2026