A Semantic Analysis of the Persian Prepositions "az" (from) and "be" (to) in Khayyam’s Quatrains Based on Cognitive Semantics

Document Type : Grammatical-rhetorical

Author

Associate Professor of Persian Language and Literature, Allameh Tabataba’i University; Member of Language and Literature Interdisciplinary Research Center, Allameh Tabataba’i University

10.22091/jls.2025.11623.1643

Abstract

In traditional grammar, grammatical categories such as nouns, prepositions, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and others are studied as independent linguistic structures, with their definitions and descriptions based solely on formal-structural criteria. However, in cognitive semantics—a branch of cognitive linguistics—these grammatical categories are examined conceptually, where meaning plays a decisive role in their description. Among these grammatical categories, prepositions receive special attention in cognitive semantics and are analyzed through theories such as image schemas, categorization, and prototype theory, focusing on their role in knowledge formation and meaning construction. Thus, semantic analysis of prepositions in literary texts is significant in understanding the conceptual framework of a text’s worldview. In this study, we describe and analyze the intellectual world of Khayyam’s quatrains through the spatial prepositions “az” (from) and “be” (to), showing how these two prepositions, within the framework of movement and force dynamics image schemas, conceptualize Khayyam’s perspectives on humanity, existence, and life. We also explore how concepts central to Khayyam’s thought—such as seizing the moment, hedonism, the personification of objects and nature—are represented through the metaphorical roles of these prepositions in language, establishing a unique poetic style in Persian literature, known as ‘Khayyamic’.

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Rhetoric and Grammar Studies
Volume 14, Issue 26
March 2025
Pages 101-117

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