Fairclough

The main objective of this study is to examine different layers of power relations between characters of Persian novels as represented by Afsoone Sabz utilizing Norman Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis framework (1996) which paves the way for decoding social structures that cause verbal abuse in Iran. To this end, Afsoone Sabz novel, written by Takin Hamzeloo, is chosen as the case study. It can be maintained that social structures like gender inequality, socioeconomic status differences, and class struggle determine verbal abuses in Persian. It is reasonable to argue that Hamzeloo uses her text to influence the audience (Iranians in general and Iranian women in particular) to be aware of social practices (gender inequality, socioeconomic status differences, class struggle and power relations) in an attempt to change, if not subvert, power relations (obtain gender equality and remove socio-economic inequality in Iran). The paper suggests that Hamzeloo uses othering strategy, as a powerful rhetorical tool, to portray the pessimistic outlook Iranian men hold about women through verbal abuse.

Discourse analysis, a linguistic approach within the social sciences, investigates the relationship between writers' works and their social environments, as well as the impact of these environments on their methods and styles. This research reviews the translation of Imam Ali’s discourse, specifically examining the sermons addressed to the Kufis, through the lens of Fairclough’s (1980) critical discourse analysis model. The study assesses the effectiveness of a selected English translation in conveying the original discourse. The importance of accurately translating the discourse in these sermons cannot be overstated; when translating significant texts, particularly holy texts, a translator’s inability to convey the discourse effectively can result in a loss of the original message, meaning, and spirit. The translation analyzed in this research is Seyyed Ali Reza’s (1980) version of Nahj al-Balagha, recognized as the most accessible and comprehensive translation. By applying Fairclough’s (1980) discourse analysis, the study found that Imam Ali’s discourse features the highest frequency in the description stage at 65%, while the explanation stage has the lowest frequency at 9%. Using Berman’s (2010) translation model, the researchers found that clarification was the most frequently employed strategy in the analyzed translations, occurring 33% of the time. In contrast, the rationalization and qualitative impoverishment strategies were the least used, each at 8%.