Open AccessA Syntactic- Semantic Study of Historical Present in Zaynab Novel
Author(s) -
Huda Ahmed Shakir,
Bushra Ni’ma Rashid
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
al-ādāb
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2706-9931
pISSN - 1994-473X
DOI - 10.31973/aj.v2i139.2609
Subject(s) - comparative historical research , narrative , present tense , computer science , linguistics , future tense , historical record , history , epistemology , verb , sociology , artificial intelligence , social science , philosophy , biography , art history
This study tackles the historical present from a syntactic and semantic points of view. Historical present, in general, is a vital step to be used in the literary works. In this study, the researcher selects 'Zaynab' novel to be analyzed in terms of the historical present tense. By the end of the study, the researcher gives an answer to the following questions; Does Haykal employ the 'historical present' in his novel Zaynab?, does the use of the 'historical present' work as the other types of the present tense? This study aims to explore the use of the 'historical present' in Haykal's Zaynab novel and to clarify the idea that the use of 'historical present' does not work like the other types of the present tense. The study hypothesizes that Haykal makes a special use of the 'historical present' in his novel Zaynab. In addition, the use of 'historical present' does not work differently from the other types of the present tense. The researcher adopts two models to analyze the novel. They are: Abdu Alḥamyd's (2006) and Porter's (1989). The results of the study show that Haykal employs the historical present through his narrative to accomplish his intended purposes.