Investigating the Cognitive Style of the Linguistic Level of the Afsaneh Golriz by Ziya-al-Din Nakhshabi

Introduction

Nasrullah Monshi's Kalila and Demneh is considered to be one of the trend-setting and influential works on Persian literature, especially Persian prose. The style of Nasrullah Monshi in the translation of this work has influenced later writers to follow and use his style in their writings (Daneshpazhooh, 2008;12). Ziya-al-Din Nakhshabi, a poet, mystic, and writer of the 8th century, is also among those who were influenced by Nasrullah Monshi. Just as the influence of Kalila and Demneh is evident on his Tootinameh, this influence can also be seen in Afsaneh Golriz.
Afsaneh Golriz is a work in verse and prose, created under the influence of Kalila and Demneh, Maghamat Hariri, and Indian literature; it is written in artificial prose style; the content is Romantic and moral; it consists of fables and parables with the structure of a story within a story, accompanied by motifs of folk literature and the description of strange creatures such as demon, fairy, and monster. The bases for Indian stories are books such as Ramayana, Mahabharata and Suka Septati, which not only have they given their content to these stories, they have also transferred their own style of storytelling to these works (Madankan & Eliyasipour, 2009;139).
The main purpose of these stories was entertainment and fun; for this reason, their appeal has been very important to readers. The events in these stories are very diverse and sometimes unreasonable and extraordinary to attract the attention of the reader and listener more (Taqavi, 1997; 57).

Methodology

This article is a report of a theoretical research with a descriptive-analytical method that with a stylistic approach and using the principles of structural stylistics and relying on written and library documents and sources, has investigated and analyzed the stylistic features of Ziya-al-Din Nakhshabi's Afsaneh Golriz at the linguistic level, in terms of phonetic, lexical and syntactic features.
In this article, the linguistic features (phonetic, lexical, and syntactic) of the book have been examined with a stylistic approach. The authors seek answers to the following questions:
What features does Afsaneh Golriz have at the linguistic level (phonetic, lexical and syntactic)? What results can be obtained by examining and analyzing the linguistic features of Afsaneh Golriz from the point of view of stylistics?
 

Discussion

 Stylistics uses the most comprehensive methods in examining texts; it means that it starts from the smallest language structures, namely sounds, and analyzes the vocabulary, types and quality of their use, interpretations and allusions, as well as the syntax and structure of sentences, rhetoric and the application of thought and in the layered branch of the artist's ideology. Finally, the artistic goals of the speaker from the totality of the structure of the work is realized (Mohammadi afshar & Shayanmehr, 2017; 262). In this article, due to the wide scope of stylistics, an attempt has been made to examine and analyze only the stylistic features of the work at the linguistic level in terms of phonetic, lexical and syntactic features.
In Afsaneh Golriz substitution, deletion and addition have been used. Substitution has mostly been used in consonants. In this work, phonetic processes are not as abundant as the texts of previous centuries. deletion or reduction of phonemes also have been used in Afsaneh Golriz more.
Nakhshabi has used different kinds of rhyme, mostly parallel rhyme. He has used internal rhyme, parallelism and leonine verse more. The multiplicity of parallelism and leonine verse has resulted in sentences having consecutive rhyme. Many kinds of puns have also been used in this work. Phonemes, repetition, antimetabole and additions have been employed to make speech musical.
In the lexical layer, sensory or abstract words, common and proper nouns, archaism and word formation, coining, and markedness of words are evident. (Fotouhi, 2012; 251-264). Often, writers and poets use sensory words for description and mental words for narration (Foroozandeh & Banitalebi, 2015; 304). In the text of Afsaneh Golriz, the use of both objective and subjective words be can be seen.
The number of archaic Arabic words is more in Afsaneh Golriz. These types of words have been used less or not at all in Persian prose and poetry, and there is no evidence for them in Dehkhoda's Dictionary as well.
Arabic compounds have been used in the book, which are rare. There are words that are not recorded in dictionaries. Turkish and Indian words are also included.
Sometimes the writer has used unusual spelling of a word. Synonym are also employed, the frequency of synonymous words is high. Sometimes the author has used word in a new meaning. Also, he has used the word in a new construction and has made new and meaningful compounds. These compounds are one of the blocking factors of the meaning of some sentences.
Nakhshabi has used proper names in this book; he refers to the names of elders and prophets and has also creates new proper names.
The abundance of short and interrupted sentences in speech causes light acceleration of the speed of thought and excitement, and, on the contrary, the abundance of long sentences creates a smooth and steady style; complex and compound sentences slow down the movement of style. Rapid and hastey styles are more emotional, while composed styles are more argumentative and logical (Fotouhi, 2012; 275).
In Afsaneh Golriz, sentences are usually simple and short, and there are few compound sentences. The style of the book is exciting and emotional. The frequency of inflectional sentences is high. The style of sentences is a combination of discrete and co-ordinate style. The speed of speech is higher and the style is dynamic.
The time factor is an important variable in the realism of the text and the author's way of looking at things. The present is more certain than the past and different constructions of the past also increase the distance between the speaker and his point of view in the same proportion as it distances from the present (Fotouhi, 2012; 291). In this book, in 200 simple and compound sentences analyzed, there were 127 (63%) simple verbs, 33 (16%) compound verbs, and 5 (2%) prefixed verbs. Also, 72 cases (36%) present verbs and 124 cases (62%) past and future verbs have been used; therefore, the distance between the speaker and the author's point of view is greater in this book.
The modality is the speaker's decisiveness in expressing a proposition, which is implicitly shown by grammatical elements (Fotouhi, 2012; 285). In most of the verbs of the book, indicative modals have been used. The indicative modal shows the certainty of the speech. In indicative modal, the audience is confident about the speech.
Adverb is a part of speech that the verb does not need and for this reason it can be omitted from the sentence (Vahidian Kamiyar, & Omrani, 2003; 104). The frequency of adverb types is higher in Afsaneh Golriz, and adverb is one of the factors of lengthening the sentence. In 100 sentences, there are 56 adverbs, which shows that Nakhshabi has used more adverbs. Among the types of adverbs, adverbial complements has been used more.
In adverbial groups, the preposition has been omitted symmetrically based on the previous sentence; also, in the verb phrases, the preposition has been removed without symmetry.
In Afsaneh Golriz, the verb has been removed based on verbal and semantic symmetry.
 

Conclusion

In the phonetic layer, Nakhshabi has used various types of phonetic processes such as substitution, deletion and addition. Substitution in consonants and reduction of phonemes is more visible; however, phonetic processes are not as abundant as the texts of previous centuries. To increase the music, the writer has used all types of rhyme, mostly, parallel rhyme. In most of the sentences, there is internal rhyme, parallelism and leonine verse. He has used various types of puns, phonemes, repetition, and additions successive also.
In the lexical layer, there are more sensory words and the style of the sensory book is clear and effective. A large number of abandoned Arabic word can be seen in Afsaneh Golriz, which are used less or not at all in Persian poetry and prose and there is no evidence for them in Dehkhoda's Dictionary. One of the reasons for using archaic words is superiority. A few Turkish and Indian word are used and the number of synonyms and compounds in the book is also significant.
In the syntactic layer, there is usually simple and short sentences and few compound sentences. The style of the book is exciting and emotional, and the frequency of inflectional sentences is high. The style of sentences is a combination of discrete and co-ordinate style. The speed of the speech is high and the style has a dynamic rhythm. Simple verbs are used more, and compound and prefixed verbs have been used less. The tense of most verbs is past, by which the distance between the speaker and the author's point of view can be seen more clearly. Most of the verbs have been used in indicative modal, which shows the certainty of the speech. The frequency of adverb types is more in Afsaneh Golriz, and adverb is one of the factors of lengthening the sentence. In 100 sentences, there are 56 adverbs, which shows the abundance of adverbs. Among the types of adverbs, adverbial complements have been used more. Sometimes the verb has been omitted based on verbal and, more often, semantic symmetry. The preposition has sometimes been removed from the verb phrase based on symmetry in the previous sentence, or without symmetry.