The Pragmatic Functions of the Idiomatic Expression Yalla in Jordanian Spoken Arabic

Abstract

Purpose. The study reported here aims to identify and classify the pragmatic functions of the frequently used idiomatic expression Yalla, literally ‘let’s’, in Jordanian Spoken Arabic (JSA). Method. The data were collected from 145 university students (males and females) enrolled in different specialisms at two higher education institutions, viz., the University of Jordan and Jadara University. All participants are native speakers of Jordanian Spoken Arabic; their ages ranged from 18 to 22 years. They were divided into three groups; 14 participants gave the data in the mini questionnaire stage which was used to guide and inform proper data collection, 86 completed the extended data collection questionnaire and 45 undertook the acceptability agreement/ judgment task. Results. The study reveals that Yalla conveys 23 pragmatic functions: showing approval / acceptance, signaling the start of an action, spreading enthusiasm, suggesting, commanding/ ordering someone, expediting/ urging, expressing surrender or submission, announcing the onset of a new stage, requesting approval, rest assuring, prompting someone to act in line with an established routine, advising coupled with warning, asking for patience/calming someone down, encouraging/ cheering, drawing attention, reminding, wishing, stimulating, underestimating the importance of a complaint, ridiculing/ mocking, expressing comfort, showing emphasis in addition to showing anger and boredom. Conclusions. The study concludes that the functions of the idiomatic expression Yalla are not equally frequent; nor are they equally acceptable by the Jordanian youth. This is evident in the results of the acceptability judgment task undertaken by the participants, an indication that some of them are more deeply entrenched in the Jordanian youth community than others. The study suggests that future research may investigate the pragmatic functions of Yalla in social contexts and situations other than those examined in this study. It may also involve older age groups as Yalla is more likely to be age sensitive; education level may also turn out to impact the use of this idiomatic expression. Furthermore, as the focus of this study is on Jordanian Spoken Arabic, future research may target the pragmatic functions of Yalla in other Arabic spoken varieties, e.g., Egyptian, Syrian and Saudi, among others.