| This dissertation presents an investigation of the formal and functional properties of rhetorical questions in the Quran, based on their high occurrences in the text (809 rhetorical questions in total). Unlike previous analyses of rhetorical questions, this study employs a multidisciplinary approach in order to provide a more comprehensive account of rhetorical questions in terms of their forms, functions, and effects.; The study presents an analysis of the syntactic and semantic features of Quranic rhetorical questions, and examines their role and functions within the text. Chapter 3 explores the syntactic properties and types of Quranic rhetorical questions, with special emphasis on how these properties and types correlate with the pragmatic behavior of the rhetorical question. In particular, it is shown that (1) the use of rhetorical questions in the text displays a strong form-function correlation, (2) the reverse-polarity principle does not apply invariably, and (3) the rhetorical question encodes two speech acts, a primary assertion and a context-induced speech act.; Chapter 4 shows that rhetorical questions perform a variety of discursive functions and play a significant role in the arguments and dialogues of the text. They are utilized, for example, to advance an argument, arraign the addressee, express one's emotions, polarize the text, and invite consensus. A strong affinity is noted between the syntactic and semantic features of the rhetorical question and the discursive function it is intended to perform in the text.; In Chapter 5, the stylistic functions of rhetorical questions in the Quran are examined. The analysis shows that rhetorical questions play a vital role in the stylistic composition of the text. It is demonstrated that they help in the organization, evaluation, and presentation of the Quran's material, acting in this respect as discourse markers and features of metadiscourse.; Chapter 6 investigates the psychological and literary effects of rhetorical questions in the Quran. It is shown that their patterns and distribution are designed to produce particular effects in the direction of the hearer or the reader, e.g., involvement and defamiliarization; the text, e.g., vividness and literariness; and the author or speaker, acting in this respect as a feature of epistemological and linguistic power. Overall, the analysis presented in this study of rhetorical questions as employed in the Quran suggests that the behavior and efficacy of rhetorical questions cannot be accounted for in isolated utterances. Rather, their behavior and efficacy should be viewed as a combination of syntactic, discourse-pragmatic, and extralinguistic factors. |
