Global Journal of Human Social Science, C: Sociology and Culture, Volume 22 Issue 1

can perform several functions as praising, advising, and warning. Thus, it appears that by understanding the sociolinguistic functions achieved by means of animal proverbs, one can gain knowledge with regards to the proper way of using these animal elements in English proverbs in order to effectively interact with other people in communicative situations. Views about gender inequality were also analyzed in light of animal proverbs. To cite an example, Barasa and Opande (2017) inspected animal metaphors from a feminist point of view to examine the representations of men and women in two communities in Kenya. The study concluded that certain animal proverbs indicated sex inequality which was apparent in the stereotypical depiction of females as submissive to men and reliant on them. In the same line, Rodríguez (2009) carried out a study to explore sexism in terms of animal metaphors. The study revealed several gendered depictions of women as chickens, bitches and vixens. Additionally, females were stereotypically represented as inferior to men which led people to acknowledge patriarchal beliefs about the role of women in English and Spanish societies. Khan, Sardar, and Yousaf (2017) also strived to reveal the depiction of men and women as reflected in Urdu animal proverbs. Their findings asserted that gender depictions of animals, whether domestic or wild, have corresponded with the roles of men and women in the Indian community. Other studies had a central focus on specific species of animals reflected in proverbial sayings. For example, Muhammad and Rashid (2014) examined cat metaphors in both Malay and English proverbs and explored the similarities and differences in their meanings. Their work showed many differences in meanings which are connected to the metaphorical schemas of the English and Malay proverbs. Such variation in meanings stemmed from the social and cultural environments that the language speakers lived in. On the other hand, Salman and Amer (2020) investigated metaphorical proverbs of horses in English and Iraqi Arabic to discover how the respondents would comprehend, explain and utilize such proverbs. The study affirmed that there were certain similar connotative meanings attached to horse images in both languages, as English and Iraqi Arabic shared some social variables for some conceptualizations concerning the selected topic. However, the occupation variable seemed to have a tremendous effect on the participants usage of horse imagery, as farmers utilized horse portrayals more than any of the other participants. Another study conducted by Biyela (2003) focused on human-animal and bird relationship by inspecting the role this animal play in shaping a composite view of Zulu society in South Africa. It also aimed at exploring the sophisticated thoughts, social values and attitudes of the people. The results exhibited that by relying on metaphorical animal and bird proverbs as the common heritage of Zulu language, several aspects that shape the socio-cultural attitudes and behaviors of Zulu people can be deciphered. There seems to be only few studies cited in the literature which addressed the issue of animal proverbial expressions in revealing human-animal interface in Saudi Arabia. For example, Salamh and Maalej (2018) discussed animal proverbs in Saudi Arabic and Tunisian Arabic from a cultural and cognitive-linguistic viewpoint. Their study revealed that the two varieties of Arabic may make use of the same animal names, but with a different focus. Moreover, many animal names were associated with cultural desirable/undesirables or positive/negative traits of humans. Another study conducted in Saudi Arabia by Alghamdi (2019) investigated animal proverbs socially and eco-linguistically to highlight the representation of human-animal relationship. The findings revealed that Al-Bahah animal proverbs were not only sociolinguistic-specific, but also ecological- specific in such a way that asserted certain behaviors that can save the ecosystem. Due to scarcity of research in Saudi Arabia, the current research shall attempt to investigate the figurative meanings and the pragmatic functions of Hijazi animal proverbs. Furthermore, it will seek to explore the various representations of human-animal relationship manifested in these metaphorical proverbs. III. P urpose of the S tudy The present research aims to investigate the connotative meanings and the pragmatic representations of animal proverbs in Hijazi Arabic in Saudi Arabia. It also seeks to deduce the representation of human-animal interface and explore the cultural values of the Hijazi society as depicted in the proverbs. Therefore, the research will address the following research questions: 1. What are the figurative meanings (prototypical connotations) embedded in the selected Hijazi animal proverbs? 2. What are the pragmatic functions of the metaphorical animal proverbs as it relates to Hijazi culture? 3. How is human-animal relation depicted in Hijazi proverbs? 4. What are the cultural Hijazi norms embedded in these animal proverbs? IV. T heoretical F ramework The theoretical backbone of the study consists of three major components: Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) Conceptual Metaphor Theory , the approaches involving Semantic Molecules proposed by Goddard (1998), and the theories of Cultural Linguistics introduced by Palmer (1996). © 2022 Global Journals Volume XXII Issue I Version I 57 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 C Exploring Connotative Meanings and Metaphors of Saudi Animal Proverbs: A Semantic and Pragmatic Analysis