«Тахиййат»: Сборник статей в честь Н. Н. Дьякова

Conceptualizing Stupidity and Ignorance in Arabic Idioms m 177 n (6) lā yumayyizu l-ghaththa mina l-samīni — ignorant, stupid (lit., un- able to distinguish lean from fat) (7) lā ya░rifu l- ḥ ayya/l- ḥ awwa mina l-layyi/l-lawwi –ignorant, not know- ing truth from falsity (literal meaning obscure 1 ) (8) lā ya░rifu l-kū░a mina l-bū░i — ignorant, stupid (lit., not knowing one’s knee from one’s elbow) (9) lā ya░rifu l-kā░a mina l-bā░i — ignorant, stupid (lit., not knowing an elbow from outspread arms) (10) lā ya░rifu hirran min birrin — ignorant, stupid (lit., not knowing the sound of a sheep from the sound of a goat) (11) lā yufarriqu/ya░rifu qabīlan min dabīrin — ignorant, stupid (lit., not knowing the front from the back) (12) lā ya░rifu l-wa ḥ ya mina l-safri — ignorant, stupid (lit., not knowing a hint from open sign) In these idioms the semantic structure is different from the semantic struc- ture of the previously mentioned idioms since it is more explicitly concen- trated on internal, intellectual abilities. The images are the basis for expres- siveness because they refer to situations that are easy to understand and grasp, or “decode”. Easily imagining the situation described by the literal meanings of the expressions, the listener can recognize without any effort the intended meaning and understand the implied connotations as well. From a cognitive point of view only one source domain is involved, for example, the human body and its parts (elbow and knee, elbow and outspread arms), meat and its characteristics (fat and lean), domesticated animals (sheep and goats) or human communication (hint and clear sign; positive and negative answers). Some source domains appear to be aspects common to many things (front [ qabīl ] and back [ dabīr ]), however it is possible that the idiom in question here has as its source domain domestic animals 2 . In any event, in order to ful- fill the communicative intentions of the idioms (6–12) it is essential to select two key concepts that lie at the far ends of the conceptual domain or belong to two different semantic frames within the domain. This strategy ensures that the dissimilarity and conflict are big enough to create tension. The contrasted notions or objects should preferably be well known and familiar to the mem- bers of the language community. Then the listener can appreciate and “enjoy” 1 Cf. Lane, s.v. ḥ ayy. According to Abū Hilāl al-░Askarī the meaning of ḥ ayy is “yes” and “ laww ” is “no” ( Jamharat al-░amthāl, 325). 2 See al-Maydānī, Majma░ al-░amthāl, 2: 269b, where al-░A ṣ ma░ī is cited to the effect that qabīl and dabīr refer to sheep with ears split from the front or behind.