Using Masculine Expressions to Address Beloved Women in Iraqi Folk Poetry: A Sociolinguistic Study

Abstract

    One of the most valuable areas in sociolinguistics is one that deals with the social factors that affect certain grammatical aspects in a language. The proliferation of academic studies concerning men and 'masculinity' in the last twenty years has mirrored the growth of feminist studies of women and gender relations. Iraqi folk poetry is a wealthy area of variable social factors reflected in certain aspects language. The current study aims at investigating the Iraqi social impact on linguistic aspect of addressing woman with masculine expressions. It is intended to answer some questions concerning the Iraqi social factors which lead to address woman with masculine expressions in folk Iraqi poetry. Moreover, it investigates the social status of woman in Iraqi society and the traditions that this society have concerning woman.