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Attitude of Muslim Students towards English Idioms and
Proverbs
1a 2a
Mohammad Hossein Keshavarz , Majed Amro
Abstract
ARTICLE HISTORY: This study aimed at investigating the attitude of Muslim
Received December 2018 students towards the use of certain English idioms and
Received in revised form February 2019 proverbs. Thirty Muslim students were asked to express their
Accepted February 2019 reactions and feelings towards two categories of English
Available online March 2019 idioms and proverbs: the first category included idioms and
proverbs containing the names of animals that are prohibited
in Islam, and the second category contained culturally
inappropriate idioms and proverbs. The results of data
analysis revealed that idioms and proverbs belonging to the
first group were found by the majority of the participants to
KEYWORDS: be rather offensive, while culturally inappropriate idioms and
proverbs were less offensive. This indicates that religion is
Idioms the main influential factor in the reaction of Muslim students
Proverbs towards English idioms. Non-Muslim English teachers may
Culture find the results of this study useful in gaining awareness
Religion about the attitudes of Muslim students towards the use of
EFL Muslim students religiously and culturally-loaded idioms and proverbs and
taking precautions in using such idioms in the classroom
environment.
© 2019 IJSCL. All rights reserved.
1 Professor, Email: keshavarz22@gmail.com (Corresponding Author)
Tel: +90-533-844 6071
2 MA, Email: majidamro@gmail.com
a Girne American University, North Cyprus
M. H. Keshavarz & M. Amro/ International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, 7(1), 2019 ISSN 2329-2210 41
1. Introduction the first author used some Persian idiomatic
expressions in communication with American
anguage and culture go hand in hand and and British acquaintances to see if they could
contribute to the formation of our figure out the meaning of the idioms. This
Lw orldview. In other words, our cultural resulted only in confusion as the idioms were
heritage and ideology are reflected in the specific to Persian culture with which those
language we speak. In fact, “without language individuals were not familiar. The notion of
and other symbolic systems, the habits, beliefs, culture-specificity of idioms also causes
institutions, and monuments that we call culture immense difficulty in translation, as was found
would be just observable realities, not cultural by Rakhieh, Al-Saidat, Alshammari, and
phenomena” (Kramsch, 2013, p. 62). In the Rabab’ah (2014) in their study on translation of
same vein, Sharifian (2005) asserts that English color idioms by Jordanian Arabic EFL
“various [linguistic] units—from morphemes to learners. Furthermore, some idioms and
the structure of discourse—often instantiate proverbs which are quite appropriate in a given
conceptualizations that are ensconced in culture may be found offensive by members of
cultural systems and worldviews” (p. 339). another culture, as the data of the present study
Unlike language, which is generally claimed to demonstrate.
be an innate property of man (Chomsky, 2004),
culture is not a genetic endowment; rather, it is Many studies have been conducted on English
acquired through living in a community and idioms and their significant role in
interacting with other members of the society. second/foreign language teaching and learning
However, language is the manifestation of (see, for example, Cakir, 2011; Chuang, 2013;
culture. As Ren and Yu (2013) assert, Cooper, 1999; Elkilic, 2008; Grant, 2007;
“language reflects culture, provides access to Hamblin & Gibbs, 1999; Li, 2010). However,
culture, and in many aspects consists of a model the correlation between the two variables of
of culture” (p. 78). Culture, on the other hand, religion and idioms seems to have escaped the
comprises a society’s shared values, religious attention of researchers in the field. In fact, to
beliefs, customs, lifestyle, and everyday the best of the authors’ knowledge, no empirical
behavior. Within a speech community, culture study has yet been conducted on
is adopted by its members and passed down appropriateness of some idioms in certain
from generation to generation. Cultural norms religions, in particular Islam, especially in the
are, thus, defined as expectations of behavior in context of English as a foreign language.
a particular society, i.e., what is considered Therefore, to fill this niche the present
appropriate or inappropriate by members of a researchers decided to investigate the reaction
community. Therefore, some cultural features and attitudes of Muslim university students
might cause misunderstandings and even be towards the use of certain English idioms and
considered offensive when people of two proverbs as used in the classroom situation.
different cultures meet, such as using the index 2. Theoretical Framework
finger for calling someone over in countries like
the Philippines. 2.1. Teaching English in Multicultural Settings
Related to the issues of language and culture are In the era of globalization, with English playing
the notions of religion and idioms, which are a major role in the world arena as the number
the main focus of the present study. Religion is, one Lingua Franca, English classrooms in many
indeed, an indispensable and important aspect parts of the globe can be considered as a
of culture. Idioms and proverbs also reflect the microenvironment with students coming from
cultural values of a community, and play a diverse cultural and religious backgrounds.
significant role in teaching English to speakers This makes the job of English teachers in such
of other languages. It is perhaps safe to assume multicultural classrooms challenging as they
that in the majority of cases idioms are culture- need to develop tolerance towards and
specific to the extent that some idioms may not familiarity with different cultures and religions.
make any sense to members of other cultures In fact, such a need has been acknowledged
and may cause misunderstanding and since the 90s. For example, referring to the case
confusion. As an example, in an informal of the United States of America as a country of
experiment, during his stay in the US and UK,
42 Attitude of Muslim Students towards English Idioms and Proverbs
diversity, Vandrik (1996) proposed the use of to denote approval and/or praise of a student’s
multicultural literature and textbooks claiming performance can be misconstrued by the latter
that this will help teachers and students improve in an Arab country, where this hand gesture is
their understanding of other cultures. Similarly, not appropriate. Therefore, EFL teachers
for native English teachers who have the desire should study the norms of the society and
to travel abroad and teach in other countries, it factors that play a role in forming them in order
is essential to explore the cultural norms of their to avoid conflict and misunderstanding. As
students. In other words, teachers need to Kojima (2012) puts it, “knowing students’
improve their cultural awareness of the country culture is essential for an English language
they choose to teach in by getting insights into teacher to understand English learners deeply”
their cultural values and customs, and develop (p. 1). Accordingly, the current study concerns
an understanding of sensitive issues, such as English teachers who intend to teach in a
religion (Tomalin, 2008). According to Muslim country or have Muslim students in
Kramsch (1993), having multicultural classes their multicultural classrooms in their home
encourages teachers to read more and gain country.
better knowledge about different cultures while 2.2. Proverbs and Idioms
teaching English. Thus, teachers should be
given awareness about certain cultural and Proverbs are wise and popular sayings that
religious restrictions so that they will not be embody a general truth and can be considered a
interpreted as being impolite or offensive source of wisdom and a moral lesson in the
(Fang, 2011). Traditionally, many countries, form of a short phrase. In the word of Varyani
particularly the Arab world, prefer to recruit (2011), “proverbs are the gems of wisdom” (p.
native English teachers for their fluency and 1). Proverbs and idioms play an important role
native accent. In such cases, “culture becomes
an issue” since “native speakers don’t in manifesting a nation’s culture and customs.
necessarily know the home culture of their In other words, they can be considered as social
students nor the intellectual tradition of their mirrors that reflect culture and characteristics of
school system” (Kramsch, 2013, p. 58). Religion, a group of people. For example, the Arabic
in particular, deserves foreign teachers’ proverb blood never turns into water reflects
attention as it is an integrated part of culture. In the strong family ties in the Arabic culture that
this regard, Saville-Troike (1978) argues that a value the sense of belonging to family by
respecting the elders and caring about young
teacher should have knowledge about students’ family members (Brosh, 2013).
religion since this plays a great role in their
culture. This is particularly true about the faith Based on common sense and a community’s
of Muslims because religion is the main shared experience, proverbs add flavor to the
element of the Islamic culture. As Xinton idea or truth we want to express. As an example,
(2002) asserts “one of the features of the consider the message/advice the proverb a bird
Islamic culture is that its religion is not only the in the hand is worth two in the bush conveys to
source of the whole cultural system, but also its a colleague who wants to risk his current job for
quintessence and core” (p. 149); hence further the sake of a better one about which s/he is not
justification for the present study. certain. Therefore, “proverbs not only enhance
Considering the population of Muslims in the linguistic knowledge, but also contribute to the
world (over one billion) covering a vast area, better understanding of the cultural background
especially in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, of the people who speak that language”
it is most likely for EFL/ESL teachers to end up (Syzdykov, 2014, p. 319). Perhaps one of the
teaching in an Islamic country or have Muslim first proverbs EFL students learn is “an apple a
students in their multicultural classes day keeps the doctor away” quoted from
elsewhere. Without adequate appreciation for Benjamin Franklin. Phrases like this not only
religious values and restrictions, certain verbal enrich the student’s vocabulary knowledge, but
or non-verbal behaviors of the teacher may be also embodies a great lesson in his/her life.
deemed offensive to some students. For An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is
instance, a teacher’s use of the OK gesture by established through usage and not by the literal
making a circle with his thumb and index meaning of the words that constitute the idiom.
finger, as it is customary in the Western world, According to O’Dell and McCarthy (2010),
M. H. Keshavarz & M. Amro/ International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, 7(1), 2019 ISSN 2329-2210 43
“idioms are fixed combinations of words whose as Shakespeare (for a comprehensive list of
meaning is often difficult to guess from the idioms and proverb and their origins see Martin,
meaning of each individual word” (p. 6). 2019). Although some proverbs and idioms
Similar definitions have been provided by may have similar meaning in other languages,
Makkai (1972) and Richards and Schmidt most of them are culture-specific and may
(2002). Thus, paying attention to the words appear odd and inappropriate to members of
contained in an idiom will be a source of other cultures. In particular, many English
misunderstanding. Therefore, second language proverbs and idioms are potentially offensive to
learners have to learn the meaning of idioms as Muslims, in varying degrees. These include
a whole and pay attention to their contextual proverbs and idioms associated with the name
use. For instance, the idiom he spilled the beans of certain animals like dogs and pigs, alcoholic
does not have anything to do with spilling the beverages, and certain culturally inappropriate
beans on the floor, rather it refers to revealing expressions, such as pissing in the wind. Lack
a secret. The fact that the meaning of idioms of awareness of such religious restrictions on
does not consist of the meaning of individual the part of the non-Muslim teacher may lead to
words that constitute the idioms makes them the use of certain idioms in the classroom
perhaps the most difficult aspect of second situation that may be found inappropriate or
language learning. The results of a study offensive by his/her Muslim students. This may
conducted by Rizq (2015) showed that “70% of cause social blunder and conflict for the
the participants agreed that idioms are difficult teacher, to say the least. Therefore, the aim of
for ESL learners” (p. 2). English idioms may this study is to investigate the reaction and
become even more difficult for EFL learners attitude of Muslim students towards such
when their equivalents do not exist in the idioms and proverbs. More specifically, the
learners’ mother tongue due to cultural or study seeks to find answer to the research
religious reasons. question: What is the attitude of Muslim
The authenticity of idioms and proverbs in the students towards religiously and culturally-
speech of native speakers gives them a special loaded English idioms and proverbs?
position in English language teaching. 3. Methodology
Knowing such aspects in the language improves
a student’s communicative ability and 3.1. Participants and Setting
facilitates her or his understanding of the point Thirty male and female students from a private
that the speaker wishes to convey by using a university in North Cyprus participated in this
proverb. They are particularly useful in study on a voluntary basis. Their length of stay
developing fluency in the second language in North Cyprus varied from one to three years.
(Lewis, 1997). They were selected based on convenient
Idiomatic expressions and proverbs, which are sampling. All of the participants were Muslim
the main theme of the present study, are an students majoring in different fields of study.
integrated part of the English language and They came from 11 Muslim countries namely
culture. As Ren and Yu (2013) state, “the Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Palestine,
English language is particularly noted for its Pakistan, Libya, Iran, Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan,
wealth of idioms—those ways of expressions and the United Arab Emirates. However,
peculiar to the dialect of a language that despite this demographic diversity, the
frequently disobey logical and grammatical participants shared the same general Islamic
rules” (p. 78). Thus, it is essential for second culture, which is the main variable in this study.
language learners to develop a sound That is to say, they have certain cultural norms
understanding of English idioms. Proverbs and taken from Islam which may be regarded as
idioms may be used by the teacher to teach having influenced their attitudes and
some vocabulary items more effectively or worldview. As Inglehart (2007) claims, “the
illustrate certain points. publics of Islamic countries have distinctive
and relatively similar basic values” (p. 25). As
Sources of proverbs and idioms vary from to the interviewees’ age, with the exception of
references to holy books to that of modern and one participant (Interviewee No. 4) who was 36
classic literary works by famous writers, such
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