Text-Linguistic Approach to Modern Arabic Literature: Analysis of Short Story "Arkhas Layâlî"

Abstract

Objectives: Text linguistic, a contemporary field of study within modern scientific disciplines, investigates the criteria determining whether a group of sentences constitutes an actual text. This research aims to contribute to story analysis and deep structure analysis of stories through text linguistic analysis. Methods: In this study, the descriptive analysis method has been employed to evaluate Yusuf Idris's story titled 'Arkhas Layâlî' (The Cheapest Nights), within the context of macro-structural framework in Modern Arabic Literature. The subheadings that aid in comprehending and delineating this structure include function, title, topic, keywords, topical sentence, schema, topic-changing markers, style, summary, conclusion sentence, and motif/theme. Under these headings, the deep structure of the text and how this structure is constructed have been examined. Results: As a result of the analysis, it has been observed that the narrative is internally consistent and establishes a sequential, smooth connection between sentences. The author has meaningfully established coherence relationships in the short story, successfully conveying the intended message within this coherence framework. Conclusions: This study is believed to provide a different perspective on text analyses of this nature and shed light on future research in this field. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.