Argumentation Structure of Witty Rhetorical Reparteein Old Arabic Prose

Abstract

The wittyrhetoricalreparteeis an Arabic prose art thatgarnered attention during the 9thcentury; numerous specialized books werewritten about this art. Hence, manyexamples of thiswerepreserved, beingaprimarily oral art. This researchhas tried to highlight the argumentative nature of this art because the argumentation, in this respect, differs from other argumentation types thatdepend heavily on questions andanswers. The researcherhas found out that this special argumentative style preempts the add reseed from retorting so as to extend or enrich the argument; instead, the addressee tries hard to end that argument. The addresser is primarily driven by an urge to put the addressee inan embarrassing situation or make fun of him/her. The situation, therefore, relates to the add ressee’s reaction, for he/she tries in his/ her turn-to embarrass the addressee or make fun of him/ her. This style has various rhetorical and pragmatic moves that are highlighted in this paper.