The Pragmatic Meanings of Car Stickers in Jordan

Abstract

This study is aimed at investigating the illocutionary forces of car stickers in Jordan as an under-researched area of Arabic pragmatics. The study is based on authentic data collected over a year as found displayed on cars in the south, mid and north of Jordan. The data collected were found to display a wide range of social, romantic and economic functions including displaying vehicle size and brand, protection against envy, disappointment and betrayal, giving advice, displaying love and romantic challenges, crises and car stickers aimed at attracting others’ attention. Stickers used as a protective measure against evil eye were found to be the most frequently used stickers in our data (32.65%). Though car stickers are equated with amusement and humor, they are used nowadays as a tool to indirectly criticize social, economic and political crises, and this could reflect the social and economic challenges of life. The overwhelmingly rhythmic car stickers examined in the study were found to be instances of decodable expressions whose overall meanings could be recovered by sticker readers.