Exaggeration in Congratulatory Expressions in Jordanian Arabic: A socio Pragmatic Study

This study is an attempt to investigate exaggeration in congratulatory expressions that are used by Jordanian Arabic speakers. From a socio pragmatic view exaggeration in congratulatory expressions has not been thoroughly studied in Jordan. Therefore, this study sheds light on expressions used by Jordanian Arabic speakers and the effect of sociological factors, such as: age, gender and level of education on using these expressions in the Jordanian society. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to 88 male and female participants randomly selected from Irbid. The findings of the study reveal the most prominent exaggerated expressions that express congratulation in Jordanian Arabic. The findings also reveal that the social variables: age, gender and level of education affect the use of these expressions in certain situations. They also reveal the importance of studying the language in relation to social variables.