Fathoming the Cultural Schema of Ta’ne Zadan in Persian Language: A Cultural Linguistic Study

The aim of the present article is to probe the functions of Ta’ne Zadan (sarcasm) in Persian language and the distribution of schema among participants of different genders and educational levels. Results from 100 recorded instantiations of Ta’ne accumulated through ethnographic approach indicated that it served different functions of complaint, criticism, downgrading, expressing emotion, and protecting one’s face. In addition, results from a discourse completion test designed to elicit Ta’ne utterances from 67 females and males Persian native speakers revealed no significant difference between the two genders in the degree of instantiation of schema; however, uneducated people significantly rated higher in using the schema. The reason was attributed to educated people being more direct and straightforward in communicating their ideas while (un)undereducated people caring more about others’ face. The discussions were then presented with regards to the association of schema with other schemas including A’beru and Ta’arof and implications were put forwards for learners of Persian language as a second language and the connection between culture and language.