Differences in Semantic Fields in The Lexicon of The Meccan Child, According to Gender

Dr. Mansour Saad Elsohaimy^1,*, Dr. Ahmed Ramadan Mohamed Ali^2
1Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics at Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia
²Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology, New Valley University, Egypt
Issue: 34 | Pages: 1-10 | December 2024-|-https://doi.org/10.54940/ll26058081-|-PDF
Received:-26/10/2022-|-Revised:-15/11/2022-|-Accepted:-24/11/2022
*Corresponding Author:[email protected]

Abstract
The present study seeks to identify semantic field differences in the vocabulary of Makkan children according to gender. The study targeted 240 boys and girls from the city of Makkah, KSA, in the second semester of 2020-2021, who were given a list of inquisitive questions prepared by the two researchers. The results of the study suggest that there are statistically significant differences between boys and girls in the semantic fields related to food and drinking, transportation, media, time and place, illness and treatment, play and sport. The same applies to the macro semantic fields. The differences are in favor of girls. However, the study also suggests that there is no statistically significant difference between the two in the semantic fields related to family and relatives, stories and tales, animals, birds and plants. Therefore, the findings of the study should be used to improve school curricula aimed at this age group, and to draw up specific dictionaries that meet their needs, based on the actual linguistic situation of those children and in line with Vision 2030 that calls for the promotion of a knowledge-based economy, including Arabic language.

Keywords
Semantics fields, language of Makkan Children, Dictionary, childhood, Makkah, KSA Vision 2030.

How to Cite
1. Elsohaimy M, Ali A. Differences in Semantic Fields in The Lexicon of The Meccan Child, According to Gender. Journal of Umm Al-Qura University for Language Sciences and Literature. 2024 December; (34):1–10. doi:https://doi.org/10.54940/ll26058081

License
1658-8126/© 2024-by the Authors. Published by-J. Umm Al-Qura Univ. Lang. Sci. and Lit.-This is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of thehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/-