Cross-cultural Stylistic analysis of British and Egyptian National Anthems

Abstract

The study explores cross culturally the aesthetic stylistic features and values in two famous English and Arabic national anthems, namely the British and the Egyptian national anthems which represent two distinct ruling systems i.e. royal and republican ruling systems. The quali-quanti analytical framework involves (Verdonk, 2002), as a tool for stylistic analysis, as well as (Risager, 2005) conception of languaculture. The former provides tools such as the lexico-grammatical and intertextual sources central to stylistic analysis while the latter relates to how language is a socio-culturally bound concept. Assuming that the two anthems exhibit various interesting features, the study found that there are interesting differences and similarities between the two anthems especially with respect to the cultural resonance and poetic images, the issue which projects how to famous nations reflect their pride i.e. in the British national anthem, the concepts of monarchy, social structure and reverence for the monarchy is emphasized, whereas in the Egyptian national anthem, Egypt's, glory, resilience, cultural heritage as well as aspirations for a better future are strongly highlighted.