What is it about?
This article discusses an interesting aspect of language use, namely the ability by religious groups to accept a song as sacred even when they do nit understand its meaning. It shows that the decision to perform a song during a church service depends on a number of reasons on the part of the faithful.
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Why is it important?
The issue at stake touches aspects of language use in religion which are sometimes taken for granted by the faithful themselves. In fact, in addition to the text, the authority of the composer of songs, tradition and patronage play an important role in deciding what song is appropriate for the service.
Perspectives
This work shows that developments in religious trends will continuously affect language in a way that is important to investigate further.
Prof Antoine Willy Ndzotom Mbakop
Universite de Maroua
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Assigning ‘sacred’ meaning to songs, Pragmatics and Society, October 2025, John Benjamins,
DOI: 10.1075/ps.21046.ndz.
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