Abstract

This study aims to identify the Lexico-Syntactic patterns along with their functions in Urdu riddles in the framework of Alabi (2007) for stylistic analysis. In order to achieve this aim, a qualitative and descriptive method was adopted for the study. The data were randomly selected from the weekly magazine ‘Jagmag moti', the Urdu riddles book 'Paheliyon ki dunia' and the internet. Forty-five Urdu riddles were analysed under stylistic levels mentioned by Alabi (2007). In the lexico-Syntactic analysis of Urdu riddles, findings showed that language in Urdu riddles is skillfully manipulated through several lexico-syntactic devices, including anastrophe, ellipsis, asyndeton, anaphora, epizeuxis, hyperbole, personification, synecdoche, simile, metaphor and archaic. It was found that Urdu riddles use these Lexico-Syntactic devices in order to confuse the listeners and to create an impact on them.

Key Words

Urdu Riddles, Lexico-Syntactic Patterns, Morphological Patterns, Phonological Patterns, Culture

Introduction

Oral literature is an imaginative verbal form of art of a society that is used to transfer economic, historical, socio-cultural, religious and political aspects of society. Riddle holds the cultural continuity of a specific culture, and it is a type of oral literature which is a type of asking questions or statements that are intentionally assembled in puzzling and misleading ways to make a person utilise his creative ingenuity. In other words, riddles contain descriptive elements and metaphors, which the hearer has to unpuzzle in order to give a solution. Riddle, as a type of oral literature, has an astonishing statement, referring to any object wherein the name of the object is uttered mysteriously (Saikia, 2013). Similarly, riddles are considered word puzzles in which objects or situations that are familiar are referred to in figurative terms in order to decrypt what is actually meant (Okumba, 1999). Riddles are rich in terms of their language and meaning, and they are, therefore, expressed in connotative form. They are produced to challenge and to make the participants much more active. In addition, individuals involved in the riddling session draw their riddles from various sources, for instance, natural phenomena, landscape features, the human body, animals, plants, daily activities, and social or life experiences (Sharndama, 2004).

Language is a dress of norms, thoughts and values. It is the way of communicating with the world. If we talk about the language of riddles specifically, it has a model of communication in which there is a code and an encoded message, the message is first transmitted, then decoded, and it is considered “a licensed artful communication” (Pepicello & Green, 1984). The artfulness in the language of riddles is created by the use of various stylistic devices like puns, hyperbole, alliteration, simile, metaphor, personification, rhyme and coinage etc. The choice of attaining the certain type of stylistic patterns reflects a specific culture. Every language and culture in this world has models of expression of its own. Riddle gives thoughts about the culture of a specific country and the way they select a certain stylistic device. Riddles are often invented and uttered in our daily life. Their importance cannot be denied. They are not just a source of entertainment but are complex linguistic structures which contain in them numerous stylistic devices which make riddles challenging and mysterious to the hearers or listeners. So, it is quite significant to look into stylistic devices which are used in riddles. Different research has been conducted on stylistic analysis, but there is no work done to carry out stylistic analysis of Urdu riddles; therefore, this study aims to look into lexico-syntactic devices used in Urdu riddles. 




Theoretical Framework 

The researcher will use Alabi's (2007) model for stylistic analysis of Urdu Riddles. This model analysis the text and discourse at different levels like graphological, morphological, lexico-syntax and phonological. The model is discussed below:




Graphology

 Graphology is the study of a language's writing system. According to Leech, "It refers to the whole writing system: punctuation and paragraphing as well as spacing” (1969). Alabi's (2007) added that Graphological discussion includes foregrounding quotation marks, ellipses periods, hyphens, the full stop, the colon, the comma, the semicolon, the question mark, the dash, lower case letters, and bold prints, capitalisation, spacing, italics etc. 




Phonology

The phonological analysis deals with the analysis of sound patterns in a particular text. It is the systemic use of sounds to form words or utterances in a language. The phonological analysis includes analysis of consonance, assonance, rhyme schemes and phonaesthesia etc. 




Morphology

The morphological level of analysis deals with the word formation processes which are subjected to certain conditions and rules for acquiring affixation. Affixation, compounding and coining processes are analysed in morphological analysis. It studies the ways through which new words are formed.




Lexico-syntax

 Lexico-Syntactic patterns include analysis of unusual word order or inversion of word order, omission and repetition of words etc. Similarly, Lexico-Syntactic choices examine devices such as simile, hyperbole, personification, metaphor, oxymoron and

Figure 1

Stylistic levels by Alabi's (2007)



Research Objectives

i. To identify the Lexico-Syntactic patterns found in Urdu riddles.

ii. To explore the functions of these patterns in Urdu riddles




Research Questions

The study seeks answers to the following questions:

1. What are the Lexico-Syntactic patterns found in Urdu riddles?

2. What are the functions of these patterns in Urdu riddles?




Delimitation of the Study 

This research comes under the purview of stylistics. Particularly it attempts to present the stylistic analysis in Alabi's (2007)model for stylistic analysis. Due to time constraints, it was not possible to try to attempt a stylistic analysis using all the levels of analysis of Alabi’s Model. This study is, therefore, limited to the Lexico-Syntactic level only.

Literature Review

A number of researchers have done research to explore the language and the structure of riddles across the globe. Some of the studies are discussed in the following section in order to find the gap in the present study. 

Ben Amos (1976), in his article "Solution to riddles", suggested that riddles are most pliable to a semiotic investigation. He suggested that riddles include interpretations, metaphors and their validation and rejections. Riddle is an ambiguity which is used to disclose and unveil its subject at one and the same time. According to Ben Amos, orally uttered riddles have three main ambiguities: Linguistic, Empirical and Cultural.

Pepicello and Green (1980), in their book "The language of riddles", studied riddle's language. Both the researchers claimed that riddle acquires a quite ordinary language and yields a model of communication in which there is a code and an encoded message. Firstly, the message is transmitted, and then it is decoded. Pepicello and Green termed riddle as "a licensed artful communication". According to them, riddles foreground the linguistics codes as well as aesthetic conventions in terms of their performance.  

Gachanya and Kebaya (2013) did a critical examination of riddles among the Abagusii community. The study investigated various functions of riddles, such as cultural, social, and historical. Furthermore, the study interrogated pedagogical values embedded in riddles.

Thai (2013), in his article "An Investigation into stylistic devices commonly used in riddles: English vs Vietnamese", did a comparative stylistic analysis of English and Vietnamese riddles under phonetic, lexical and syntactic levels. The researcher investigated stylistic devices which were commonly found in English and Vietnamese riddles. The similarities seen were that both languages are rich in stylistic devices and these devices have a huge artistic effect and result in challenging and interesting riddles. Secondly, the study showed that there are some cases where different riddles refer to a single thing which means that different stylistic devices can be used to ask about a single thing.

Maranda (2016), in "The Logic of Riddles", analysed the structure of Finnish riddles. The study was based on the view that riddles are a structural unit, consisting riddle image and an answer. The corpus of 3,500 items was taken to be the representative of the collections in the folklore archives of the Finnish Literature Society. The structural analysis of the Finnish riddles unveiled that riddles are a structural category in which the riddle image contains a term that matches the riddle answer, so the riddle image basically functions as a question to be answered.

The aforementioned review of the literature reveals that there is a lot of research done on riddles structure, language, ambiguities, their functions, and so on in different languages, but the stylistics analysis of Urdu riddles has not yet been carried out by the researchers. So the present study will fill this gap by presenting a stylistic analysis of Urdu riddles. 

Research Methodology

This study used a qualitative approach and descriptive research design to describe the use of language in Urdu Riddles. In describing Lexico-Syntactic features of the text, the study adopted Alabi's (2007)checklists of stylistic analysis in the interpretation of the text because of its comprehensive nature. Forty-five riddles were collected from the internet; the Urdu riddles book ‘Pahelion ki dunia’ and the weekly ‘Jagmag mooti’ magazine. The analysis was based on randomly selected riddles where the necessary identified stylistic features abound; thus, the purposive random sampling technique was adopted for this study. After collecting the data from the sources, the selected Urdu riddles were written in Roman and transcribed according to IPA (International Phonetic Association). The transcribed riddles were also translated into English and analysed in detail. The Lexico-Syntactic features in the text were identified and their function and significance to the overall interpretation of the text were discussed.  




Use of Lexico-Syntactic Devises in Urdu Riddles 

Several Lexico- Syntactic devices, including anastrophe, ellipsis, asyndeton, anaphora, epizeuxis, hyperbole, personification, synecdoche, simile, metaphor and archaic have been identified in the data. The following section discusses the data contacting these devices and their functions in Urdu riddles.




Anastrophe in Urdu Riddles

Anastrophe is a device in which word order is deliberately rearranged for the sake of emphasis, stress and capturing the reader's attention. Alabi, while talking about anastrophe, says, "anastrophe is the inversion of the natural or usual word order” (2007). He further adds that the use of this pattern creates stress and grasps the attention of reciters. The Urdu language has SOV as the usual word order. Following are the randomly taken Urdu riddles to examine the inversion of usual word order through the anastrophe technique. What's more, the examiner also investigates various functions that the device accomplishes in the riddles.

1(a): Roshan   roshan   is ki     dum

?o??n       ?o??n     ?s ki     d??m

bright      bright     its       tail

‘Its tail is bright’

Raat    ko     hazir       din ko           gum

?at?        ko    haz??        d?n ko          g?m

night    at     present   during the day lost

‘It is present at night but absent during the day’

Answer: Jugnu (lantern fly)

In the above riddle, anastrophe, a lexico-syntactic device, is used in the riddle through which the word order “?s ki d??m ?o??n ?o??n” is altered into “?o??n ?o??n ?s ki d??m” in order to create a rhythmic flow in the riddle. For this purpose, the adjective ‘?o??n’ is placed at the beginning of the sentence where the subject should be placed, while the object ‘d??m’ is placed at the end, and the subject ‘?s ki’ is placed at the object position in order to create flow in the lines of the riddle.

1(b): Choro   mat     tum    is ka      hath

t?o?o    m?t     t??m    ?s k?      h?t??

a leave   don’t    you   of that   hand

‘Don't let go of his hand’

Le lo     is ko     hathon hath

l? lo       ?s ko      h?t??õ h?t??

take it hand in hand

‘Take it hand in hand’

Chupkay chupkay   arsh   pe    jaye

t??pk? t??pk?           ???     p?     d??e

secretly                    sky     to      goes

‘Secretly goes to the sky’

Tohfay    le k       farsh     per   aye

tohf?       l? k?      f???       p?    ?e

gifts bring it   floor     on    comes

‘Brings gifts on the floor’

Answer: Dua (prayers)

It is interesting to analyse that in riddle number 5(b), the word order "t??m h?t??’?s k? m?t t?o?o” is inverted into ‘t?o?o m?t t??m ?s k? h?t??’. The object ‘h?t??' (hand) is placed at the end of the riddle line, whereas the subject 'tum/you’ is placed in the middle of the sentence where the object should be placed, and the verb 't?o?o' is placed at the subject position. So, in the first line, we see that object 'hath' is placed at the verb position, the subject 'tum' is placed in the position of the object, and similarly, the verb 'choro' is placed at the subject position. While talking about the second line, we see that anastrophe is used for inversion of word order "?s ko h?t??õ h?t?? l? lo” into ‘l? lo ?s ko h?t??õ h?t??’. Here we see that object ‘hath' (hand) is placed at the verb position, the subject 'isko’ is placed at the object position and ‘le lo/take it’ verb is placed at the subject position, so anastrophe is accomplished in the second line of the riddle too. Moreover, in the third line of the riddle, we see that the word order '??? p? t??pk? t??pk? d??e’ is changed into ‘t??pk? t??pk? ??? p? d??e’ where subject ‘arsh’ (sky) is seen at the position where the object should be placed. All this inversion takes place in the line in order to create emphasis and flow in the riddle. Interestingly, the anastrophe technique is also found in the ending riddle of the riddle too, where 'f??? p? tohf? l? k? ?e’ usual word order is reversed into ‘tohf? l? k? f??? p? ?e’. The subject ‘farsh' floor is placed at the object position, and the object is placed at the subject position, so the usual word order is broken to create rhyme and to grasp the attention of the readers.

Ellipses in Urdu Riddles

Ellipsis entails the deliberate omission of a word or words which are readily implied by the content. It is used to create brevity reemphasise or ambiguity" Alabi's (2007). Ellipsis is a Lexico-Syntactic device in which a single word or group of words are omitted from the content. Ellipses technique is applied to create concision, prominence, brevity and vagueness in an idea. The randomly selected Urdu riddles for the analysis of ‘ellipses’ are as follows:

2(a):  Roshan   roshan   is ki     dum

?o??n       ?o??n     ?s ki     d??m

bright      bright     its       tail

‘Its tail is bright’

Raat    ko     hazir       din ko              gum

?at?        ko    haz??        d?n ko             g?m

night    at     present   during the day    lost

‘It is present at night but absent during the day’

Answer: Jugnu (lantern fly)

In riddle number 6(a), the ellipses device is used to omit ‘hai’ from line number one, ‘?o??n ?o??n ?s ki d??m h?’ is ellipsed into ‘?o??n ?o??n ?s ki d??m’ to bring brevity and conciseness in the riddle. The present marker ‘h?’ is omitted from the first line in order to maintain rhythm it. Similarly, in line number two, sentence ‘?at? ko haz?r a?r d?n ko g?m’ is ellipse into ‘?at? ko haz?r d?n ko g?m’. The conjunction ‘a?r/and’ is an ellipse in the second line of the riddle in order to create conciseness in the riddle.

2(b): Sheshon ki   kothari

???õ         k?    kot????

glass      of     room

‘Room of glass’

Kanton ki baar

k??nto?n k? b?:?

thorns of  bush

‘bush of thrones’

Safaid kala rang

S?f?d? k?l?  ???

white black color

‘White and black color’

Isi    se      sari    bahaar

?s?     s?     s???   b?h?:?

that’s from the whole spring

‘Whole happiness is because of it’

Answer: Ankhain (eyes)

Moreover, in line number one of the above riddle, ‘h?’ present marker is omitted from the end of the line ‘???õ k? kot????’. Though the meaning of the sentence or idea is still clear even in the absence of the present marker, the use of ellipsis avoids unnecessary repetition in lines to maintain the flow. In line number two, 'k??nto?n k? b?:? h?’ is ellipse into ‘k??nto?n k? b?:?’.‘h?' marker is omitted from the end of the riddle line to create rhythm. While talking about line number three, we see that the conjunction ‘aur/and’ is omitted from the sentence ‘S?f?d? k?l? ???’ for the sake of brevity. The present marker is also skipped in both last two lines of the riddle ‘S?f?d? k?l? ???’ and ‘?s? s? s??? b?h?:?’. The omission of ‘h?' present marker in the last line shortens the sentence '?s? s? s??? b?h?:? he’ into ‘?s? s? s??? b?h?:r’ to save space and to avoid repetition.

Asyndeton in Urdu Riddles

Asyndeton is the omission or absence of conjunction in words, phrases or sentences, for example, I came, I saw, I conquered. Alabi's (2007) defines asyndeton “as the deliberate omissions of conjunction between a series of related clauses”. The examples of the use of asyndeton in Urdu riddles are given below: 

3(a):  Roshan   roshan   is ki     dum

?o??n       ?o??n     ?s ki     d??m

bright      bright     its       tail

‘Its tail is bright’

Raat    ko     hazir     din ko              gum

?at?        ko    haz??    d?n ko              g?m

night    at     present   during the day   lost

‘It is present at night but absent during the day’

Answer: Jugnu (lantern fly)

The second line of the above riddle omits the conjunction ‘a?r/and’ from the line ‘?at? ko haz?? d?n ko g?m’. The use of this stylistic device deliberately omits ‘a?r’ conjunction from the sentence, or else the sentence would be '?at? ko haz?? a?r d?n ko g?m’. The use of the conjunction ‘and’ basically shows that one action follows another in chronological order. As we see in the second line of the above riddle that there are two clauses of the same structures, the second clause gives additional information about the first clause, which is to be separated by the use of conjunction ‘a?r/and’ but asyndeton device in the line omits conjunction in clauses and changes line ‘?at? ko haz?? a?r d?n ko g?m’ into ‘?at? ko haz?? d?n ko g?m’ in order to create flow and bring concession in the lines.

3(b):     Raat ko   jagay     din ko                 sohay

??:t ko    d??g?     d??n ko                  soe

at night   wakes   during the day sleeps

‘Wakes up at night and sleeps during the day’

Ulta                latkay    seedha  na   hoay

?lt?                 l?tk?       si:d??    n?    hoe

upside down   hangs    straight  no    be

‘Hangs upside down but won’t be straight’

Answer: Ullu (owl)

Similarly, riddle number 3(b) omits the conjunction ‘a?r’ from the first line. The sentence ‘??:t ko d??g? d??n ko soe’ uses asyndeton device to eliminate conjunction ‘a?r’ from the actual sentence ‘??:t ko d??g? a?r d??n ko soe’. As conjunction ‘and’ is used to add words, phrases or clauses similar to one another or which are parallel, we can see that line number one of the above has two clauses of the same structures, but the use of the asyndeton technique deliberately omits conjunction ‘a?r/and’ in between clauses to make it more concise. Moreover, in line number two of the riddle, asyndeton is used for the omission of conjunction ‘l?kin’ (but) from the sentence ‘?lt? l?tk? si:d?? n? hoe’. As both clauses show a contrastive statement so conjunction 'but' would have been used to show a contrast, but the asyndeton device in the line deletes the conjunction and makes it ‘?lt? l?tk? si:d?? n? hoe’ instead of ‘?lt? l?tk? l?kin si:d?? n? hoe’ in order to shorten the riddle.




Anaphora in Urdu Riddles

Anaphora entails the repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginnings of successive stages of the chosen pattern” Alabi's (2007). The repetition of the words helps to establish a marked rhythm in Urdu riddles, joining the previous line with the following line and completing the idea as a whole. Moreover, it is used to emphasise an idea or an underlying point. Consider the following examples:

    4(a): Jab     bhi     aya    shor    machaya

d??b    bi      ?j?     ??:?     m?t??j?

when   also  came  noise   made

‘Whenever it came, it made noise’

Ap   ko   apne   pass    bulaya

?p    ko  ?pn?   p?s     b?l?j?

you   to   your  close    called

‘It called you towards itself’

Ap      ne    phir    bhi     jaldi      aa ker

?p       n?    p???     b?     d??ld??      ?: k??

you    by    then   also   quickly   came

‘Then you also came quickly’

Baat    suni    kaan    laga   ker

b?:t      s?n??   k?:n    l?g?   k??

talk      listen  ear      apply  do

‘Heard the talk by listening’

 Answer: Telephone

The above riddle uses the anaphoric expression “?p(you)” in two lines of the riddle without any gape to create a rhetorical effect, evoke sentimental responses and emphasis the subject. The use of the anaphoric expression 'ap’ in the second and third lines focuses on the subject “ap” and suggests that the idea has not yet finished; rather, more is coming. Moreover, this device also creates emphasis in the lines of the riddles as it joins the previous line with the following line and completes the idea as a whole to solve the riddle.

4(b):  Sonay    ka   ban     ker   ata       hai

son??      k?   b?n     k??   ?t??       h?

Gold      of   made   do  comes   is

‘Appears like that of gold’

Sonay   ka   ban     ker    jata     hai

son??     k?   b?n    k??    d??t??   h?

Gold    of    made   do    goes    is

‘It goes after becoming like gold’

Lekin hai    yeh    baat     nerali

l?k?n   h?      j?      b?:t?    ne??l?

But     is      this    thing   unique

‘But it has a unique thing’

Har su           Chandni    bekhairta  hai

h?? su            t???nd??n?     b?k???t??     h?

Everywhere    light          spreads    is

‘It spreads light everywhere’

Answer: Suraj (sun)

The repetition of the anaphoric expression ‘son?? k? b?n k?? (made of gold)’ in the first two consecutive lines of the riddle creates emphasis in the minds of the listeners that the thing referred to is somehow related to gold or has characteristics like that of gold for instance it shines or is bright like gold. Moreover, gold's colour also directs the riddle to connect the ideas or thoughts to come up with an answer. Furthermore, the repetition of the words ‘son?? k? b?n k?r (made of gold)’ in line number one and two further extends the whole idea and connects the last line “h?? su t???nd??n? b?k???t?? h? (spreads light everywhere)” to the rest of the lines, creating a rhetorical effect and facilitating the riddle to emphasise on the referred quality (spreads light everywhere) to solve the riddle.




Epizeuxis in Urdu Riddles

Epizeuxis is a form of repetition in which one word or a short phrase is repeated in succession with no other words in between. According to Alabi's (2007), "epizeuxis is when a word or phrase unbrokenly appears again and again”. Epizeuxis devise in Urdu riddles is employed for direct repetition to lay emphasis on the text. Furthermore, the use of this stylistic device usually signifies numerous emotions being expressed in the riddles. The researcher examines the following The following examples illustrate the use of epizeuxis in Urdu riddles and the wide-ranging functions that the device achieves in the riddles.

 5(a): Jon jon     agay        qadam   barhaye

d?u? d?u?    age          k?d??m   b??hae

as it        forward     steps     takes

‘As it takes further steps’

Apna    nishaan    mitati    jaye

?pnã      n??a: n     metat??   d?ae

Own       marks     erases   goes

‘It erases its marks’

Answer: Kashti (ship)

The above riddle uses epizeuxis device and repeats the word “joon” in the first line of the riddle, hinting at the idea that as it takes a further step ", d?u? d?u? age k?d??m b??hae” it erases its marks “?pnã n??a:n metat?? d?ae" as we know that ship while moving in the water leaves behind its waves which soon disappear, so the whole idea of it is inferred in the riddle. By the use of this expression, hearers are attuned to what the speaker wants to convey, and the hearers start to connect to the things which have characteristics of erasing their marks as it progresses further steps.

5(b): Ghoom ghoom   ky    hui   tiyaar

g?u:m g?u:m      ke     hu?   t??ja:?

roam              of     got   ready

‘Got ready while roaming around’

Sab    ko    ahay   is      pe     piyaar

s?b    ko      ae     ?s      pe     p?ja:?

all      to    come  this    on     love

‘Everyone loves it’

Answer: Jalaibi

Similarly, the above riddle repeats the word “g?u:m” unbrokenly in the first line as we know that “d??lebi”, a very common and delicious Indian sweet, is popular all over South Asia, Egypt and the Middle East. Basically, it is made while Squeezing the muslin cloth to make concentric circles. So, the whole idea of its preparation is inferred in the first line that it gets read while moving around. Therefore, the epizeuxis expression “g?u:m g?u:m” gives an idea about the answer to the riddle and draws attention to the referred idea by repeating the same word again and again.




Hyperbole in Urdu Riddles

Hyperbole is a Lexico-Syntactic device. It is used for extravagant exaggeration. Alabi cites, “this is the use of exaggerated words, a figurative expression in which a fact or a situation is blown out of proportion” (2007). It is also used to create a fun element in the text. In Urdu riddle, this technique is especially implied to create the desired effect. Consider the following examples:

6(a): Pehle    har        koi           shoq        se        kha  le

pehl?     h??        ko?            ?ok         s?         k??   l?

first      every   someone interested from     eats it

‘Firstly, everyone eats it with interest’

Baad  main    khoon    ugalta    jaye

b?:d?    m??       k?u:n     ?g?lt??   d??e

Later on, blood    spits      goes

‘Later spits out the blood’

Answer: Paan

Hyperbole in the above riddle deliberately exaggerates the entire fact of eating a “Pa:n”. The use of this device is applied to accentuate the thoughts, ideas and images presented in the riddle. Pa:n is basically made with betel leaf along with areca nuts and is widely consumed throughout Southeast Asia, East Asia and the Indian subcontinent too. Pa:n after chewing is either spat out or swallowed. So, the above riddle, through the use of the stylistic device “hyperbole”, exaggerates the whole fact of eating a “Pa:n” and represents it as something which everyone eats with interest (pehl? h?? ko? ?ok s? k?? l?) and later spits out the blood (b?:d? m?? k?u:n ?g?lt?? d??e). Basically, the remaining part of “Pa:n” is spitted out from the mouth, not the blood. So, the hyperbole device in the riddle exaggerates the usual way of eating a “Pa:n” and builds humour in the riddle through extravagant exaggeration of expressions.

6(b):    Khala    chaali    hawa      ke   sath

K??l?     t??li      h?w?     k?    s?t??

Aunt      went      air off with

‘Aunt went with the air’

Inki      chutia      mery    hath

?n ki      t??t?j?     me??     h?t??

their      braid        my      hand

‘Their braid is in my hands’

Answer: Patang (kite)

It is interesting to observe that exaggerated statements are present in both lines of the riddle. The first line says that aunt went with air (K??l? t??li h?w? k? s?t??). We see that line number one overstates the fact and represents the idea as something unusual. There is no such human in this world who goes with the air. Secondly, their braid in my hands (?n ki t??t?j? me?? h?t??) also overstates the idea of flying a kite and represents it in an unusual or unrealistic way. The deliberate exaggeration of flying a kite is represented in the above riddle as we know that the kite goes with the air, and there is a string tied with it, so the person flying a kite has a grip on the kite and doesn't let it go. So, the whole idea of it is overemphasised in the riddle to make the riddle much more interesting. In addition, the use of this stylistic device represents a common thing in an intense matter, confusing the hearer and dramatising the overall text.

 The results of the current study are in line with the previous study on Vietnamese by Thai (2011). According to Thai (2011), Vietnamese riddles use hyperbole, and it is a way of creating fun and difficulty in the riddles.

Personification in Urdu Riddles

Personification is a figure of speech in which humanistic qualities or attributes are given to non-living or abstract entities in order to make the idea solid and concrete. Obafemi et al. (2002) define personification as “a figure of speech in which human qualities are attributed to inanimate objects”. Personification in Urdu riddles serves the function of giving deeper meaning to the text. Consider the following examples:

7(a):    Aik    gooray  ko   jab      nehlaya

One   white     to   when   bathed

?k      g?:??      ko  d??b   næhl?j?

‘When a white man was bathed’

Tarpa       chekha    shor    machaya

t???p?         t??k??      ?o?      m?t??j?

Pulsated   shouted  noise   made

‘He pulsated, shouted and made noise’

Answer: Chuna (lime)

Personification in the above riddle gives humanistic characteristics to lime which is an inanimate entity. We see that the first line is clearly indicating to a white man that when a white man was given a shower (?k g?:?? ko d??b næhl?j?), he pulsated, shouted and made noise (t???p? t??k?? ?o? m?t??j?). All of these are inherent or natural human behaviours, but the use of the personification technique in the riddle associates these humanistic qualities with the non-living entity "lime”, which has no ability to feel any human emotion.

7(b):  Jab  bhi     isko       gusa    ahay

d??b bi      ?s ko      g?s?    ?e

whenever  to it  angry comes

‘Whenever it becomes angry’

Sab ko       chor     ker    lakri     khaye

s?b ko       t?o?       k??    l?k?i     k??e

everyone   leave    do     wood   eats

‘Leaves everyone and eats wood’

Answer: Aag (fire)

Personification is a stylistic device in which non-human things are given human attributes, as in the sentence “d??b bi ?s ko g?s? ?e” is indicating towards the emotion of 'anger/g?s?’ which a human instinct. Similarly, line number two is also discussing a human trait which is ‘eating’ as we can see that line saying “s?b ko t?o? k?? l?k?i k??e”, leaves them all and eats wood, is indicating towards the action of “eating” which is a human trait and non-living things lack it. So, eating and getting angry are humanistic qualities, but the above riddle uses a personification device to give “fire” the attributes of a human being. Thus, this literary device adds vividness to the expressions, and we look at things from a human perspective. Moreover, the use of personification in the riddle is also bringing the inanimate thing to life. Their nature and actions are, thus, understood in a much better way.




Synecdoche in Urdu Riddles

Synecdoche is a literary device in which one part is put to represent the whole or vice versa Alabi's (2007). In this device, it may happen that a part is used to denote the whole, the whole to a part, or the name of the entity for the thing made. Following are the Urdu riddles selected for stylistic analysis of the synecdoche device. In addition, the researcher also identifies various functions that this literary device accomplishes in the different riddles.

8(a): Daikh  ker   uska     kamaal        uska      hunar

d?ek?    k??   ?sk?     k?m?:l        ?sk?      h?n??

see      do    of the perfection   of his     skill

‘Seeing his perfection, his skill’

Badshahon      ka    bhi    jhuk     jata        hai sar

b?d????on       k?    bi     d???k   d??t??     h?     s??

kings           of    also   bow go is    head

‘Even the heads of kings are bowed down’

Answer: Hajaam (barber)

It is interesting to notice that in the last line of the riddle, the word "b?d????on” functions as a synecdoche and it is representing all the kings of the world as a whole. The above riddle, while referring to “barber”, says that seeing his perfection, his skills (d?ek? k?? ?sk? k?m?:l ?sk? h?n??), even the heads of kings are bowed down (b?d????on k? bi d???k d??t?? h? s??). So, we see that the riddle uses a single word, “badshahon”, but refers to all the kings of the world as a whole. Therefore, by the use of this stylistic device, the listeners think more about what is being said, the more memorable it becomes, and the more engaging audience is in the riddling session.

8 (b): Sab            ke        dastar   khawaan   pe    ahay

S?b            k?         d??st??   k??w?:n   p?     ?e

Everyone with a table cloth           on    comes

‘It comes at everyone’s table cloth’

Shah   ke     sath      bhi     khana     khaye

??h     k?      s?t??       bi      k??n?      k??e

shah    of     with      also    meal        eats

‘It eats meal with shah also’

Answer: Makhi (bee)

Similarly, in the above riddle word “Shah” functions as a synecdoche. Shah is basically a title given to the emperors, lords, princes and kings of Iran. The riddle while talking about bees, says that it comes at everyone's table cloth (S?b k? d??st?? k??w?:n p? ?e) and even eats food with Shah too (??h k? s?t?? bi k??n? k??e). So, the above riddles, through synecdoche, use the “Shah” word to represent the whole Shahs of the world. Moreover, the use of this literary device shows that the speaker is forcing the listener or hearer to put in a little bit of effort in order to determine what he/she means.




Simile in Urdu Riddles

Obafemi et al. (2002) define simile as a comparison of two dissimilar things, which are usually connected through the words ‘as’ or ‘like’. It is a Lexico-Syntactic device which shows an overt comparison of two dissimilar things at certain points. The below-mentioned Urdu riddles depict the use of simile devices and their function in the riddles.

9(a):   Kaali  aisi   jaisy kawwa

k?li    æs?   d?æs? k?w?

Black such  like    crow

‘Black like a crow’

Gool      aisi    jaisy  tawwa

g?:l      æs? jæs?   t??w?

Round   such as pan

‘Round like a pan’

Tu   nahi   hai   gaind    jaisi

t?u    neh?   h?    gæ?nd?  d?æsi

You are not ball     like

‘You are not like a ball’

pigal    jae     to    moom    jaisi

p?g?l   d??e   t?o    mu:m    d?æsi

melt    goes, then   wax-like

‘It melts like that of a wax’

Answer: kaali mirch (Black Pepper)

It is interesting to note that the first line of the riddle uses simile and compares black crow with that black pepper. The beginning line uses a simile device to show commonality between two different things, such as black pepper and crow, as we know that both of these entities have a similar characteristic of having black colour. Therefore, the simile in the first line compares crow with that of black pepper by using the word “like”, as we can see that line clearly says, “it's black like a crow" (k?li æs? d?æs? k?w?). Similarly, the second line of the riddle is also using a simile device and comparing the round shape of a pan with that of black pepper by saying its round like that of a pan (g?:l æs? jæs? t??w?). Both items are dissimilar but are round in shape, so the simile in the second line compares both of the items by using the word “like” to make the description more vivid. Moreover, line number three says you are not like a ball (t?u neh? h? gæ?nd? d?æsi). Here disagreement is shown that black pepper is not like that of a ball. Lastly, line number four says, "p?g?l d??e t?o mu:m d?æsi” when it melts, it is like wax. So, the last line of the riddle uses a simile device to show the comparison of black pepper with that of wax. The end line shows the commonality of both wax and black pepper, which are two, unlike things, by saying that when they melt, they appear like wax. So, the comparison in the last line is made by using the "like" word in the line.

9(b):    Rang    hai   jaisy   anda

??n h?   d?æs?  ??nd??

colour is     like an egg

'The colour is like an egg'

Sakht    hai   jaisy    danda

s?k??t?    h?   d?æs?   d??nd??

hard       is     as        stick

‘It is hard as a stick’

Answer: Olay (hail)

The expression “Rang hai jaisy anda” in the starting line of the riddle is a simile. Here riddle uses simile and says about hail that its colour is like that of an egg. Furthermore, the last line of the riddle “s?k??t? h? d?æs? d??nd??” also uses simile and says that it is hard as a stick. A comparison of two dissimilar things is seen in the above riddle by the use of the words ‘as’ and ‘like’ both. The last line of the riddle uses a simile device and compares hail with that of a stick by saying it is hard as a stick. So, the simile device in the last line is utilised to show commonality between the two dissimilar things, which are a stick and a hail, to make the description much more emphatic. Moreover, this device is used to draw sharp images in the minds of the listeners through direct comparison.




Metaphor in Urdu Riddles

A metaphor is a figure of speech that explains an object or an action in a way that is not literally true but helps in describing an idea or making a comparison. It is a hidden comparison between two different things at all levels. Moreover, it is a figure of speech that makes a hidden or implicit comparison between two things that are not related to each other but share some common qualities or characteristics. In simple words, the resemblance of two contradictory or different objects is made on the basis of a single or some similar characteristics through the use of this stylistic device. The following Urdu riddles use the metaphor. 

10(a):   Aur   tehni  lambi  si

o?     tehni  l?mbi  si

And   stem  long    is

‘And the stem is long’

Nechay   bana    hai  phool

nit??       b?na    h?    p?u:l

Down     made   is    flower

‘There is a flower made at the bottom’

Wahaan    jo    chahy   is ko  daikhay

w?ha:n    dzo    t???      is ko  dek?ae

There   who  wants    to it    sees

‘Whosoever wants to see, can see it there’

Hai  bara  Maqbool

h?    b??a  m?kbu:l

Is    very  popular

‘It is very popular’

Answer: Minaar-e-Pakistan

In the above riddle line, “o? tehni l?mbi si” is a metaphorical expression. Here riddle is imparting Minaar-e-Pakistan the characteristics of a flower by saying that it’s a long stem with a flower made at the bottom. Since Minaar-e-Pakistan is way heightened and has a flower-like base at the bottom so, the whole idea of it is metaphorically expressed in the lines of the riddle. Furthermore, metaphorical expression is extended in the further lines. As the lines say, anyone who wants to see it can see it there “w?ha:n dzo t??? is ko dek?ae”, and it’s a very popular “h? b??a m?kbu:l" as we know that people often go and visit Minaar-e-Pakistan because of its popularity, so the whole concept of it is represented in the lines of the riddle metaphorically by comparing Minaar-e-Pakistan with that of a flower, which has a long stem. So, the metaphor in the above riddle creates an image that is beautiful and profound. Moreover, it is serving the function of sharpening hearers or readers’ imaginations to easily comprehend what is being said or communicated to them.

10(b):     Aik   phaal  kalay   rang    ka

?k    p??l    k?l?     ???      k?

one   fruit    black colour of

'One fruit of black colour'

Sab ky        sar     per   aa jaye

s?b k?         s??     p??   ?: d??e

Everyone’s  head   on   comes

‘Comes on everyone’s head’

Jab bhi      badal    gir gir         aen

d??b bi      b?d??l    g?? g??          ??

whenever  clouds falls down   comes

‘Whenever clouds fall down’

Ye     sar     per     ajae

j?      s??     p??    ?d??e

it      head   on     comes

‘It comes on head’

Answer: Chatri (umbrella)

Similarly, the above riddle uses metaphor to compare a black fruit with that of an umbrella. As the line, while referring to an umbrella, says that it is black fruit, it is on everyone's head, and whenever the clouds fall, it comes on our head. So, we can see those metaphorical expressions in the above riddle comparing an umbrella with that of a fruit which are two opposite or dissimilar things, and this comparison serves a great function because it helps the listener's mind to visualise the things in order to understand or unpuzzle the riddle. 




Archaic in Urdu Riddles

This Lexico-Syntatic device covers the difficult vocabulary used in riddle lines. Alabi's (2007). says "This is used to show the level of education or social accomplishment, they are attention focusing". Following are the lines where the riddle employs archaic or difficult vocabulary. The researcher randomly selects riddles to analyse this stylistic device moreover examines the functions they play in Urdu riddles.

11(a):       Laal    kothari   ke   hain  laal  kawaar

L?:l    kot???i    k?   h??     l?:l   k?w?:?

Red     room      of   is      red   courtyard

'A red room has a red courtyard'

Ander  is k   motion     ki    qataar

?nd???   ?s k?  mot??jo?n   ki    k?t??:?

inside   its      pearls     of   queue

'Inside it is a queue of pearls'

Answer: Muh aur dant (mouth and teeth)

In the above riddle, ‘kot???i’ and ‘k?w?:?’ are examples of difficult vocabulary. The above riddle, while hinting towards the riddle answer, confuses the hearer by the use of such difficult words. kot???i is basically a small room, and k?w?:? refers to a lawn or courtyard. So, the above riddle uses difficult vocabulary to seek the concentration of the hearers or listeners. It also beautifies the text and confuses the hearer so that the riddle is not solved that easily.

11(b):    Is mulk         ky    naam   ky   panch    haroof

?s m?l?k       k?    na:m    k?   pa:nt??   h??u:f

This county   of     name   of     five      words

‘The letters of this country are five’

Pehle  do   hata      dain     to   khanay   ki   cheezz

p??l?   d?o   h?t?a       de?       t?o   k?a:ne    ki   t?i:z

First    two remove  give    so    food     of   thing

'If we remove the first two letters, then it is the name of a food'

Akhri   teen   na  ho  to chehray ka ghuzu

a:k??i  t?i:n     nã  hõ        t?o    t?e??    ka : guz?v

Last    three  no  present so   face    of   part

'If the last three letters are not present, then it is a face part'

Aik  shay baareeq  aik    shay    dabeez

?k    ?e    ba:?i:k    ?k     ?e        d?bi:z

One thing   thin     one   thing    thick

'One is thin, and one is thick'

Answer: Lbnan (Lebanon)

Similarly, the above riddle has the words “guz?v” and “d?bi:z” as difficult vocabulary. Ghuzu is used to refer to the human body part whereas dabeez refers to thickness. So, both of these words are attention focusing and difficult to comprehend. Moreover, the use of archaic attracts concentration and builds the focus of the audience on the riddle.

The results of the present study differ from the previous study. Tizazu and Awol (2020), at the syntactic level, showed that Cheha Gurage riddles have only three types of sentences such as simple sentence, compound sentence and complex sentence structures. In some complex and compound sentence riddles, the subject I/he/she is not clearly stated; however, by using some clues such as the employment of the masculine and feminine words which come with the simple predicate, they can be known in riddles.

Conclusion

The present study is an attempt to analyse Urdu riddles by considering Alabi's (2007) model for stylistic analysis. In Lexico-syntactic patterns, the first variation which was identified is anastrophe. This device inverts the usual word order in riddles for creating stress and capturing the reader's attention. After anastrophe, this work identified the use of ellipsis in Urdu riddles. Ellipses in riddles omit words in the lines for the sake of brevity, concession and to build vagueness in an idea. Similarly, the researcher explores the asyndeton device, which omits conjunctions within riddle lines to speed up the rhythm. The fourth lexico-syntactic device, which was found in Urdu riddles, is anaphora which is found in most riddle verses where phrases are repeated in consecutive lines to highlight a specific idea. The study also found the use of epizeuxis which repeats words in succession with no other words in between to lay emphasis on the text. To sum up the analysis, the conclusion is drawn that riddles acquire in them various stylistic devices which are used artistically to embellish the text and to create an impact on the minds of the listeners or hearers.

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