The Semiotics of Paratexts in the Andalusian Maqama: A Study in Semantic Density and the Horizon of Expectation

Abstract

Abstract:

This study aims to approach the textual thresholds of the Andalusian Maqama from a semiotic perspective, focusing on the "semiology of the title" and "opening strategies" as condensed structures performing guiding and interpretive functions. The research adopts Abu al-Hasan al-Nubahi al-Malaqi's Maqama, "On the Preference of Palm Trees," as an applied model to interrogate the problem of multiple titles in heritage texts and its impact on the recipient's "horizon of expectation." The study seeks to prove that the title in the Andalusian Maqama represents a "fertilized nucleus" and a seductive force capable of involving the reader in a network of ideological and aesthetic significations. The research concludes that the "semantic density" in al-Nubahi's original title surpassed titles suggested by investigators, as it exercised the "authority of omission" and symbolic transcendence, rendering the title a parallel to the civilizational conflict between the Self and the Other in al-Andalus.