Contrastive Analysis of Passive Voice in Arabic and English
In this study, we tried to examine the passive voices in Arabic and English with the
contrastive analysis method, which is a branch of linguistics. In the first part of our study,
which we have introduced with the concept of linguistics, we examined the passive voices
in the Arabic language and in the second part we also examined the passive voices in the
English language. In the third part, we revealed the similarities and differences between
the passive voices of these two languages. Thus, we tried to identify possible difficulties
within the passive voice in the target language, which is desired to be learned by students
of different nationalities. In order to overcome these difficulties, we offered several
solutions. We concluded that the translations and trainings that were carried out through
the target language learning and acquisition would be more functional, understandable
and useful.
When clarifying Arabic passive voices, we used Câmiu’d-Durûsi’l-Arabiyye, written by
Mustafa al-Galâyînî and İlahiyat Fakülteleri İçin Arapçaya Giriş 1-2, written by Soner
Gündüzöz, Ömer Acar, Tahirhan Aydın and Hacı Yılmaz. As regards to English passive
voices, we used the books titled A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language,
written by Randolph Quirk, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech and Jan Svartvik, and
Oxford Guide to English Grammar, written by John Eastwood. Examples of passive
voices in Arabic and English were quoted from various linguistics books, textbooks,
commentary books, rhetoric books, literature books, science books, cookbooks,
newspapers, magazines, social media resourses, novels, stories, website news, atlases,
encyclopediae, dictionaries, language exams, product promotion packages and catalogs,
anecdotes, idioms, proverbs, hadiths, official documents, audiovisual-based
documentaries, movies, songs, video games and classical studies. In short, we tried to
collect sample sentences from the language which is used in every sphere of life. In
addition to this, we have exemplified the passive voices in our study with sentences taken
from both in Arabic and English translation of the Holy Quran. As a result of this study,
we have reached the conclusion that passive phrases in both languages belonging to
different language families are used similarly in some cases and completely different in
other ones.
We hope that our study will benefit the acquisition, education and translation of the target
language and help the individual or student, who has a language ability in both languages,
to learn the target language more easily.
Keywords: Arabic; English; Passive Voice; Passive Structure; Sentence Structure;
Active Voice; Active Verb; Passive Verb