PREPOSITIONS AS DEICTIC MARKERS IN SELECTED ENGLISH HYMNS

Abstract

This study examines the deployment of prepositions in selected English hymns from the 17th and 18th Centuries. Despite extensive research on prepositions in language pedagogy and contrastive linguistics, their role in hymns remains underexplored. This knowledge gap serves as the motivation for this study. It focuses on the functional role of prepositions in hymns. Hymns play a vital role in Christian worship, conveying fundamental truths about the Christian faith. Therefore, this study aims to identify and analyse prepositions embedded in five English hymns, examining their functions within the contexts of these hymns. The analysis of this study is grounded in Quirk et al’s (1985) theoretical framework on prepositions. The data consists of purposively selected hymns from three prominent hymnals: The Catholic Hymn Book, The Baptist Hymnal and The Redeemed Hymnal. The selection encompasses five distinct categories of hymns (Birth of Christ, Character of God, Praise, Christian life and Prayer) which reflect unique themes. The study’s findings highlight the use of seven (7) types of prepositions in the selected hymns and the crucial role they play in shaping the spatial, temporal and relational dimensions of worship as reflected in the hymns. This study offers a nuanced understanding of English hymns, demonstrating how prepositions function as pointers that orient believers towards God, foster communal worship and facilitate spiritual connection.