A corpus-based analysis of gendered language in spoken religious discourse

Abstract

This study employs corpus linguistics to analyze gendered language in religious discourse across three corpora: modern Arabic/English Friday sermons (MARC, MERC) and early Prophet Mohamed's sayings (Hadith). It specifically analyzes portrayals of women in sermons delivered exclusively by male preachers in Arabic and English, as well as in early Prophet Mohamed's sayings (Hadith). Quantitative comparisons of lexical density and collocational patterns reveal that modern sermons emphasize women’s physical appearance (e.g., attire) and traditional roles (e.g., motherhood), contrasting with early texts that acknowledge women’s individuality and agency. Semantic preference analysis shows singular ‘woman’ in modern contexts collocates with moral deviation, while plural "women" aligns with morality and collective protection. The study highlights how modern religious language in Arabic and English perpetuates gender stereotypes more conservatively than classical sources. The study emphasizes the potential of modern technology in revisiting religious literature and provides a comparative analysis of gendered language in Arabic and English for aligning doctrinal communication with gender equity goals.