Slogans and songs are fundamental components of the revolutionary experience. In its linguistic and musical form, the phrase ya hef (‘what a shame’) became a slogan of the 2011 Syrian revolution and served as a force for instigating a socio-political change in contemporary Syria. This paper investigates ya hef and its political potential in contemporary Syrian politics from a discourse-analytical perspective. After borrowing theories from cultural studies, discourse analysis and political studies, the article analyses the strong revolutionary connotations of the slogan and song within the discursive repertoire of massacre politics, focusing on both the general and specific functions. Through a close analysis of the song’s text, the study maps out three main arguments associated with the expression: 1) ya hef as a moral protest against state-sanctioned injustice and oppression; 2) ya hef as a response to the sentiment of brotherly betrayal among Syrians; and 3) ya hef as a cathartic mechanism for national reconciliation and nation-building. This article concludes that the expression ya hef is not only politically engaged in taking a stand against al-Assad’s brutality; it also fulfils a dialogical function between the oppressor and the oppressed, the ruler and the ruled and al-Assad and the Syrian citizens. This research adds to a growing body of literature on the uses and functions of language in revolutions in general and the Arab Spring protests in particular.

中文翻译：

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Ya Hef 在当代叙利亚政治中的政治潜力

口号和歌曲是革命经验的基本组成部分。在其语言和音乐形式中，该短语雅赫夫（“真可惜”）成为 2011 年叙利亚革命的口号，并成为推动当代叙利亚社会政治变革的一股力量。本文探讨雅赫夫从话语分析的角度来看，它在当代叙利亚政治中的政治潜力。文章借用文化研究、话语分析和政治研究的理论，从一般功能和特殊功能两个方面分析了屠杀政治话语库中口号和歌曲的强烈革命内涵。通过对歌曲文本的仔细分析，该研究得出了与该表达相关的三个主要论点：1)雅赫夫作为对国家认可的不公正和压迫的道义抗议；2)雅赫夫作为对叙利亚人兄弟间背叛情绪的回应；和 3)雅赫夫作为民族和解和国家建设的宣泄机制。本文的结论是表达式雅赫夫不仅在政治上参与反对阿萨德的暴行；它还在压迫者与被压迫者、统治者与被统治者以及阿萨德与叙利亚公民之间发挥对话作用。这项研究增加了越来越多关于语言在一般革命和特别是阿拉伯之春抗议活动中的使用和功能的文献。