<![CDATA[This study aims to identify the forms of directive speech acts and explain how they reflect intercharacter relationships in Naguib Mahfouz’s short story Al-Hubb Wal-Qina’. Previous studies have examined directive speech acts in terms of their forms and functions, but their role in representing interpersonal dynamics in Arabic short stories warrants further investigation. This study employs descriptive qualitative methods. Data were collected from character utterances through the reading and note-taking technique and analyzed using the Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña model. Drawing on Searle’s speech act theory, the analysis classifies directive speech acts into commanding, requesting, advising, prohibitioning, and directive questioning. The findings identify 72 directive utterances, comprising 4 commands, 7 requests, 33 instances of advice, 1 prohibition, and 27 directive questions. Advice and directive questions are the most dominant forms, accounting for 45.83% and 37.50% of the data, respectively. Their predominance reflects the central role of guidance, evaluation, information seeking, and value negotiation in interactions between Fathiyah and Labib. Fathiyah frequently assumes the position of an adviser and evaluator, while her questions prompt Labib to explain his attitudes, religious practices, and personal views. However, commands and requests also reveal that authority and dependence shift according to the context and decisions being negotiated. These findings demonstrate that directive speech acts not only convey communicative intentions but also reveal how intercharacter relationships are constructed and negotiated through language.]]>
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