The Cambridge Handbook of Arabic Linguistics

Arabic linguistics encompasses a range of language forms and functions from formal to informal, classical to contemporary, written to spoken, all of which have vastly different research traditions. Recently however, the increasing prominence of new methodologies such as corpus linguistics and sociolinguistics have allowed Arabic linguistics to be studied from multiple perspectives, revealing key discoveries about the nature of Arabic-in-use and deeper knowledge of traditional fields of study. With contributions from internationally renowned experts on the language, this handbook provides a state-of-the-art overview of both traditional and modern topics in Arabic linguistics. Chapters are divided into six thematic areas: applied Arabic linguistics, variation and sociolinguistics, theoretical studies, computational and corpus linguistics, new media studies and Arabic linguistics in literature and translation. It is an essential resource for students and researchers wishing to explore the exciting and rapidly moving field of Arabic linguistics.

East and West: The Reconstruction of Linguists Network in the Arabic World

This study focused on linguistic ideas aimed at building linguist networks in the East and West. It made uses of an intellectual historical method. Documents, as books and scientific publications, were used both primary and secondary data. Linguists' writings were regarded as the major source. Historical papers, journals, and books that examine linguistic ideas, commentary on them, and other literatures linked to the subject were considered secondary sources. Re-reading was used to analyze the data received, particularly the aspects that had the most serious issues, were the most apparent, and attracted the most attention from linguists' ideas. This was done in order to come up with complete and critical findings that incorporate facts, hypotheses, and viewpoints. The study found that linguists who were connected in the network of linguistic study centers played an important role in disseminating linguistic ideas, both through the teaching and works of the kitab. This study concluded that Arabic linguistics had grown and developed in Islamic discipline in order to reach the totality of understanding of Lughat al-Tanzīl (al-Qur'ān). In general, the phenomena that stood out in the intellectual network were (a) the phenomenon of continuity and exploration with nuances of strict simāʻ and qiyās, (b) continuity and change with nuances of simāʻ and loose qiyās, (c) new synthesis through ikhtiyār (selection) and intikhāb (choice) processes with philosophical nuances, and (d) critical neo-synthesis with zhāhiriy nuances, which simplify ʻāmil, taʻlīl, and qiyās, ultimately affiliated to the Basrah and Kufa Network.

Polysemy as Hermeneutic Key in Ibn ʿArabī’s Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam

The present contribution discusses the role of polysemy within Ibn ʿArabī’s hermeneutic approach in the Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam. It argues that the Andalusian master’s conception of polysemy bears implications that stretch far beyond the field of Arabic linguistics, strictly understood, and that are tightly related to his vision of the polysemous and pansemiotic nature of existence. Thus, when investigated in the light of his metaphysical views, Ibn ʿArabī’s hermeneutic use of word polysemy, as arbitrary as it might appear at first sight, results perfectly consistent with his conception of the descent of language through multiple states of being and of the conjunction of form and meaning in the world of imagination. These metaphysical premises provide the epistemological foundations for Ibn ʿArabī’s linguistic and hermeneutic practices and build up one the finest and most complete metaphysical conceptions of language elaborated within the broader context of what might be defined the domain of ‘Islamic linguistics’.

The Will and the Presence of Human Being in Abu al-Hasan al-Ash’ari’s Thought: Explaining the Relation between Human and God in Kalam Discourse

This article tries to problematize the mainstream academic perspectives about fatalistic orientation and predetermined will of mankind attributed to the thoughts of Abu al-Hasan al-Asy’ari, founder of theological school in Islam named after his name. Benefited from phenomenological approach it proves that Ash’ari has conceptualized that mankind is free creature represented by his/her will as it is related to the will of God. This article argues that Ash’ari’s assertion that humankind has freedom is based on the fact that he/she has ability to feel the presence of the will in his/her consciousness as something belongs to him/her. Departing from the logic of Arabic linguistics, freedom is defined as free will found in human being regardless of whether it is created by mankind or by God. Knowing that human will is created by God theologically doesn’t mean that the will is predetermined in the state of consciousness due to the fact that al-Qur’an states that God has created a feeling of freedom for human being to feel free not to feel being determined. Since the conception of being is elucidated linguistically by Ash’ari as being found by finder, this projection has firmly been compatible with projection of phenomenological consciousness. This article ends with conclusion that the feeling of will in the sense of consciousness of it manifests human freedom without neglecting the will of God. This relation of two wills has enabled human being to be aware of his/her freedom and God’s one as unseparated dualism in human religious experience. [Artikel ini mencoba untuk melakukan problematisasi atas pandangan para sarjana mainsntream dalam diskursus teologi yang menyatakan bahwa pemikiran Abu al-Hasan al-Asy’ari, pendiri mazhab Asy’ariah, adalah fatalistik. Lebih lanjut, artikel ini ingin membuktikan bahwa pemikiran Asy’ari mempunyai perhatian yang besar terhadap kebebasan manusia yang direpresentasikan oleh adanya kehendak manusia yang berelasi dengan kehendak Tuhan dengan pendekatan fenomenologis. Artikel ini menjelaskan bahwa Asy’ari menegaskan kebebasan manusia dengan argumentasi bahwa ia mempunyai kehendak yang hadir dalam kesadarannya dan dinisbatkan kepadanya; orang yang berkehendak adalah orang yang mempunyai kehendak tanpa melihat siapa yang mewujudkan kehendak tersebut. Meskipun Tuhan menciptakan kehendak untuk manusia, tapi secara sadar kehendak itu dinisbatkan manusia. Pandangan Asy’ari tentang kehendak dan kebebasan manusia didasarkan pada logika Bahasa Arab dengan menyatakan bahwa eksistensi adalah wujud yang ditemu oleh manusia yang menemukan, mempunyai kesesuaian dengan fenomenologi yang menyatakan bahwa eksistensi adalah relasi kesadaran manusia terhadap wujud. Dalam konteks ini, kehendak merupakan bukti yang paling kuat atas eksistensi manusia yang bebas. Artikel ini berkesimpulan bahwa dalam pandangan Asy’ari manusia adalah makhluk yang bebas melalui kehendaknya tanpa harus mengkorbankan kehendak Tuhan. Lebih lanjut kehendak manusia dan Tuhan merupakan dualisme kesadaran eksistensialisme yang tak bisa dipisahkan dalam pengalaman kemanusiaan religius.]

ARABIC LANGUAGE SONOROUS SOUNDS IN THE ANCIENT ARABIC LESSON OF SOUNDS: DESCRIPTIVE AND ANALYTICAL STUDY

Among what some oriental researchers had decided, and has been followed by many of modern Arab researchers, is that the ancient arabic linguistics didn't pay attention to sonorous sounds in Arabic language so well as their consideration to the mute sounds. Their point of view is that these sounds got only superficial mentions, therfore, they didn't arrive to define the nature of these letters pretending that ancient phonologique scientists were considering them casual sounds, a part of mute sounds, in addition their effectiveness to the script more than their effectiveness to the aural. Although, if we get back to the patrimonial phonetic resources and read our ancient Arab scientists achievement, we find the opposite. What they arrived to in their researches in the description of sonorous sounds in its physiological and physical parts, or in its functional and syntactic parts, is not far from that proved by modern researchers of phonetics. Thus, this research will, trough description and analysis, work on the study of sonorous sounds in Arabic language by our ancient scientists. It will also see in the importance of their sonorous achievement.

Utilizing the Quranic Arabic Corpus as a Supplementary Teaching and Learning Material for Arabic Syntax: An Overview of a Web-based Arabic Linguistics Corpus

This article discusses the plan to implement the Quranic Arabic Corpus for the development of Arabic syntax teaching and learning materials (TLM), especially at the university level. The study explores an alternative Arabic syntax TLM development by utilizing a corpus, one of the most important linguistic research resources. In recent years, corpora have been widely utilized in developing teaching materials. The Quranic Arabic Corpus is beneficial not just in terms of additional references or examples, but also in facilitating grammatical understanding and discussion. The highly adequate syntactic annotations recorded in this corpus can also be used to discover and explore the syntactic analysis of every word in the Quran, so that it can be easily implemented in the analysis, examples of each chapter, or section of the discussions in Arabic syntax. Based on the analysis of this corpus’s content and its relevance with the existing Arabic syntax teaching materials, it is shown that this corpus can be incorporated as a supplement of Arabic syntax TLM. The following six steps should be followed to utilize this corpus in Arabic Syntax learning: (1) prepare the necessary tools, (2) select learning materials, (3) determine keywords, (4) access QAC, (5) search for keywords in QAC, and (6) select search results and proceed with the syntactic analysis. Keywords: Arabic syntax, linguistic corpus, Quranic Arabic corpus, teaching and learning materials