Akhta al-Lugha al-Arabiya al-Muasira inda al-Kuttab wal-Idhaiyin
- Author died
- 1424 AH
- Editions
- Alam Al-Kutub
Akhta al-Lugha al-Arabiya al-Muasira inda al-Kuttab wal-Idhaiyin (Errors of Contemporary Arabic among Writers and Broadcasters) is a specialized work on modern linguistic usage and correction by the Egyptian linguist Ahmad Mukhtar Umar (d. 1424 AH / 2003 CE). The book investigates spoken and written lapses in contemporary media, offering systematic corrections grounded in standard Arabic grammar, morphology, and modern academy rulings.
Background and Purpose
The book represents the culmination of nearly forty years of observation and tracking of common usages among writers and media presenters, a habit Umar began during his early secondary studies at the Cairo Religious Institute. Following his father's interest in sending linguistic critiques to media personnel and contributing language notes to the newspaper Al-Ahram, Umar published his own observations across various cultural journals, such as Al-Risala, al-Kitab, al-Adab of Cairo, and al-Adab of Beirut.
Umar initially dedicated a single chapter to these observations in his earlier book Min Qadaya al-Lugha wal-Nahw (1974), which he then expanded into a dedicated volume titled al-Arabiyya al-Sahiha (1981). Later, while teaching courses on common linguistic errors and expressive writing at the Institute of Radio and Television Training, he identified specific gaps in broadcasters' language education. He systematically monitored spoken bulletins, political commentaries, and press reviews across Cairo Radio, Egyptian Television's Channel One, Kuwait Radio, the BBC Arabic service, and the Voice of America, combining this empirical field collection with material gleaned from contemporary journalistic columns.
Methodology and Scope
Unlike classical treatises on common linguistic errors (kutub al-lahn), the work focuses on living Modern Standard Arabic rather than inherited textual errors. Umar's approach incorporates several guiding principles:
- Emphasizing the usages of prominent intellectuals, established authors, and daily columnists rather than addressing rudimentary grammatical slips that would only serve elementary learners.
- Relying on well-established, widely accepted grammatical rules while avoiding anomalous variants and marginal grammatical disputes.
- Expanding analogical derivation (qiyas) to accommodate modern vocabulary, expressions, and relational adjectives (nisba) where they do not contradict fundamental grammatical patterns.
- Adopting official decisions and standardizations issued by the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo.
- Providing pedagogical summary tables and practical training exercises derived from contemporary broadcast and print texts.
Structure
The book is organized into six main chapters:
- Introduction and Orientation (Madkhal wa-Tamhid): Discusses the author's motives, the distinct challenges of spoken versus written language, errors by famous writers, practical recommendations for reducing broadcasting lapses, and guidelines for pronouncing and standardizing foreign and local proper names.
- Phonetic and Pronunciation Critique (al-Ma'akhidh al-Sawtiyya wal-Nutqiyya): Examines auditory and articulatory errors exclusive to oral performance and broadcast delivery.
- Morphological Critique (al-Ma'akhidh al-Sarfiyya): Details recurring deviations in word formation, such as the dualization of defective and shortened nouns (al-maqsur), the proper usage of kila and kilta, and the vocalization of verb paradigms.
- Syntactic and Structural Critique (al-Ma'akhidh al-Nahwiyya wal-Tarkibiyya): A detailed survey of errors in numeral syntax (ahkam al-'adad), diptotes (al-mamnu' min al-sarf), exception structures (al-istithna'), apposition, annexation (al-idafa), negation particles, gender agreement, and convoluted sentence structures.
- Lexical and Semantic Critique (al-Ma'akhidh al-Mu'jamiyya wal-Dalaliyya): Focuses on improper vocalization of word roots, semantic shifts, confusion between similar phonetic or morphological roots, and erroneous active/passive verb alternations.
- Replies to Selected Queries (al-Ihaba 'an Ba'd al-As'ila): Provides detailed resolutions to specific linguistic queries and disputed modern idioms.
Publication History
The first edition of the book was published in Cairo by 'Alam al-Kutub in 1411 AH / 1991 CE. A second edition appeared from the same publishing house in 1993 CE.
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