al-Tasghir fi Alqab al-Usar
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- al-Tasghir fi Alqab al-Usar
al-Tasghir fi Alqab al-Usar (Diminution in Family Titles) is an onomastic and linguistic treatise by the Saudi scholar Ibrahim bin Abdullah al-Mudayhish, examining the prevalence and motives of grammatical diminutive forms (tasghir) in the family surnames of Najd, particularly in the al-Qassim region .
Background and Purpose
The treatise was motivated by literary discussions held at the Monday salon (ithnayniyyah) of Muhammad bin Nasir al-Ubbudi, where al-Ubbudi highlighted the concentration of diminutive family names in the town of al-Shiqqah (historically known as Darij al-Qassim), and Abdullah bin Salih al-Washmi raised the question of why diminutive forms for personal names and everyday items were so common in Najd . Although al-Ubbudi considered the trait distinctive of al-Shiqqah, al-Mudayhish set out to demonstrate that it is a general phenomenon across Najdi towns .
Content and Method
Al-Mudayhish explores the morphological, psychological, and social causes behind the attachment of diminutive titles to families :
- Critique of Prior Explanations: The author examines the linguistic purposes of diminution, such as endearment (tamlih), reduction, and distinction between individuals with identical names . He discusses the view of linguist Abu Aws Ibrahim al-Shamsan, who attributed the phenomenon to past economic hardship in central Arabia and the persistence of childhood pet names into adulthood . Al-Mudayhish argues that endearment is rare and that most diminutive surnames originated as adult nicknames or teasing monikers (iyarah) applied for belittling or distinction, which then adhered to the person's descendants and fractured larger clans into separate family branches .
- Onomastic and Statistical Sampling: Drawing on sample volumes from al-Ubbudi's biographical dictionaries of families in Buraydah and Unaizah, along with Fahd al-Kulayb's work on the families of al-Zulfi, the author estimates that roughly 40 percent of surveyed Najdi families bear diminutive surnames . He catalogues dozens of examples, including patterns incorporating the diminutive suffix -an (such as al-Hujaylan, al-Thunayan, and al-Humaydan) .
Composition and Publication
The author completed the original draft in Riyadh on 10 Rabi al-Thani 1438 AH, and produced a revised and expanded second edition on 25 Rajab 1438 AH (April 2017 CE), noting feedback received from Ibrahim bin Muhammad Abanami . The treatise was circulated in digital format .
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