Buhuth wa Maqalat fi al-Lugha
- Author died
- 1422 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Khānjī
Buhuth wa Maqalat fi al-Lugha (Researches and Articles on Language) is a collection of philological and linguistic studies by the Egyptian scholar Ramadan Abd al-Tawwab (d. 1422 AH / 2001 CE), examining phonetics, morphology, dialects, linguistic historiography, and research methodology.
Background and Composition
The book brings together scholarly papers and articles that Abd al-Tawwab had written over a span of up to fifteen years. A portion of these studies had previously appeared in academic periodicals in Egypt, the wider Arab world, and the West, including the journal of the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo, al-Majalla al-Arabiyya, the journal of the Arab Academy of Damascus, the Iraqi journal al-Mawrid, the memorial volume for the German orientalist Anton Spitaler, Qafilat al-Zayt, and the journal of the Iraqi Academy of Sciences.
Other studies originated as papers presented at scholarly conferences and symposia, such as the Conference on Arabic Dialects in Asyut, the Arab Heritage Symposium in Cairo, and the Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti Symposium in Asyut. Several pieces were originally submitted to the Dialects Committee of the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo, where their findings were debated and contributed to some of the academy's official recommendations.
Abd al-Tawwab compiled the volume in response to requests from colleagues, researchers, and students, noting that researchers had frequently sought copies of specific papers, such as his study on the fifty anonymous poetic citations in Sibawayh's al-Kitab and his analysis of anomalous linguistic forms. When preparing the book, he did not republish the papers in their original form, but revised, abridged, expanded, and reorganized them thematically into distinct sections.
Structure and Contents
The book opens with an introduction by the author and is divided into six main parts containing twelve chapters, concluded by bibliographies of Arabic and foreign sources:
- Part One: On Speech Sounds (Phonetics): Addresses the sound of the letter qaf between Classical Arabic and various dialects, as well as the theory of onomatopoeia and sound symbolism (munasabat al-lafz lil-ma'na).
- Part Two: On Arabic Structures and Linguistic Development: Covers the phonological aversion to consecutive identical sounds in Arabic morphological patterns (karahat tawali al-amthal) and offers an explanation for anomalous forms (al-shawadhdh) in the Arabic language.
- Part Three: On the Principles of Linguistic Evidence: Critiques the traditional notion surrounding the fifty anonymous poetic citations in Sibawayh's al-Kitab (usturat al-abyat al-khamsin) and discusses the need for critical refinement of the classical linguistic heritage.
- Part Four: On the History of Arabic: Examines Classical Arabic in relation to modern challenges, as well as the tension between conservatism and modernization.
- Part Five: On Methods of Linguistic Research: Discusses the methodology of scholarly research and textual editing, and presents a critical analysis of the sources used by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti in his linguistic encyclopedia al-Mizhar fi Ulum al-Lugha.
- Part Six: On Arabic Dialects: Investigates the ancient dialectal characteristics of the Tayyi' tribe and traces survivals of ancient Arabic dialectal features in modern colloquial dialects.
Publication History
The work was first published in Cairo by Maktabat al-Khanji (alongside Dar al-Rifa'i in Riyadh) in 1403 AH / 1982 CE. A second edition appeared with Maktabat al-Khanji in 1408 AH / 1988 CE, followed by a third edition published by the same house in 1415 AH / 1995 CE.
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