Taqwim al-Lisan
- Author died
- 597 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Ma‘ārif
Taqwim al-Lisan (The Rectification of the Tongue) is a treatise on common linguistic errors and solecisms (lahn al-amma) by the Hanbali scholar and preacher Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597 AH / 1201 CE) .
Composition and Purpose
Ibn al-Jawzi explained in his introduction that he composed the book after observing that many educated individuals and aspirants to religious learning had adopted vulgar vernacular expressions through habit and ignorance of proper Arabic linguistics . Recognizing that the corrections were dispersed across extensive lexicons and linguistic compendia—making them burdensome for indolent students to seek out—he decided to gather them in a concise guide . He also noted that earlier authors on the subject of lahn al-amma had either fallen short or erroneously rejected usages that were linguistically sound; he aimed to select widespread errors while omitting rare mistakes and those too blatant to require notice .
Structure and Content
The work is organized alphabetically according to Arabic letters (e.g., harf al-jim) . Under each section, Ibn al-Jawzi records incorrect vulgar vocalizations, morphology, and word choices alongside their correct classical equivalents . Among the entries discussed are vocalization errors—such as saying zanbur with an opening vowel instead of zunbur , or hudhiqa with a fatha instead of khasra —as well as improper pluralizations and lexical substitutions, such as using kutub or kutatib incorrectly for elementary schools , and saying jawabat instead of jawab .
Reception and Editions
Taqwim al-Lisan was frequently cited by later scholars, lexicographers, and traditionists, including al-Safadi, Ibn Tulun, and Alaa al-Din Mughaltay . Baha al-Din al-Amili cited entries from it in his al-Kashkul , and Agha Buzurg al-Tahrani characterized the work as comparable in stature to al-Hariri's Durrat al-Ghawwas .
The text has been edited by Abd al-Aziz Matar and published in Cairo by Dar al-Ma'arif (first published in 1966, followed by a second edition in 2006) .
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