Taraif fi al-Arabiyya - dimn Athar al-Muallimi
- Author died
- 1386 AH
- Editions
- Dār ʿĀlam al-Fawāʾid lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzīʿ
Tara'if fi al-Arabiyya (Curiosities in Arabic) is a specialized grammatical and morphological treatise by the Yemeni scholar Abd al-Rahman al-Muallimi al-Yamani (d. 1386 AH / 1966 CE), published as part of his collected works (Athar al-Mu'allimi).
Purpose and Scope
In his introduction to the treatise, al-Mu'allimi explains that anyone immersed in a particular discipline will occasionally notice subtle points and insights (nikat) not explicitly articulated by predecessors. Rather than blindly asserting these ideas or dismissing them out of self-doubt, he gathered these observations to present them to fellow scholars for evaluation, validation, or correction. The treatise addresses five specific grammatical and morphological problems, seeking to present novel deductions and solutions.
Contents
The treatise is organized around five main linguistic investigations:
- Gestural Indication and the Origin of Language: An examination of how physical articulation serves as pointing (isharah). Al-Mu'allimi reviews established theories on language origins—the imitation of natural sounds and the inherent correspondence between sounds and meanings—and notes that both account for only a small portion of language. He proposes a third perspective: vocalized pointing using the tongue and lips alongside suitable sounds, citing examples such as the demonstrative particles dha (masculine) and dhi (feminine), the first-person pronoun ana, and words like al-ma' and massa.
- Morphology of Tannur: An analysis of the inflection and etymological roots of the word tannur (oven).
- Morphology of Tuffah: An investigation of the word tuffah (apple). Al-Mu'allimi explores whether it derives from fuwwah (from the root f-w-h, denoting a diffusing fragrance), metathesized to wuffah, with the initial vowelled waw subsequently replaced by a ta'.
- The Pronoun of the Matter (Damir al-Sha'n wa-al-Qissah): A study on the syntactic behavior and semantics of the impersonal subject pronoun in Arabic grammar.
- The Verb Kada: An inquiry into the syntactic rulings, affirmative and negative meanings, and usage of the defective verb of imminence kada in Arabic literature and Quranic usage.
Manuscript and Publication
The work survives in an autograph manuscript preserved at the Library of the Grand Mosque in Mecca (Maktabat al-Haram al-Makki al-Sharif, MS 4709), bearing the author's handwritten title Tara'if fi al-'Arabiyya. The manuscript consists of approximately 13 leaves (measuring 23 × 16 cm) and features extensive authorial cancellations, revisions, additions, and duplicate drafts of certain sections. It was edited and published as the fifth treatise in the grammatical section of Athar al-Mu'allimi.
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