The Legacy of the Kitab: Sibawayhi's Analytical Methods Within the Context of the Arabic Grammatical Theory (51) (STUDIES IN SEMITIC LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS)

This book is a comprehensive study of the "Kitab of Sibawayhi" (d. 180/796), undoubtedly the most authoritative work in the long history of Arabic grammar. It carefully examines the methodological concepts and methods that underline "Sibawayhi's" analysis of Arabic and the way in which these methods evolved at the hands of later grammarians. Placing the "Kitab" within the context of early Arabic philological activity, this book analyzes a wide range of its passages and demonstrates the coherency of its author's system of grammatical analysis and the interrelatedness of his analytical tools and notions. In particular, Sibawayhi's huge influence on the overall Arabic grammatical tradition is highlighted throughout the book. This notwithstanding, it is argued that most later grammarians largely neglect the semantic dimension which vividly features in Sibawayhi's approach to language as a social behavior and his reconstruction of the internal thinking of the speaker and the listener. Preface -- Background Of The Kitāb -- Introduction -- Early Grammatical Activity And The Kitāb -- Grammarians Cited In The Kitāb -- Grammatical Works Contemporary With The Kitāb -- Fundamental Analytical Tools In The Kitāb -- Introduction -- Samā' (attested Data) -- Qiyās (analogy) -- ʻilla (cause) -- Taqdir (suppletive Insertion) -- ʻamal (government) -- Aṣl (origin) -- Group Membership -- Sibawayhi's Analytical Methods -- Introduction -- The Preservation Of Basic Rules -- The Classification Of Data Within A Coherent System -- The Balance Between Form And Meaning -- The Role Of The Speaker And Listener -- The Use Of Mitāl? And Šāhid? -- The Tools Of Checking System Validity -- The Internal Unity Of The Kitāb -- Comparison With Subsequent Authors -- Introduction -- From Sibawayhi To Mubarrad -- The Degeneration Of Sibawayhi's Approach And The Predominance Of Formal Considerations -- The Pedagogical Implications -- Attempts To Restore The Role Of Meaning. By Ramzi Baalbaki. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [307]-319) And Indexes. This book is a comprehensive study of the Kitāb of Sībawayhi (d. 180/796), undoubtedly the most authoritative work in the long history of Arabic grammar. It carefully examines the methodological concepts and methods that underline Sībawayhi's analysis of Arabic and the way in which these methods evolved at the hands of later grammarians. Placing the Kitāb within the context of early Arabic philological activity, this book analyzes a wide range of its passages and demonstrates the coherency of its author's system of grammatical analysis and the interrelatedness of his analytical tools and notions. In particular, Sībawayhi's huge influence on the overall Arabic grammatical tradition is highlighted throughout the book. This notwithstanding, it is argued that most later grammarians largely neglect the semantic dimension which vividly features in Sībawayhi's approach to language as a social behavior and his reconstruction of the internal thinking of the speaker and the listener. "This book is a comprehensive study of the Kitab of Sibawayhi (d. 180/796), undoubtedly the most authoritative work in the long history of Arabic grammar. It carefully examines the methodological concepts and methods that characterize Sibawayhi's analysis of Arabic and the way in which these methods evolved under later grammarians. Within the context of early Arabic philological activity, this book analyzes a wide range of the Kitab's passages and demonstrates the coherency of its author's system of grammatical analysis and the interrelatedness of his analytical tools and notions. In particular, Sibawayhi's huge influence on the overall Arabic grammatical tradition is highlighted throughout the book. This notwithstanding, most later grammarians largely neglect the semantic dimension which vividly features in Sibawayhi's approach to language as a social behavior and his reconstruction of the internal thinking of the speaker and the listener." --Book Jacket Preface Background of the Kitab Introduction Early "grammatical" activity and the Kitab Grammarians cited in the Kitab Grammatical works contemporary with the Kitab Fundamental analytical tools in the Kitab Introduction Sama' (attested data) Qiyas (analogy) ʻIlla (cause) Taqdir (suppletive insertion) ʻAmal (government) Asl (origin) Group membership Sibawayhi's analytical methods Introduction The preservation of "basic rules" The classification of data within a coherent system The balance between form and meaning The role of the speaker and listener The use of mital? and Sahid? The tools of checking system validity The internal unity of the Kitab Comparison with subsequent authors Introduction From Sibawayhi to Mubarrad The degeneration of Sibawayhi's approach and the predominance of formal considerations The pedagogical implications Attempts to restore the role of meaning. This book is a comprehensive study of Sibawayhi's methodological concepts and methods. It analyzes a wide range of the Kitabs passages, demonstrates the coherency of its authors system of grammatical analysis, and highlights its huge influence on the grammatical tradition.