Thanks to this beautiful edition, the editors have finally made available to the community of sch... more Thanks to this beautiful edition, the editors have finally made available to the community of scholars a short pedagogical treatise of the Arabic language entitled ‘the balance, or scales, of Arabic’. In their introduction, the two editors first present a codicological study (pages 4‒8) of the two known manuscripts of the text, British Library OR 8652, which they were able to examine, and Dār al-Kutub al-Miṣriyya, Maǧāmīʿ Ṭalʿat 875, of which they only saw a microfilm reproduction. In their s...
La publication en 2018 du manuel de linguistique arabe chez Routledge, cher, volumineux et signe ... more La publication en 2018 du manuel de linguistique arabe chez Routledge, cher, volumineux et signe par des auteurs en tres grande partie inconnus ‒ du moins de nous !, nous donne l’occasion de faire une recension comparative des derniers ouvrages similaires parus durant les cinq dernieres annees. Les quatre ouvrages consideres ici different tout d’abord par le nombre de leurs contributeurs. Tandis que D et V sont des ouvrages individuels, R et O sont des collectifs, qui rassemblent respectiveme...
Sībawayh describes /q/, /ṭ/, /b/, /ǧ/ and /d/ as [+ voiced + stop] phonemes. In pausal position, ... more Sībawayh describes /q/, /ṭ/, /b/, /ǧ/ and /d/ as [+ voiced + stop] phonemes. In pausal position, these phonemes are subject to qalqala, which can be described as the addition of a schwa [ə], and whose role is the proctection of the [+ voiced] feature of these phonemes. In standard Classical Arabic, the pronunciation of these phonemes has evolved (/q/ and /ṭ/ are now realised as [- voiced], and /ǧ/ as [+ affricate]). The consistency of qalqala as described by Sībawayh is thus lost, since the Qurʾānic recitation (taǧwīd) rule for qalqala does not fit the current standard pronunciation. In this study, we trace back a shift in the mere definition of qalqala as early as in al-Mubarrad’s Muqtaḍab that will enable Qurʾānic reciters to later remain blind to the fact that their actual pronunciation of some of these phonemes does not correspond to Sībawayh’s written description.
This article discusses theories designed by medieval Arabic grammarians to explain one of the mos... more This article discusses theories designed by medieval Arabic grammarians to explain one of the most puzzling topics in Arabic grammar, mamnūʿ min al-ṣarf (diptotes). The mainstream theory of mamnūʿ min al-ṣarf probably took on its definitive form in the early 4th/10th century; it differs from Sībawayhi’s (d. ca 180/796) theory, yet consists of a generalisation of features found in the latter. A later modification, which retained its basic elements, was presented to the mainstream theory probably during the 7th/13th century. A radically different theory was presented by al-Suhaylī (d. 581/1185), who harshly criticised the mainstream theory as inadequate and arbitrary.
Introduction Before we present the interview, it will be helpful to lay the context for the quest... more Introduction Before we present the interview, it will be helpful to lay the context for the question regarding the value of Christians exploring the holy book of Muslims, the Holy Qur’ān. This interviewer is often asked by Christian students: Can Christians read and understand the Qur’ān? How should a Christian assess the Holy Qur’ān? Can the reading of the Qur’ān nourish the spiritual life of Christians; and by Muslim students: What do you say about the Qur’ān? Though they look simple, these questions lead a student-scholar into a chequered history of Christian-Muslim Relations. Moreover, they cannot be considered in isolation but with the companion questions from the Muslim approach to the Holy Bible. In the context of such questions, we recognise that the Scriptures play an important role in shaping the faith of the people who adhere to a certain faith tradition. In interfaith dialogue, it is important to understand the Scriptures of the others for a fruitful conversation. This p...
The grammar of numerals is a complicated chapter in Classical Arabic treatises because it lies at... more The grammar of numerals is a complicated chapter in Classical Arabic treatises because it lies at the junction of many grammatical rules. In his Kitāb, Sībawayhi (d. 180/796?) analyzes numerals as a category of substantives resembling the adjectives that themselves resemble active participles, aiming at a deep consistency between all grammatical rules. In the Muqtaḍab, al-Mubarrad (d. 285/898) visibly prefers to collect as many peculiar cases as possible where numerals are involved, renouncing consistency at a wider scale. Lastly, in his ʾUṣūl, Ibn al-Sarrāj (d. 316/928) creates a specific grammatical category for numerals, systematizing a trend initiated by al-Mubarrad and initializing a way of analyzing grammar that seems to be predominant until the present day in the grammar of numerals.What has the grammar of numerals become in later grammarians? Did they refine Ibn al-Sarrāj’s systematic and exhaustive subdivisions? In this paper, I intend to explore Raḍī l-Dīn al-ʾAstarābāḏī’s (d. 688/1289?) grammar of numerals in order to understand how he deals with this complicated chapter of Arabic grammar. Each theory has its blind spots, i.e., assumptions that make vision possible but that are not questioned per se. Can we infer Raḍī l-Dīn al-ʾAstarābāḏī’s blind spots in his grammar of numerals? Could he escape the blind spots of his predecessors?
Thanks to this beautiful edition, the editors have finally made available to the community of sch... more Thanks to this beautiful edition, the editors have finally made available to the community of scholars a short pedagogical treatise of the Arabic language entitled ‘the balance, or scales, of Arabic’. In their introduction, the two editors first present a codicological study (pages 4‒8) of the two known manuscripts of the text, British Library OR 8652, which they were able to examine, and Dār al-Kutub al-Miṣriyya, Maǧāmīʿ Ṭalʿat 875, of which they only saw a microfilm reproduction. In their s...
La publication en 2018 du manuel de linguistique arabe chez Routledge, cher, volumineux et signe ... more La publication en 2018 du manuel de linguistique arabe chez Routledge, cher, volumineux et signe par des auteurs en tres grande partie inconnus ‒ du moins de nous !, nous donne l’occasion de faire une recension comparative des derniers ouvrages similaires parus durant les cinq dernieres annees. Les quatre ouvrages consideres ici different tout d’abord par le nombre de leurs contributeurs. Tandis que D et V sont des ouvrages individuels, R et O sont des collectifs, qui rassemblent respectiveme...
Sībawayh describes /q/, /ṭ/, /b/, /ǧ/ and /d/ as [+ voiced + stop] phonemes. In pausal position, ... more Sībawayh describes /q/, /ṭ/, /b/, /ǧ/ and /d/ as [+ voiced + stop] phonemes. In pausal position, these phonemes are subject to qalqala, which can be described as the addition of a schwa [ə], and whose role is the proctection of the [+ voiced] feature of these phonemes. In standard Classical Arabic, the pronunciation of these phonemes has evolved (/q/ and /ṭ/ are now realised as [- voiced], and /ǧ/ as [+ affricate]). The consistency of qalqala as described by Sībawayh is thus lost, since the Qurʾānic recitation (taǧwīd) rule for qalqala does not fit the current standard pronunciation. In this study, we trace back a shift in the mere definition of qalqala as early as in al-Mubarrad’s Muqtaḍab that will enable Qurʾānic reciters to later remain blind to the fact that their actual pronunciation of some of these phonemes does not correspond to Sībawayh’s written description.
This article discusses theories designed by medieval Arabic grammarians to explain one of the mos... more This article discusses theories designed by medieval Arabic grammarians to explain one of the most puzzling topics in Arabic grammar, mamnūʿ min al-ṣarf (diptotes). The mainstream theory of mamnūʿ min al-ṣarf probably took on its definitive form in the early 4th/10th century; it differs from Sībawayhi’s (d. ca 180/796) theory, yet consists of a generalisation of features found in the latter. A later modification, which retained its basic elements, was presented to the mainstream theory probably during the 7th/13th century. A radically different theory was presented by al-Suhaylī (d. 581/1185), who harshly criticised the mainstream theory as inadequate and arbitrary.
Introduction Before we present the interview, it will be helpful to lay the context for the quest... more Introduction Before we present the interview, it will be helpful to lay the context for the question regarding the value of Christians exploring the holy book of Muslims, the Holy Qur’ān. This interviewer is often asked by Christian students: Can Christians read and understand the Qur’ān? How should a Christian assess the Holy Qur’ān? Can the reading of the Qur’ān nourish the spiritual life of Christians; and by Muslim students: What do you say about the Qur’ān? Though they look simple, these questions lead a student-scholar into a chequered history of Christian-Muslim Relations. Moreover, they cannot be considered in isolation but with the companion questions from the Muslim approach to the Holy Bible. In the context of such questions, we recognise that the Scriptures play an important role in shaping the faith of the people who adhere to a certain faith tradition. In interfaith dialogue, it is important to understand the Scriptures of the others for a fruitful conversation. This p...
The grammar of numerals is a complicated chapter in Classical Arabic treatises because it lies at... more The grammar of numerals is a complicated chapter in Classical Arabic treatises because it lies at the junction of many grammatical rules. In his Kitāb, Sībawayhi (d. 180/796?) analyzes numerals as a category of substantives resembling the adjectives that themselves resemble active participles, aiming at a deep consistency between all grammatical rules. In the Muqtaḍab, al-Mubarrad (d. 285/898) visibly prefers to collect as many peculiar cases as possible where numerals are involved, renouncing consistency at a wider scale. Lastly, in his ʾUṣūl, Ibn al-Sarrāj (d. 316/928) creates a specific grammatical category for numerals, systematizing a trend initiated by al-Mubarrad and initializing a way of analyzing grammar that seems to be predominant until the present day in the grammar of numerals.What has the grammar of numerals become in later grammarians? Did they refine Ibn al-Sarrāj’s systematic and exhaustive subdivisions? In this paper, I intend to explore Raḍī l-Dīn al-ʾAstarābāḏī’s (d. 688/1289?) grammar of numerals in order to understand how he deals with this complicated chapter of Arabic grammar. Each theory has its blind spots, i.e., assumptions that make vision possible but that are not questioned per se. Can we infer Raḍī l-Dīn al-ʾAstarābāḏī’s blind spots in his grammar of numerals? Could he escape the blind spots of his predecessors?
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