This general introduction to the Arabic Language, now available in paperback, places special emphasis on the history and variation of the language. Concentrating on the difference between the two types of Arabic - the Classical standard language and the dialects - Kees Versteegh charts the history and development of the Arabic language from the earliest beginnings to modern times. The reader is offered a solid grounding in the structure of the language, its historical context and its use in various literary and non-literary genres, as well as an understanding of the role of Arabic as a...

Landmarks in Linguistic Thought Vol 3 is devoted to a linguistic tradition that lies outside the Western mainstream, namely that of the Middle East.
The reader is introduced to the major issues and themes that have determined the development of the Arabic linguistic tradition. Each chapter contains a short extract from a translated landmark' text followed by a commentary which places the text in its social and intellectual context. The chosen texts frequently offer scope for comparison with the Western tradition. By contrasting the two systems, the Western and the Middle Eastern,...

Landmarks in Linguistic Thought Vol 3 is devoted to a linguistic tradition that lies outside the Western mainstream, namely that of the Middle East.
The reader is introduced to the major issues and themes that have determined the development of the Arabic linguistic tradition. Each chapter contains a short extract from a translated landmark' text followed by a commentary which places the text in its social and intellectual context. The chosen texts frequently offer scope for comparison with the Western tradition. By contrasting the two systems, the Western and the Middle Eastern,...

In this volume the author examines the origins of Arabic linguistics on the basis of the earliest Qur'ānic commentaries (1st half of the 8th century A.D.). The material used includes both edited texts and manuscript commentaries. Various chapters analyze the exegetical methods of the early commentators (such as Muqātil and Muḥammad al-Kalbī) and their use of grammatical terminology. These data are compared with the earliest grammatical treatises (Such as Sābawayhi and Farrā'). The material presented here constitutes an important source of evidence for the...