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    Sibawaihi: Transformational grammar
    Sibawaihi: Transformational grammar
    Sibawaihi: Transformational grammar
    Ebook58 pages4 hours

    Sibawaihi: Transformational grammar

    By El Mouatamid Ben Rochd

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    About this ebook

    THE BOOK
    THIS BOOK is a short glimpse on the huge encyclopaedic work on Arabic grammar, achieved by Persian Sibawaihi ("apple smell"). To put it in Mazini's terms: "Whoever wants to write about (Arabic) grammar after Sibawaihi, let him feel humble". This book further shows that the transformational grammatical operation suggested in Chomsky's Syntactic Structures (1957) onward, is a fundamental principle of this masterpiece. It cuts across all levels of linguistic analysis, i.e. phonology, morphology, syntax and stylistics.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBooks on Demand
    Release dateMar 4, 2020
    ISBN9782322191369
    Sibawaihi: Transformational grammar
    Author

    El Mouatamid Ben Rochd

    El Mouatamid is a scholar of languages and religions. He has lectured at different international universities and has published several books about language and culture including Hayya Arabica people and language.

    Read more from El Mouatamid Ben Rochd

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      Book preview

      Sibawaihi - El Mouatamid Ben Rochd

      SIBAWAIHI

      Title

      Author

      Contents

      First a story!

      Transformation

      Morphology

      Phonetics & Phonology

      A Summary of Theoretical Background of Sibawaihi’s Al-Kitab

      Conclusion

      BIBLIOGRAPHY

      GLOSSARY

      Copyright

      Title

      El Mouatamid Ben Rochd

      SIBAWAIHI’S 

      TRANSFORMATIONAL

      GRAMMAR

      Books On Demand

      THIS BOOK is a short glimpse on the huge encyclopaedic work on Arabic grammar, achieved by Persian Sibawaihi (apple smell). To put it in Mazini’s terms: Whoever wants to write about (Arabic) grammar after Sibawaihi, let him feel humble. This book further shows that the transformational grammatical operation suggested in Chomsky’s Syntactic Structures (1957) onward, is a fundamental principle of this masterpiece. It cuts across all levels of linguistic analysis, i.e. phonology, morphology, syntax and stylistics.     

      THE AUTHOR is a scholar, who has contributed much to the field of linguistics, including his latest publication Traditions in Linguistics (Books-On-Demand). He has lectured extensively about Sibawaihi’s Grammar in different countries, notably Volgograd (Russia), Wien, Berlin, Frankfurt, Baden Baden (Germany) and Leiden (Holland).

      Dr. El Mouatamid Ben Rochd

      Contents

      First a story!

      1.    Introduction

      1.1.    Chomsky’s TG

      1.2.    Islamic culture

      1.3.    The Status of Arabic

      1.4.    Sibawaihi’s Life

      1.5.    Sibawaihi’s Al-Kitab

      1.6.    Basra and Kufa Schools

      2.    Transformation

      2.1.    Deletion Transformation

      2.2.    Assimilation

      2.3.    Re-syllabification

      2.4.    Transformations

      2.4.1.     FOCUS

      2.4.2.    DELETION

      2.4.3.    AGREEMENT

      2.4.4.    CASE

      2.5.    Movement  Transformation

      3.    Morphology

      3.1.    Verb Forms

      4.    Phonetics & Phonology

      5.    A Summary of Theoretical Background of Sibawaihi’s Al-Kitab (Volume I)

      6.    Conclusion

      7.    BIBLIOGRAPHY

      8.       GLOSSARY   32

      First a story!

      My speciality is Chomsky’s syntax. I once met a bitter confrontation from some colleagues from the Arabic department, who are specializing in Arabic nahw. They criticised, even ‘insulted,’ Chomsky grammatical theory! Giving them the credit of the doubt, I asked: ‘What is the alternative!’ They boastfully answered ‘The Ocean!’ ‘What is the ocean?’ they answer kitab Sibawayh!’ I went to buy it and then spent much time reading it and finally debating it with them. They didn’t have much to say after that. I did learn much from this incident. I wish I could thank them! Now I know Chomsky’s theory and have crossed the ‘Ocean’!

      Thanks Friends! [cf. John Dos Passos!]

      Introduction

      Chomsky’s TG

      The title ‘Sibawaihi’s TG grammar’ may sound as an anachronism since it is well known that the notion ‘transformation’ was promoted by Noam Chomsky ever since he published his first book Syntactic Structures in 1957. Chomsky’s contribution was dubbed ‘major break’ (Robins), even ‘revolution’ (Smith & Wilson). Still the reader of Sibawaihi’s Al-Kitab finds that the notion ‘Transformation’ is present in the kitab and indeed cuts through the three levels of linguistic analyses viz. phonetics, morphology and syntax.

      Islamic culture

      Islamic culture was a mixture of Arabic, Greek, Persian, Moorish, Indian and even Chinese cultures! The Umayyad dynasty promoted medicine and astronomy, whereas the Abbasids focused on the Arabic language that had become the instrument and container of all sciences. Iraq in particular became the focal center of learning as Europe and the U.S.A. are nowadays! Sibawaihi came as the culmination of that enormous linguistic endeavor with

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