History and Development of the Arabic Language

276 Pages·2016·2.24 MB·English

by  Muhammad al-Sharkawi

History and Development
of the Arabic Language
History and Development of the Arabic Language is a general introduction for students to the
history of the Arabic language. The book is divided into two parts: the pre-Islamic language
up to the emergence of the first well-known works of Classical Arabic and the transition
from the pre-Islamic situation to the complex Arabic language forms after the emergence of
Islam and the Arab conquests, both in Arabia and in the diaspora. The book focuses on the
pre-Islamic linguistic situation and introduces the linguistic geography and relevant demo-
graphic aspects of pre-Islamic Arabia. In addition, the book also discusses the communicative
contexts and varieties of Modern Arabic.
Suitable for students of Arabic and scholars of general and Semitic historical linguistics
and language contact, History and Development of the Arabic Language is an accessible
introduction to the fi eld.
Muhammad al-Sharkawi is Assistant Professor of Arabic at Wayne State University, USA.

History and Development
of the Arabic Language
From pre-Islamic times to the
age of conquests
Muhammad al-Sharkawi
First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 Muhammad al-Sharkawi
The right of Muhammad al-Sharkawi to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: al-Sharkawi, Muhammad A. author.
Title: History and development of the Arabic language : from pre-Islamic
  times to the age of conquests / Muhammad al-Sharkawi.
Description: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2016. |
 Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016017954 | ISBN 9781138821507 (hardback : alk. paper) |
 ISBN 9781138821521 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781315743271 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Arabic language—History.
Classification: LCC PJ6075 .E54 2016 | DDC 492.709—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016017954 data]
ISBN: 978-1-138-82150-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-82152-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-74327-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To Yamin and the Memory of my Father

Contents
List of maps ix
Preface xi
Introduction xii
 1 The geography and demography of pre-Islamic Arabia 1
PART 1
Sources of the study of Arabic 19
 2 Trustworthy data 21
 3 Grammarians and the dialects 35
PART 2
Pre-Islamic Arabic 49
 4 The pre-Islamic linguistic situation 51
 5 Pre-Islamic dialects 76
 6 Signs of development in pre-Islamic Arabic 90
 7 The dual paradigm 99
 8 The case system 110
PART 3
Arabic after Islam and diaspora 129
 9 The influence of Islam and the conquests 131
10 Arabicization 153
11 The dialects 177
12 Dialect division 189
viii Contents
PART 4
Classical Arabic 203
13 From pre-Classical to Classical 207
14 The functional load of Classical Arabic 218
Conclusion 227
Tables 230
References 231
General Index 241
Index of the pre-Islamic tribes 244
Index of medieval Arab scholars 245
Maps
Modern dialects of Arabic (full size version) x
1.1 The distribution of the Arab tribes in pre-Islamic times 2
1.2 Topographic and political map of the Arabian Peninsula 9
1.3 The topography of the Arabian Peninsula 11
1.4 Pre-Islamic Trade Routes 12
9.1 The Arab Empire 132
12.1 Modern Dialects of Arabic 190