Shifts in Arabic Grammatical thought in the light of modern linguistics

Abstract

This article traces the trajectory of the transformation of modern Arabic grammatical studies under the influence of contemporary linguistic approaches, especially the descriptive method and transformational-generative linguistics. The study starts from the Arab descriptivists’ critique of traditional grammar in terms of its reliance on formal logic, its focus on specific corpora, and its conflation of levels of analysis. It then shows how this critique developed into reform projects that sought to maintain a connection with the heritage while remaining open to new approaches. The article focuses on four main milestones: Ibrāhīm Anīs’s stance on inflection (iʿrāb) and the theory of governance (ʿāmil), Tammām Ḥassān’s reconstruction of the grammatical system in light of the theory of clues (qarāʾin), and the use of transformational-generative linguistics in Arabic grammar by Māzin al-Waʿr and Khalīl Aḥmad ʿUmāyrah. It concludes that these attempts despite their differences did not aim to abolish Arabic grammar, but rather to reread it from within, free it from some of its formal constraints, and build a modern Arabic grammar that takes living language use and meaning/semantics as its point of departure, while preserving the heritage roots from which it emerged.