Chapter published in:
Handbook of Terminology: Volume 2. Terminology in the Arab worldEdited by Abied Alsulaiman and Ahmed Allaithy
[Handbook of Terminology 2] 2019
► pp. 7–30
Chapter 1The history of Arabic lexicography and terminology
After the death of the Prophet Mohammad in 632 A.D., Moslem scholars were in need of understanding certain verses in the Holy
Qur’an and some of the Prophet’s oral tradition and sayings. This need motivated a linguistic movement including grammar and
lexicography.In the eighth century, Arabic linguists used to leave cities such as Basra and Kūfa for the desert to meet the Bedouins and
record their “pure” language, which was not influenced by the non-Arabic-speaking, new converts to Islam who had settled in
the cities.Based upon their manual corpus, those linguists produced several monographs or specialized vocabularies on various topics such
as: men, horses, camels, houses, weapons, snakes, plants, etc., before they embarked upon compiling a full-fledged dictionary.
One can safely say that terminology preceded lexicography in the history of Arabic linguistics.As Islam expanded from Gaul in Europe to Turkistan in just one century after the Prophet’s death and Arabic became the world’s
language, Arabic dictionaries and terminologies, monolingual and bilingual, were compiled in various parts of the world.Through the ages, Arabic lexicography underwent quantitative and qualitative changes, notably in the following areas:
- arrangements of entries: phonetically-based alphabetical arrangement with root permutation, normal alphabetical order with root permutation, rhyme order, thematic arrangement, ordinary alphabetical arrangement of roots, alphabetical arrangement of words, combinations of those arrangements, etc.;
- arrangements of sub-entries;
- arrangements of the senses of the entry word;
- definitions of entries;
- the inclusion of encyclopedic information.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Beginnings of grammar
- 3.Beginnings of lexicography
- 3.1Al-̱Halīl ’Ibn ’Aḥmad Al-Frāhīdī
- 3.2Al-Farāhīdī’s dictionary
- 4.Selection of entries
- 5.Arrangement of entries
- 5.1Phonologically-based alphabet with root permutation
- 5.2Normal alphabetical order with root permutation
- 5.3Rhyme order
- 5.4Normal alphabetical arrangement
- 6.Arrangement of sub-entries
- 7.The arrangement of senses
- 8.Types of information provided in Arabic dictionaries
- 8.1Phonological information
- 8.2Grammatical information
- 8.3Encyclopedic information
- 8.4Illustrative quotations
- 9.Descriptive or prescriptive dictionaries
- 10.Western contribution to Arabic lexicography
- 11.Specialized terminological dictionaries
- 11.1Special dictionaries
- 11.1.1Fī ḥudūd Al-’ašyā’ wa Rusūmihā
- 11.1.2Kitāb Al-ḥurūf
- 11.1.3Risālat Al-ḥudūd
- 11.1.4’I̱hwān Al-ṣafā’s monograph
- 11.1.5Al-mubīn
- 11.2General terminological dictionaries
- 11.2.1Mafātīḥ Al-culūm
- 11.2.2Al-tacrīfāt
- 11.2.3Al-kulliyāt
- 11.2.4The Indians’ contributions
- 11.1Special dictionaries
- 12.Arabic dictionaries at present
- 13.Conclusion
-
Acknowledgment -
References
Published online: 29 January 2019
https://doi.org/10.1075/hot.2.02alk
https://doi.org/10.1075/hot.2.02alk
References
Abu Rīda, Mohammad Abd Al-Hadi
Academy Academy of the Arabic Language
Al-cAdnanī, Mohammed
Al-Kattani, Mohammad
Al-̱Ṯacālibī
Baalabaki, Ramzi
Ḥamad, Abdullah
Haywood, John A
Ibn Al-Sikīt
Ibn Duraid, Mohammad
Ibn Sīnā.
Jamiu, Fatai Owolabi
Ould Bah, Mohammad El Moukhtar
Sledd, James H., and Gwin J. Kolb
The Glorious Quran
Translated by Marmaduke Pickthall.