Customer Reviews

A Study of Arabic Phonology

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This comprehensive book places special emphasis on the phonological changes which occur in the Arabic language. The essential themes in Arabic phonology are the assimilation, the changes due to the hamza, the unsoundness due to the weak letter, i.e. the w and y, and the substitution. Each theme in this book has its own chapter and takes up and studies in detail various examples illustrating the diverse phonological changes, the sequences leading or prohibiting their occurrences, and some various anomalies.

The vast table of contents and the indexes referring to qur'anic quotations, verses of poetry and names of people are very detailed. One the one hand, they will help the reader to find the topics that interest him or her quickly, and on the other, they will stimulate him or her for further research. The book's references to the classical Arab grammarians, e.g. Sibawaihi, Ibn Jinni, al-Mu'addab,Zamakhshari,Ibn al-Anbari etc., and to modern linguists, makes it a very instructive and useful tool.

I can highly recommend it.

This is a very beautiful and useful book that will fascinate many readers who are interested in getting an in-depth study of the various aspects of Arabic phonology. The different changes that can affect a word are discussed and analyzed in detail. The readers will be satisfied with the rich data, the advanced theories and the references to important linguistic works. Furthermore, the numbered paragraphs and numerous indexes offer a great structure to the work and are of great help for finding quickly the topics of interest.

This book presents basic and thought-provoking themes relating to the phonological changes that a word can be submitted to in the classical Arabic language. The author focuses on central topics, such as the assimilation, changes due to the hamza and weak letter, substitution, elision, addition, or transposition of vowels and letters.

It is a pleasure to see Arabic data, analyzes and theories presented in a modern study about Arabic phonology. The insights of Arab grammarians are integrated into mainstream linguistics, and in this manner the result is favorable for both Arabs and Arabists.

A very poorly written listing of sound changes in the history of Old Arabic and in Quranic readings. It basically translates the traditional descriptions of the Arab grammarians in very poor English and confusing non-standard linguistic terminology. I'm shocked that a book of this quality can be published at all. Not recommended for anyone.