Classic arabic

An amazingly systematic and consistent by then Arabic language, with almost mathematically precise morphology and grammar , as well as rich vocabulary and semantics , was standardized and codified in the Qur'an ^[4] . The second main source of literary language in the early Islamic period was pre-Islamic poetry of the Arabs ^[5] .

Before the rise of Islam, the Bedouins, although they considered themselves members of the same language community , their language did not have a single linguistic norm . Even in the language of poetry, which was considered overbearing, there were many options. After the Muslim conquests, the Arabic language, which became the language of the new empire , urgently needed standardization. There were several reasons for this. First, differences between spoken Arabic posed a real threat to communication within the empire. Secondly, the central government in Damascus , and then in Baghdad, wanted to establish control not only over the economy and religion, but also over the language. Thirdly, after the conquests, the vocabulary of the language quickly expanded, which needed regulation to maintain uniformity ^[5] .

The most important prerequisite for the written standardization of the language is the invention of spelling or, as in the case of the Arabic language, the adaptation of existing written practices to new circumstances. Then followed the development of a standardized language norm, an inventory and expansion of the vocabulary. After that, a stylistic standard develops. The existing Bedouin pattern served to develop poetic stylistics, however it was the appearance of the style of Arabic prose that marked the real beginning of the classical Arabic language ^[6] .

Standardized by Arab philologists in the 8th – 9th centuries and since then ceased to be used ^[7] in spoken language , the classical Arabic language has undergone only minor changes to this day ^[8] . This amazing stability allows the modern reader, with the appropriate preparation, to understand the language of works written many centuries ago ^[9] .

The modern literary (standard) Arabic language , which is the language of radio, television and international relations, remains basically a classical Arabic language with a vocabulary updated as necessary ^[8] . The Arabs themselves do not make a big difference between the classical and modern literary language, calling them al-arabiyyat-l-fusha (“correct Arabic”), as opposed to the “folk” (al-ammiyah) language, which exists in innumerable numbers dialects . There is also no chronological reference point when modern literary came to replace the classical Arabic language. Usually, Western scholars call the “written” language “classical”, used until the mid-19th century, especially the language of works written before the sunset of the political power of the Arabs in the 15th century ^[10] .

Consonants

As in modern literary Arabic, in classical Arabic there are 28 consonant phonemes :

Notes:

↑ Classical Arabic grammars ( Sibavehihi ) included an alif ( aː ) in this list to bring the number of phonemes to 29 ^[11] .

↑ Sibavehihi described the consonant ط as voiced / dˠ / , but some modern linguists question this statement ^[12] .

↑ Ibn Khaldun described the pronunciation of ق as voiced velar / g / and this could be an Old Arabic version of the pronunciation of this letter ^[13] .

↑ Non-emphatic / s / perhaps really was [ʃ] ^[14] , moving forward in the mouth before or simultaneously with a change in palatal.

↑ / l / becomes emphatic ( [ɫ] ) only in the word / aɫɫɑːh / (“ Allah ”) ^[15] , except when it is preceded by / i / or / iː / : / bismillaːhi / (“ In the name of Allah ” )

↑ / rˠ / ( velarized ) is pronounced without velarization up to / i / : [ r ].

Vowels

Notes:

• [e] could be an allophone of a short / a / in some situations of a vowel shift (imala) .
• In preclassical Arabic, [eː] arose as a result of the abbreviation of some ancient Arabic trifthongs . / eː / merged with / aː / in late classical Arabic.
• [ɑ (ː)] could be an allophone / a / and / aː / after uvular and emphatic consonants.

• Kees Versteegh . The Arabic Language . - 2nd, corrected. - Edinburgh University Press, 2014 .-- 431 p. - ISBN 9780748645299 .
• Keith Brown, Sarah Ogilvie. Concise Encyclopedia of Languages ​​of the World . - Elsevier, 2010 .-- P. 54 .-- 1320 p. - (Concise Encyclopedias of Language and Linguistics). - ISBN 9780080877754 .
• Clive Holes. Modern Arabic. Structures, Functions, and Varieties . - Georgetown University Press, 2004 .-- 419 p. - (Georgetown classics in Arabic language and linguistics). - ISBN 9781589010222 .
• Janet CE Watson. The Phonology and Morphology of Arabic . - Oxford University Press, 2002. - P. 307. - ISBN 9780199257591 .