TOWARDS A NEW THEORY OF ARABIC PROSODY

A Textbook for Students and Instructors

By

Zaki N. Abdel-Malek, Ph. D.

Former Professor of the Arabic Language, Arabic Literature, and Linguistics at the University of Utah, SLC, Utah, U. S. A.

ABSTRACT

Al-Khalīl b. ʾAḥmad al-Farāhīdī set out to construct a theory which defines and accounts for the prosodic system of ancient Arabic poetry.  Unfortunately, the outcome of his effort cannot be considered a “theory” in modern scientific terms.  Instead, the outcome in question comprises a set of observations based on compiling a body of primary data, classifying the data under various labels, and tabulating pertinent occurrences—all of which meets the requirement of observational adequacy and paves the way for constructing a valid, well-integrated theory.  In contrast, a theory must satisfy three basic requirements:  generality, descriptive adequacy, and simplicity.  Although otherwise rich in merit, al-Khalīl’s treatise does not satisfy these three basic requirements; thus, to call it a theory would underscore its deficiencies and downplay its worth.

The new theory which is proposed in this book, and which represents a Transformational-Generative perspective, seeks to supplement al-Khalīl’s effort by highlighting and satisfying the three basic requirements.  Especially worthy of mention is the fact that the new theory dispenses with the utmost complexity inherent in al-Khalīl’s treatise:  no longer does the corpus of primary data seem to be an overwhelming, unmanageable mass of arbitrary, disparate elements; and no longer do we have to deal with processes such as the so-called ziḥāfāt and ‘ilal which apply to seemingly random domains.  Instead, the entire corpus of primary data is now generated by a small set of general rules which the user perceives as simple and natural because they are largely related to a universal theory of prosody (the systematic study of metrical structure). 

Key Words:  Theory, observation, generality, adequacy, simplicity, meter, syllable, metric unit, rhyme.

To open the book:  Click on the cover.  Alternatively, click on the following link:

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Sy0i-Nbd-y_jqXGJqzPzg3KouqJIZVlO/view