31215 - Arab Philology 1

Learning outcomes

Students know the fundamental aspects of the Arabic language’s structure, being able to compare them with the linguistic phenomena occurring in the same area (Semitic). They are aware of the Arabic language’s evolution within its cultural and geographical framework diachronically.

Course contents

The Arabic Philology course is designed to provide students the theoretical and practical tools they need to study the Arabic language and its linguistic legacy, as well as investigate its written representations. The study of the main sources and processes of knowledge transmission, as well as an understanding of the particular aspects of the Arabic manuscript, will contribute to the reconstruction of the Arabic philological tradition.
In this context, particular attention will be given to the history of the grammatical tradition and Arabic linguistic thought, examining the grammatical schools and theories of the main grammarians and lexicographers, with a focus on the sources used in the process of standardizing Classical Arabic.
Through the study of case-studies (such as, for example, Judeo-Arabic), students will also be invited to reflect on the importance of language and writing systems, in general, as identity factors of a community, and on the concept of linguistic continuity in Arabic multiglossia for the representation of linguistic variation that avoids a hierarchical description of languages (in terms of high and low varieties), even in modern thought.

A theoretical approach will be complemented by a practical-experimental one that will consist of reading, translating and analyzing selected printed texts and manuscripts in Arabic.

Required languages: Italian; English; Arabic

Readings/Bibliography

All texts are available on Virtuale. Throughout the course, students will be informed of possible changes.

Bibliography:

• Allen, Roger, La Letteratura Araba, Bologna: Il Mulino, 2006. Cap. 2 (pp. 67-81).
• Carter, Michael G., “Sībawayhi”, Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, (2012). https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/sibawayhi-COM_1068?s.num=429&s.rows=100&s.start=400.
• Carter, Michael G., “The Development of Arabic Linguistics after Sībawayhi: Basra, Kufa and Baghdad”, in Auroux, Sylvain, Koerner, E. F. K., Niederehe, Hans-Josef, Versteegh, Kees, and Philipps, Sören (eds.), History of the Language Sciences. An International Handbook on the Evolution of the Study of Language from the Beginnings to the Present, 1 (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2000): pp. 263–72.
• D’Ottone, Arianna, “Arabic Palaeography”, in Bausi, Alessandro, et al (eds.) Comparative Oriental Manuscript Studies: An Introduction, (Hamburg: COMSt, Comparative Oriental Manuscript Studies, 2015): pp. 271-276.
• Ferguson, Charles A, “Diglossia”, Word, 15/2 (1959): pp. 325–340.
• Gacek, Adam, Arabic Manuscripts: A Vademecum for Readers, (Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2009) (selected sections).
• Gutas, Dimitri, Greek Thought, Arabic Culture: The Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement in Baghdad and Early ʻAbbāsid Society (2nd-4th/8th-10th Centuries), (London; New York: Routledge, 1998) (selected sections).
• Hary, Benjamin, “The Importance of the Language Continuum in Arabic Multiglossia”, in Elgibali, Alaa (a cura di), Understanding Arabic. Essays in Contemporary Arabic Linguistics in Honor of El-Said Badawi, (Cairo, Egypt: The American University in Cairo Press, 1996): pp. 69–89.
• Heijer, Johannes den, Schmidt, Andrea B. e Pataridze, Tamara, (a cura di) Scripts Beyond Borders: a Survey of Allographic Traditions in the Euro-Mediterranean World, (Louvain-la-Neuve: Leuven: Université catholique de Louvain, Institut orientaliste; Peeters, 2014) (selected sections).
• Sagaria Rossi, Valentina, “Manuscripts in Arabic Script”, in Bausi, Alessandro, et al (eds.) Comparative Oriental Manuscript Studies: An Introduction, (Hamburg: COMSt, Comparative Oriental Manuscript Studies, 2015): pp. 34-38.
• Ventura, Alberto, Zilio-Grandi, Ida, Yahia, Mohyddin, and Amir-Moezzi, Mohammad Ali, (eds.) Il Corano, Milano: Mondadori, 2010. Introduzione (pp. XI-LXVIII).
• Versteegh, Kees, The Arabic Language, Second edition, (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2014) (selected sections).
• Zack, Liesbeth e Schippers, Arie, (a cura di) Middle Arabic and Mixed Arabic: Diachrony and Synchrony, 64, (Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2012) (selected sections).

Excerpts (in Arabic)

• Quran (details on editions and translations used will be provided during the course)
  
• Sara, Solomon. 2003–2017. “Sibawayhi’s Al-Kitab, Chapters 1-80: Translation & Notes.” Journal of Arabic Linguistics Tradition, 1–15.
  

Additional teaching materials, which will form an integral part of the examination program, will be provided during the course.

 

The program for attending and non-attending students is the same.
However, students who do not attend the course are encouraged to reach out to the instructor in order to discuss study mode and expected competences in order to pass the exam.

Teaching methods

• Frontal lessons
• Interactive lessons

Assessment methods

The final test is an oral exam that assesses knowledge of the subject matter and analytical skills related to the Arabic language texts that were taught in the course.

A written test covering part of the theoretical topics in the syllabus may be taken during the course. This test is optional and will exempt all eligible students from that part of the syllabus in the final exam. Specific guidelines on the topics covered in the midterm test will be communicated in class.

Teaching tools

Texts, power-point, and additional materials provided by the instructor and made available on Virtuale.

Office hours

See the website of Valentina Bella Lanza