The Early Islamic Grammatical Tradition

by Ramzi Baalbaki (Editor)

The last decades have witnessed a major resurgence of interest in the Arabic grammatical tradition. Many of the issues on which previous scholarship focused - for example, foreign influences on the beginnings of grammatical activity, and the existence of grammatical "schools" - have been revisited, and new areas of research have been opened up, particularly in relation to terminology, the analytical methods of the grammarians, and the interrelatedness between grammar and other fields such as the study of the Qur'an, exegesis and logic. As a result, not only has the centrality of the Arabic grammatical tradition to Arab culture as a whole become an established fact, but also the fields of general and historical linguistics have finally come to realize the importance of Arabic grammar as one of the major linguistic traditions of the world. The sixteen studies included in this volume have been chosen to highlight the themes which occupy modern scholarship and the problems which face it; while the introductory essay analyses these themes within the wider context of early Islamic activity in philology as well as related areas of religious studies and philosophy.

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 30, 2007

About the author

Ramzi Munir Baalbaki is a professor of the Arabic language at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. During a career which has spanned over thirty years, Baalbaki has been recognized as a significant contributor to the field of Arabic grammar studies.

Baalbaki earned his Bachelor of Arts with distinction in 1973 and his Master of Arts in 1975 from the American University of Beirut and his Doctor of Philosophy in 1978 from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

Baalbaki has been hosted as a visiting scholar at the University of Cambridge and University of Chicago as well as both a visiting scholar and scholar-in-residence at Georgetown University. His work has had a significant impact on Arabic linguistic studies in the Western world, and in 2010 he received the King Faisal International Prize for his extensive contributions to the field.

In 2013, the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies launched the Doha Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language with Baalbaki as the head of the project's academic council.