Covering all aspects of the history of Arabic, the Arabic linguistic tradition, Arabic dialects, sociolinguistics and Arabic as a world language, this introductory guide is perfect for students of Arabic, Arabic historical linguistics and Arabic sociolinguistics. Concentrating on the difference between the two types of Arabic the classical standard language and the dialects Kees Versteegh charts the history and development of the Arabic language from its earliest beginnings to modern times. Students will gain a solid grounding in the structure of the language, its historical context and its use in various literary and non-literary genres, as well as an understanding of the role of Arabic as a cultural, religious and political world language. New for this edition: additional chapters on the structure of Arabic, Bilingualism and Arabic pidgins and creoles; a full explanation of the use of conventional Arabic transcription and IPA characters; an updated bibliography and all chapters have been revised and updated in light of recent research.
| Preface to First Edition |
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vii | |
| Preface to Second Edition |
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ix | |
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xii | |
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xiii | |
| Note on Transcription and Glossing |
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xiv | |
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1 The Study of Arabic in the West |
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1 | (9) |
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2 Arabic as a Semitic Language |
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10 | (16) |
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3 The Earliest Stages of Arabic |
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26 | (16) |
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4 Arabic in the Pre-Islamic Period |
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42 | (18) |
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5 The Development of Classical Arabic |
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60 | (25) |
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6 The Structure of Arabic |
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85 | (22) |
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7 The Arabic Linguistic Tradition |
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107 | (19) |
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8 The Emergence of New Arabic |
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126 | (26) |
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152 | (20) |
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10 The Study of the Arabic Dialects |
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172 | (20) |
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11 The Dialects of Arabic |
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192 | (29) |
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12 The Emergence of Modern Standard Arabic |
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221 | (20) |
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241 | (18) |
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259 | (17) |
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15 Arabic as a Minority Language |
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276 | (23) |
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16 Arabic Pidgins and Creoles |
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299 | (14) |
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17 Arabic as a World Language |
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313 | (20) |
| Bibliography |
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333 | (45) |
| List of Abbreviations |
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378 | (4) |
| Index |
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382 | |
Kees Versteegh (1947) is Emeritus Professor of Arabic and Islam at the University of Nijmegen (the Netherlands). He studied Classical languages and Semitic languages and obtained his Ph.D. with a dissertation Greek elements in Arabic linguistic thinking (Brill, Leiden, 1977). From 1973 till 2010 he taught Arabic at the University of Nijmegen; in between, he served from 1987 to 1989 as director of the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo. His research focuses on historical linguistics, the history of linguistics and processes of language change and language contact, dealing with topics such as the beginnings of the Arabic grammatical tradition, early Qur'anic commentaries and the emergence of Arabic pidgins and creoles.
His books include The Arabic language (Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 1997, revised edition 2014). The Arabic linguistic tradition (Routledge, London, 1997), Arabic grammar and Qurnic exegesis in early Islam (Brill, Leiden, 1993), and Pidginization and creolization: The case of Arabic (Amsterdam, Benjamins,1984). He was co-editor of the three-volume Handbuch für die Geschichte der Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft (de Gruyter, Berlin, 2000-2006), served as editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Arabic language and linguistics (five volumes, Brill, Leiden, 2006-2009), and with Jan Hoogland and Manfred Woidich, edited the Dutch-Arabic and Arabic-Dutch dictionary (2 volumes, Bulaq, Amsterdam, 2003).
