Arabic Language Handbook : Georgetown Classics in Arabic Language and Linguistics (Mary Catherine Bateson)

ISBN: 0878403868
Author: Mary Catherine Bateson
Publisher: Georgetown University Press (April 1, 2003)
Pages: 127 Binding: Paperback

Description from the publisher:

"This handbook is designed to give the kind of information Arabic which will be useful to a student of the language, a specialist in the region where Arabic is spoken, or a linguist interested in learning about the structure and use of one of the world's principal languages." -From the Preface"Students and researchers with a need for a basic handbook on the foundations of Arabic will appreciate the thoroughness and extensive coverage provided." —American Reference Books Annual

The demand for information on learning Arabic has grown spectacularly as English-speaking people have come to realize how much there is yet to know about other parts of the world. It is fitting that this Arabic Language Handbook, complementing Georgetown University Press's exceptional Arabic language textbooks, is the first in a new series: Georgetown Classics in Arabic Language and Linguistics. Sparked by the new demand, this reprint of a genuinely "gold-standard" language volume provides a streamlined reference on the structure of the Arabic language and issues in Arabic linguistics, from dialectics to literature. Originally published in 1967, the essential information on the structure of the language remains accurate, and it continues to be the most concise reference summary for researchers, linguists, students, area specialists, and others interested in Arabic.

Mary Catherine Bateson is currently a visiting professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Table of Contents :

Foreword
Preface
Notations
Map of Arabic-Speaking Countries of Northern Africa and the Middle-East

An Outline of Arabic Structure
1.1 General features
1.2 Phonology
1.21 Consonants
1.22 Vowels
1.23 Syllable structure
1.24 Stress and pausal forms
1.3 The noun
1.31 Noun inflection
1.311 Case and determination
1.312 Gender
1.313 Number
1.32 Noun derivation
1.321 Noun derivation by shifting vowel patterns
1.322 Noun derivation by affixation
1.33 The Arabic number system
1.4 The verb
1.41 Verbal inflection
1.411 Person, gender, and number
1.412 Mode
1.42 Verbal derviation
1.421 The formation of primary verbs
1.422 Derived verbs
1.4221 Passive verbs
1.5 Non-triliteral verbs
1.51 Biliteral forms
1.52 Quadriliteral forms: derived nouns and verbs
1.53 The development of quadriliteral forms
1.6 Outside the root system
1.61 Monoliteral and biliteral particles
1.62 Sets of particles
1.63 Pronouns
1.631 Personal pronouns
1.632 Demonstrative and relative pronouns
1.7 Syntax
1.71 Parts of speech
1.72 Major clause types
1.73 Major types of noun phrases
1.74 The role of the case and modal endings

The History of Classical Arabic
2.1 The Semitic family of languages
2.2 The Arabic writing system
2.3 Arabic literature
2.31 Pre-Islamic literature and the Qur΄ān
2.32 Umayyad literature
2.33 εAbbasid literature
2.331 The Islamic sciences
2.332 Belles lettres
2.34 Arabic literature in decline
2.35 Modern Arabic literature
2.4 The influence of Arabic on other languages

The Linguistic Practice of the Arabs
3.1 Speech and writing in Classical Arabic
3.11 The origins of Classical Arabic
3.12 Classical Arabic in the Islamic Empire
3.13 The modern use of Classical Arabic
3.14 The modern form of Classical Arabic
3.141 Simplifications and Colloquial influences
3.142 Lexical development
3.143 European influences on style and syntax
3.144 Formal efforts at language reform
3.2 Speech (and writing) in Colloquial Arabic
3.21 The origins of Colloquial Arabic
3.22 General trends of development in Colloquial Arabic
3.221 Phonology
3.222 Morphology
3.223 Syntax
3.224 Lexicon
3.225 Summary
3.23 Variation in Colloquial Arabic
3.231 Contrasts between sedentary and nomadic dialects
3.232 Eastern and Western Colloquial Arabic
3.233 Iraqi Arabic
3.234 Syrian Arabic
3.235 Egyptian Arabic
3.236 North African Arabic
3.237 Communal dialects
3.24 Influences of Classical Arabic and interdialectal influences
3.25 The use of Colloquial Arabic
3.3 Speech and writing in other languages

Bibliography
Supplemental Bibliography on Arabic Language
Supplemental Bibliography on Arabic Literature
Supplemental Bibliography on Colloquial Arabic