“Arabic language has not been developed since the fall of the Ottomans”! A translation

What a title?! I am sure it is making some people upset and others, skeptical and still others inquisitive. I promised at the end of Noura Al Noman’s interview in the last post that I would post a translation of an article I read last month, and so here it is. The translation is based on an article which appeared in the Sunday section of the online newspaper Emaratalyoum. I felt that many of the points raised were important in understanding or at least identifying some possible reasons why the Arabic language is somewhat stagnated amongst its native speakers. Another reason I wanted to translate the article is because of its authenticity in the sense that it is written by a native speaker living in a country where Arabic is the language of everyday use…it gives a different dimension to something written by someone a thousand miles away.

The quirky, witty, ironic, provocative, bold, often-smirky, well-written and self-assured style of the Arabic was so attractive I felt compelled to translate it into English and share it with readers on this site. I must thank in advance the original author Mohammed Al Mazrouqi for giving me permission to translate it into English, I also found out that he is writing a book on the situation of the Arabic language which is very exciting for any sociolinguist. The translation is broad as opposed to narrow and the title I use above is not the original, rather it is a statement taken from the second part of the article. Below I translate part 2 but summarize part 1,

In summary of part 1: Al Mazrouqi addresses the aspect of Arabization and the Arabic academies or rather the failure of such bodies in being coherent in their efforts to bring Arabic vocabulary “up-to-date”. He takes us through what has now become a joke among Arabic speakers, the story of how the academy worked so hard to arabize the English word “sandwich” into Arabic.  Their substitute was comical, but to make matters worse it became known that they did not in fact invent the word (or concept) it had already been introduced by a poet earlier on! So what were they doing one wonders? Such jokes and ridicule render these academies useless and non-functioning, I personally think that a body like this needs to be descriptive rather than prescriptive because language is a natural occurrence not dictated. The writer makes an interesting often-ignored point, that in fact the Quran contains many foreign words (non-Arabic from Hebrew, Hindi, Persian), mainly nouns, which were not arabized in order to qualify being a part of this sacred text, but rather used as part of the text until this day (his choice of the Quran is understandable since it is considered a representation of the (most) perfect form of Arabic, the logic is therefore simple, if the most revered Arabic text did not arabize, why do less important texts need to?). These words subsequently became Arabic words, something many Arabs are unaware of, it is only when studying Arabic grammar (or Lisan al Arab) or Tajweed (sciences of reciting the Quran, the student is required to know all non-Arabic words in the Quran before an exam…seriously) that one becomes aware of this fact. The point? The point (as far as I understood it) is that if the word is widespread it can be used (simply by taking the English/any other language’s word and using Arabic letters to transliterate it) without causing confusion, so why Arabize it when the original (in its non-Arabic form) can superbly describe/account for the intended meaning? His point makes me think that the whole “sandwich” escapade was a waste of time, and most of us use “san-da-wich” to mean “sandwich” anyway…wasted time on an unimportant aspect of reviving Arabic? Perhaps or maybe not who knows? But one thing is definite these academies are not making much of an impact on the way the Arabic language is evolving today right now in the age of computers, social networking and the domination of the English language the world over. There has to be some type of reconciliation between the “desired language” and the “real (used) language”, the work they are doing is commendable but it needs to be effective. See here from Mourad Diouri’s site a list of Arabic academies.

http://www.emaratalyoum.com/opinion/2012-03-04-1.465597

Translation: Part 2 (Arabiologia)– 

Despite the fact that [usually] I am not someone who likes to unburden people of their sorrows and sadness, this time however I will be that person [and make someone happy] in order to annoy the pessimists [because] each time a discussion about the predicament the Arabic language faces is brought up, I find myself compelled to say that [and that is how I begin this article], “be reassured masters of our language, the beautiful Arabic language is not in danger!”

A language scholar may stand up and point his stick or finger at me accusing me of being an enemy of the Arabic language, I would [simply] smile and reiterate to him that, “I do not think that the Arabic language is in danger or under threat of becoming extinct because there are so many channels through which it is maintained, suffice to say it is the official [standard] language of the fastest growing religion in the world (i.e. Islam).

All that it boils down to is the fact that in its native countries it [Arabic] faces ferocious competition from the much simpler English language; and this issue is not exclusive to Arabic alone. For example, French is facing similar challenges, not only on a global level [i.e. in French speaking countries around the world] but locally within France itself.

We can go on endlessly criticising the English language and praising our own, but that will not change in the slightest, the fact that – Arabic is regressing before the English language! Unlike the English language, Arabic has not undergone at least since the fall of the Ottoman empire any serious scientific (systematic) or academic attempts at rejuvenating or developing it so that it is equipped to deal with modern developments.

The [somewhat] backwardness of the Arabic language books used in schools are a testament to this. I would not be exaggerating if I said that the second worst and most complicated subject for students in school is Arabic language class (with the assumption that there will always be another subject to take first place).

It is true that a share of the blame for the students’ weakness in Arabic [language proficiency] lies on the current environment and on the students themselves, but a larger portion of the blame lies on these education curricula that wish [as if] to mummify [force down] the Arabic language onto iron templates [students] similar to [the process] used to bind the feet of small girls (in China) so as to stop their feet from growing larger in size. In the same way that a Chinese woman came to lose her balance as she grew up [her body grew in height and weight], whilst her feet remained the same small size that they were when they were forced into the template [iron shoes]. This too is exactly what happens with regards to the Arabic language and its grammar [a creative comparison by the author to equate the inappropriateness of forcing too many complex and often useless rules on young children which later become useless and ill-fitting when it comes to using language effectively].

Arabic syntax presents something of a challenge due to its complex and difficult rules, and is something that cannot be fathomed except by those specialised in it. For instance, the Iraqi writer, Khalid Al Qashteeni, who spent most of his 70 years striving to perfect the Arabic language says that despite all of that he can still never complete an essay without making a mistake somewhere.

For that reason we cannot rely [completely] on school curricula, if we believe that they were designed with the purpose of ensuring that students become [highly] competent in writing and speaking Arabic [this is because] in truth they have failed miserably due to their incongruent artificial over-complicating of the [simple] essence and nature of the Arabic language.

What we are calling for is, [first] the simplification of the Arabic language in the school curricula by taking out many of the difficult syntactic and grammatical rules; and its subject [components] that have become purely academic. Second, to ignore those who lament over the Arabic language at every opportunity afforded to them [in his original expression he likens their lamenting to a tent pitched for giving condolences where mourners gather to share their grief over the dead!]. Finally, and for the third time “the Arabic language is NOT in danger!”.

————end

The passion with which the argument and point of view is presented with can be seen through this highly exciting and somewhat sophisticated style the author employs in his writing and order of paragraphs. The use of metaphors, wild comparisons (that often offends certain people) and open criticism of the things he sees as obstacles to the Arabic language’s further development, are stated with a candid and confident style…you see why I had to translate it (if you can read the Arabic you’ll see what I mean)?

The issues he raises here (based on his opinions and experience) are ones we have discussed here on Arabizi in the past the academies, the education curriculum, and the current environment of the dominance of English language.

I feel like his focus on the curriculum is right, it is not the English language, the internet, or some outside conspiracy that is the reason behind the regression of Arabic and the over-taking of English language- it is the Arabic language education policies. It the often archaic, non-practical way the children are taught, his depiction is almost painful, illegal, useless like the squeezing of Chinese girls’ feet into iron shoes! This I know will offend many language teachers because they work so hard to teach young children the ‘correct Arabic language’ in the face of better English language teaching and resources. So they too find it so tough, and I think there needs to be some revision in how they teach, and like Al Mazrouqi suggests above, what they teach the unnecessary content needs to be taken out and the more practical and pragmatic aspects need to be taught well. I would say too that the language planners need to look closely at the literature on language teaching and acquisition and the research on effective second language teaching, to improve their teaching.

The claim that the Arabic language has not been modernised since at least the fall of the Ottoman empire is a huge one, and one that would make many upset. But perhaps it’s true, and the reason the Arabic language is in its current state? I highlighted it, and used it in my title because for me that was a learning, something I have never really considered before. However outrageous it may be, however unfounded we may feel it is, it calls for serious investigation into the matter, and perhaps within that finding, may lie the answer of how to get out of the current mess? Who knows?

Al Mazrouqi maintains that the Arabic language is not in danger because it is the official language of Islam and there are many millions of Muslims who would claim it because of its religious connection to the Quran. When I first read this I was not convinced and disagreed that such a claim can be used to argue the non-demise of the Arabic language, given the current situation. And his reasoning would have been one that language preservation experts would have challenged and perhaps ridiculed.  However, after having read it a few times now I think I agree with it in a different way, and I have arrived at a certain conclusion. If we agree that, the Arabic language may not be in decline the only other logical conclusion is that-  the Arabs are sure on their way to losing Arabic as a language of everyday use.  With that they will lose the essence and original meaning of important words and significant linguistic themes specific to Arabic language. The Arabs are the key to understanding texts, old poems, stories and historical documents, if they lose their ability to competently speak Arabic and understand it, then Arabic will be to its speakers what Latin is to English speakers! Language thrives and remains ‘in use’ for its speakers when it is spoken well and used in all arenas of life, in addition to being developed and used with confidence by its speakers.

Comments, suggestions and additions are welcome as always….wishing you all a productive week, London this week will be immersed in books and reading as I am sure many of us book lovers will be at the book fair over the next three days. I am working on the interview with the second author just in case you think I forgot, and as soon as that is ready I will put it up- thanks for reading. Just to point out, the picture above is of the Arabic academy in Old Damascus….I thought it was suitable.

Writing & the revitalisation of Arabic through sci-fi: why the future of Arabic is bright? Part 2

In this second and final part of the interview, I focus the commentary on the situation of Arabic language and its use today and what it will be like in the future. Thank you for the emails and comments sent in about the post, I am glad some of you enjoyed the change in the blog. Below are the interview notes, and after that some commentary.

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6.Being that this is a new genre in Arabic literature, what struggles if any did you face during the writing stage? I had no point of reference when it came to writing fiction in Arabic. When I talk about Arab YA not finding it easy to read Arabic fiction, I am actually also including myself. I don’t feel comfortable reading Arabic fiction, it’s almost always about what goes on in the head of a character. The language, the style, so self-engaged and verbose. Sure, there are youths who like it; but more and more youths who are put off by it. It just doesn’t go anywhere, and in this age where movies and video games are so fast paced, who wants to spend time in the head of an insignificant character who is struggling with something inside of him and the story ends inside his head? It’s not even written for YA, it’s for adults.

My biggest challenge was how to start it – no Arabic creative writing workshop was available and certainly nothing for this genre. What were the Arabic words for the huge volume of terminology invented and well established by Anglo-American SF heavily used in books and movies? And the clincher was: if action words were the main tools of moving the plot forward, and I didn’t read much Arabic where there were a lot of action words, how do I do that in Arabic? Days were spent on taking pictures of things and sending them to friends to ask: what do you call this in MSA? One example was: “Hey, you know when you get scared, and your hand instantly goes to your throat? What’s that area called in Arabic?” After long debate, the verdict was: “na7r”. Another example: “How do you write “she clicked her tongue” in Arabic?” – that was more difficult. I ended up with: “a9darat 9owtan bifamiha yaddulu 3ala al2istiya2.” Yes, really! Such hurdles cost me days and weeks of writing.

7. The one question I really want to ask you is, did you make up new words? If so how?

Such opportunities kept cropping up from time to time. Ajwan (the main character) is an “Empath”. She has the awkward ability of being able to feel exactly what other people are feeling as if it is actually happening to her. I asked Ashraf Al Fagih, a Saudi author (Sci- Fi short stories) how he would translate it. He suggested “istish3ar” – that is not exactly an invention; but it is a new use of the Arabic word. I’ve struggled with traveling by space gates and worm holes, not to mention communication devices and other tools. Thankfully, there is a bit of that in subtitles of movies; but not nearly enough. In book 2 of “Ajwan”, I did get to finally “invent” a word. One character in the opening scene was using an anti-gravity bike (darajah meghnatisiyeh is what I could think of).. then I thought what an idiotic name.. so I mixed it up and came up with “meghrajah” (that is not to say it is ideal; but it’s a start). I am in chapter 2, so I am sure a new challenge will soon present itself.

8.Some people might say that your book promotes non-Arabic (traditionalist) ideas, is that a fair statement? (Given that this is a new genre, I presume you had no examples from Arabic books for young people).

Well, Ajwan is from another planet, and she breathes water too. Her name is Arab; but she isn’t. She comes from a peaceful, very conservative society; but is soon thrust into the reality of a huge universe which doesn’t live by the rules and traditions of her society. She has to live in the real world – something which our youth are finding out about now that our world has become a small village. They are taught a lot of ideals; but within a few years they discover that the rest of the world – the movers and shakers, don’t live by those ideals and this shocks them. It either turns them into extremists who want to impose these ideals on everyone else, or they become like everyone else and go with the flow. In both cases, they realize how naïve they were and perhaps even accuse their parents of being hypocrites. The reason why YA in the rest of the world love dystopian fiction is because it is real. It’s not the Little Mermaid or Snow White. They understand the world much more than we give them credit for, and trying to shelter them from all of it is not going to work beyond a certain age. It is the parents’ job to instill traditions in their children, so that when they grow up and read non-traditional material, they are already grounded and know what’s right and wrong and can enjoy the fiction, without other factors getting in the way.

 9.How do you ensure your book appeals to young Arabs? In reference to culture and language, but also in keeping up with trends in the English books they read?

This is a very important point for all authors of Arab YA fiction. Our youth live in a world where the Internet has given them access to just about anything we can think of, and beyond. They no longer wait at home for mommy and daddy to bring them books – they download them on their iPads. Language may have been a source of pride and identity for us; but to them it is a tool. Kids perceive tools as useful things which get them what they want. If the tool is broken or not up to date, they move on to another tool. They have no reverence towards old things the way we did. My expensive laptop is no longer working, buy me a new one, and then no one even knows where the old one was stowed away. Arabic and English are languages they use to get something else. Whatever gets them the most becomes their favorite “thing”. Once it no longer serves its uses, it is discarded like an old laptop. We have to constantly see what is grabbing their attention, and use that to provide them with the content we want them to see or read. If Arabic is becoming inaccessible, then we need to see how to make it more interesting. We can’t waste time crying over the loss of Arabic, our kids have moved on. We need to create content which competes with what is out there, so YA would deign to look at. I am trying to do that by writing in a genre which is almost non-existent in Arabic. That may grab their attention. It is in an easy form of Arabic – according to my 16-year-old daughters who told me: “this is not the Arabic they use in school. That one I don’t get at all!”

10.How do you see the future of Arabic in the UAE and the Gulf in general?

I think there is a consensus now that we’ve come to a point where enough is enough. Although the adults are all blaming the kids for their awful Arabic, they are also making the right noises which will force the Ministry of Education to look differently at the way it creates Arabic syllabus. Moreover, publishers are taking note and have started looking at YA as a huge segment completely different from children. I am also seeing more and more people finally realizing that at some point in the past Arabic was denied the right to evolve like other languages, and that linking it to sacred text (Qur’an) has harmed it considerably. So basically, it is a great time to be an author for Arabic YA fiction.

11. A personal question, how did you keep up your Arabic (I mean it’s no small feat to write a novel entirely in Arabic) and learn English proficiently at the same time? What can others learn from you?

Confession, my Arabic is not so great. It is enough to write for YA. Arab authors who have read Ajwan have commented on my simple style. However, I do owe it all to translation studies. If it were not for the fact that I studied under Dr. Basil Hatim at AUS in the early 2000s, I would not have been drawn back to Arabic, its beauty and its importance. It is never too late to start reading in Arabic – you automatically start acquiring new vocabulary and style. You can approach it like others have approached English. It’s a language, it has literature and that’s how you learn it. How else did I learn English?

12. My blog Arabizi© is about the situation of Arabic and how speakers use it, what would you say to those who say Arabic is dying amongst Arabic speakers today?

I am not sure why they say it is dying. There are 22 countries which produce Arabic books (and a stream of Arabic media every single day). Exactly how does one succeed in killing such a language, or dismissing that much content?! The important thing is that we do not sit on our laurels (?) and say here is Arabic, come and get it. The youth segment in the Arab world is huge and their attention span is miniscule; we need to continuously engage them with the right kind of stimuli so they love Arabic, protect it, contribute to its evolution, and pass it on to the next generation of shorter-attention span. Thank God that particular generation won’t be my problem!——–end

Interesting points raised here in the answers and this second part of the interview was my favourite because as Noura says I made “her think” about the process from a different perspective- a linguistic one. The issue of writing any type of literature is always governed by the audience for whom the text is being prepared for, and so issues of culture always come up. It would seem so far that Noura has dealt with these issues well and managed to produce a piece of writing that is novel yet in keeping with the readers’ cultural preferences.  Noura has in fact in the last week signed her contract with the publishers….congratulations Noura..now the world awaits!

The most interesting thing for me here is this creation/merging/coining of new words to express a new experience that the Arabic literature does not really contain. This is not  blaming the literature itself, for we all know that at different stages of the evolution of Arabic language and literature new words were made, even borrowed from other languages. But these new words represent whole new concepts that were until very recently absent in Arabic literature, typical sci-fi concepts and fantastic descriptions of other planets require a different type of vocabulary perhaps? It seems Noura is creating words because she is not satisfied with the current available expressions, this is both creative and exciting. If this picks up and these words are used by other authors in the future to write about sci-fi in Arabic, then it would be a great achievement and a huge step towards the revival of Arabic language (in the Gibran sense a process often referred to as neologism).

The second bit of the interview that caught my attention was the analysis of the situation of Arabic and the question of its death or demise. Noura maintains that the Arabic language is not being lost, not with the amount of material out there, or with the fact that 22 countries use it as their official (apparently) language. She does however acknowledge that something must be done to get the youth interested in the language (not in the communication sense but in the preservation sense) and that the education system and publishers are working hard to ensure Arabic becomes more practical for the youth to use. Good points raised and yet the same conclusion, something needs to be done if Arabic language is to enjoy an equal status with English (see previous post on bilingualism the UAE) because books of Arabic will always be there, we have books today in Arabic spanning 13 centuries but we can only access them with the right knowledge of Arabic. What will the Arab world look like in 50 years time if all the young people chose to read in English only? Knowledge of Arabic language will be the exception not the rule, and worse still in a hundred years it might be like what Latin is to English today. Yes…yes… yes I am quoting the worst case scenario, but you do not need to burn books to make people forget or lose their language (the Mongols did that in Damascus and Baghdad but that did not change anything because) as long as people know the importance of their language they will start over and even improve the way they use it. In specific reference to the UAE, I am sure the founding father and late leader Shaykh Zayed Al Nahyan would frown at the prospect that Arabic language is slowly being lost in his country when he was a champion of the Arabic. He encouraged people to learn their history and language and he would famously say that without those two (knowledge of a people’s language and history) a nation has no prosperous or meaningful future. He was no linguist but knew the value and symbolism of a person’s language, especially in today’s globalised world.

I agree with Noura that one of the reasons that Arabic language and/or literature has stagnated for a long time is this boxed in view that because Arabic is also the language of the Qur’an we are restricted in how we use it. What’s important is that the Qur’anic text itself is sacred, and the language is sacred, but it is also a language of a people. It therefore needs to be practical and easy to use, it should also be used in its highest forms in literature (which it was esp. in the 12/13th century and with superb results, new genres were created, new forms were made then it all stopped and many authors have just been in awe of the old, which is not all bad in a situation where the language is evolving well). Arabic must be ready to take on new concepts and new ideas in a new world with new problems and new challenges, the core will always remain the same but the language must be renewed in order for its speakers to have faith in using it to express their feelings, fears, aspirations, anger and hope.

Review of Ajwan: This is a very short section and highly speculative since I have only read two excerpts…I hope I will do the short sections some justice of course I will only comment on the language (since that was the whole idea of the interview).

The language I would say is easy not as complicated/complex as say Mahfouz (this is taking into consideration young people), the sentences flow easily and the whole picture comes together really well. The once thing I loved the most in the excerpts is the eye to detail Noura has, the description of small ants, sticks, posture of characters, of what something/someone looks like, the environment, the air, how Ajwan rests her head on a tree, how she takes a deep breath… you feel like you are there with her! There is also a description of the feelings of the characters, how they deal with certain events and the reader empathises with them. Action packed sections are fast paced though ironically descriptive and you move with the story and characters, and I think at times you are also surprised like they are at the outcome of certain events so perhaps that’s what brings the text to life?  Although Noura says she is not good at Arabic, I read it all understood it and got hooked on the book…so that to me was good. That’s all I can say for now…I hope the publishing goes well and I am sure many people are waiting for the book. Thanks to Noura once again and thanks for reading….my next post I hope will be a translation of an Arabic article discussing the current situation of Arabic and then I will post interview two with another author.

The ultimate model of Arabic language? The case of the Qur’an

The weather is great here and I managed to get myself that cup of tea! With time on my hands I thought I’d post something, before going on holiday I read a book by Hamza Tzortzis with regards to Qur’anic Arabic. It is great that he has also posted similar material on one of his blogs, as promised I did say that I will be posting some material based on how the language of the Qur’an (Arabic language) is viewed so here it is! This post is written very well and the topic is treated systematically, of course being a Muslim he has a degree of expected awe for the Qur’an; though I cannot see that affecting the contents of what he writes. I recommend anyone who is interested in Arabic grammar or the language of the Qur’an to read it, as a starter or introduction.

Draft 0.3 By Hamza Tzortzis hamza.tzortzis@theinimitablequran.com “As a literary monument the Koran thus stands by itself, a production unique to the Arabic literature, having neither forerunners nor successors in its own idiom. Muslims of all ages are united in proclaiming the inimitability not only of its contents but also of its style….. and in forcing the High Arabic idiom into the expression of new ranges of thought the Koran develops a bo … Read More

via/source:  The Inimitable Qur’an

It would be great to get some comments on this if not here then at least on his blog. I was writing something similar but having found the material already blogged I thought why not re-blog it? Happy reading!

Linguistic Relativity: The Arabic take on the controversial issue? Part II

Here is part two as promised- In the last post we discussed the author’s ideas on the relationship between language and thought, and we also discussed what linguists think about this issue (Sapir-Whorf hypothesis). In this second and final post in reference to Badr’s excerpt, I take a close look at how he views the relationship between Arabic language and the Qur’an; and how he sees that relating to a speaker’s thoughts. Below is an excerpt (in bold)

Let us take a closer look at this idea of the importance of language. If it were wholly or even partly true, it would be most appropriate for us to consider the characteristics of the Arabic language, its impact on the Arabs and the reasons for the divine choice of this language as the means to reveal the Qur’an and convey the message of Islam to the whole of humanity. God says in the Qur’an: “We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and we will assuredly guard it” (15:9). This means that He guards Revelation and, consequently, also the Arabic language.

After the author maintains that language is connected to thought, he then applies that theory to the Qur’an and Arabic language (the language of the Qur’an). He believes that the choice of Arabic as a liturgical language is divine and has qualities that are unique only to it, therefore making it the most suitable language in which God chose to send His message to human beings.  Badr here quotes Chapter (Surah) 15 verse (ayah) 9, in which God (Allah) promises to “guard” the Qur’an and therefore its language- Arabic. I discussed this briefly (in the post Preservation of Arabic revisited- part 2 will be up soon- in that post I discuss the role of the hadith tradition and Qur’anic sciences in the preservation of Arabic) as one of the reasons/ motivations for the perfect preservation of Arabic. I said that maybe this verse made the scholars of Islam and the Arabic language more mindful in how they planned the future generations to understand the revelation of Allah and its language.

In this connection, the Egyptian scholar, `Abbas Mahmud al-`Aqqad, discusses some aspects of the Arabic language: its vocabulary, phonetic and phonemic aspects: “ The human speech system is a superb musical instrument which no ancient or modern nation has used as perfectly as the Arab nation, as they have used the entire phonetic range in the distribution of its alphabet. Therefore, it is these qualities of the Arabic language that made Arabic poetry a perfect art, independent of other arts” [`Abbas Muhammad al-`Aqqad, al-Lughah Al-Sha`irah (Cairo: Maktabat Gharib, n.d.)] According to al-`Aqqad, these qualities are not found in any other language, for “Arabic eloquence has taken the human speech organs to the highest point ever reached by man in expressing himself by letters and words.” [Ibid, p. 70.]

A high praise indeed for Arabic language, and phonetically he might be right. The Arabic language has many of the sounds that the human speech apparatus can produce. The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a table which captures all the possible sounds made in human speech/language. We use it to transcribe (write down) speech and we can also show tone, pitch and intensity used whilst producing the sounds. Most linguistics students learn this skill and it is especially handy when it comes to research projects or documentation of languages and grammars.  If you look closely at the table, you can see that all the sections across are the places of emanation (what we call in Arabic/ Qur’anic sciences ‘Makahrij al Huroof’ – the points where letters emanate) like bilabial [both lips meeting to pronounce a letter] where p and b are made (say p – try it!). And the sections going down are the ways in which the sounds are produced (what we call in Arabic or Qur’anic Sciences ‘Sifaat al Huroof’- the characteristics of letters). Taking the same place of emanation as above, bilabial, we can see that the sound can have a nasal characteristic which is manifested in the letter m, or it can be fricative; which is not in English but some languages put so much air in the b sound that the lips do not completely seal and there is small vibration. The IPA   also captures clicks, rolls, taps and other strange phenomena of the human speech apparatus! Anyway I am sure you can read better and clearer notes than the ones I am putting up here (see sources). Here is the top part of the IPA the rest of it is quite complex as it deals with vowels and tones:

 Phonetically Arabic is the only language in the world that contains the sound of the letter ض /dhaad/ is according to the IPA:  [dˁ] emphatic voiced alveolar plosive, and is often referred to as Lughat ad-dhaad, the language of Daad.  So we see why the quoted author says that the Arabic language has used the “the entire phonetic range in the distribution of its alphabet”, meaning it has covered all the major areas of pronunciation.

It is most astonishing to see this robust language (Arabic) growing and reaching a stage of perfection in the midst of the desert, and in a nation of nomads. The language has superseded other languages by its wealth of vocabulary, precise meanings and perfect structure. This language was unknown to other nations. But when it came to be known, it appeared to us in such perfection that it hardly underwent any change ever since. Of the stages of life, that language had neither childhood nor old age. We hardly know anything about that language beyond its unmatched conquests and victories. We cannot find any similar language that appeared to scholars so complete, and without gradation, keeping a structure so pure and flawless. The spread of the Arabic language covered the largest areas and remotest countries. [Anwar al Jundi, Al-Fusha:Lughat a/-Qur’an (Beirut: Dar Al-Kitab Al-Lubnani, 1982), p.27]

Badr here sees Arabic as the most perfect of all languages, having a vocabulary and eloquence that is unmatched by any other language. He once again mentions the idea that Arabic language has not undergone any changes for over fourteen hundred years. He continues further to say that because of this the language maintains and retains the same values and views from its inception until today. In the same way that the Qur’an has retained its form, content and message; the Arabic language has maintained its structure, words and world view!  Powerful statements to make and I think it is high time that such statements were taken seriously and objective research was conducted. Does the mind of a Qur’an reader view the world differently from the mind of an avid Agatha Christie reader?  If the Qur’an contains a certain view of good and evil does that shape the mind of the Arabic reader/speaker to see good and evil in that way and only in that way? Or can they view good and evil in different ways based on the language the concept is represented in?  Badr supports the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis in the sense that a language shapes the thought of its speaker, and Arabic is a “vehicle of contemplation”; because Qura’nic Arabic speakers think in the Qur’anic world view. This sets three challenges: for someone to read the Qur’an over and to pull out all the possible world views and to then study all the linguistic aspects of Arabic and finally to show how the two non- arbitrarily relate to one another.  Overall I think that Badr has raised many important points and the onus is now with Arab linguists to substantiate or dispute the statements presented here. Cognitive linguistics is a fast moving field with ever-improving research methods and I am sure sooner rather than later this issue will have to be addressed- objectively and scientifically.

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Sources:

 IPA in general: http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&source=hp&q=international+phonetic+alphabet&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=4a9850f25e5993a0