Prof. Abdulaziz Homaid Alhomaid

Professor of Arabic Philology and Lexicology
Thirty years in university teaching, lexicographic research and academic leadership, and in building Arabic digital content and running the platforms that publish it.

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Profile

Professor of Arabic philology and lexicology at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, where he rose from teaching assistant to full professor, served as Vice Dean of the College of Arabic Language for Graduate Studies and Research, and chaired the Department of Grammar, Morphology and Philology. Author of three books and fourteen research papers in refereed journals, international conference proceedings and edited volumes, on Arabic lexicography, the Orientalists' contribution to it, and Arabic geolinguistics. Winner of the Ibn Battuta Prize for Geographical Literature from the Arab Centre for Geographical Literature in Abu Dhabi.

Alongside his academic work, he has practical experience in computational lexicography and Arabic digital content: consultant to King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST); co-researcher on the national “Arabic Dictionary for Students” built by KACST with the Ministry of Education; and co-builder of the “Arabic Sounds Database” for speech-recognition software. He founded two Arabic online platforms, one of them a winner of the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States award, and led their complete rebuilding and relaunch in 2026, using AI tools in their development — an extension of his own research on the computational processing of Arabic.

He has taught Arabic internationally in Indonesia and the United States, taken part in scholarly events in nine countries, and supervised or examined twenty-two master's and doctoral theses at seven Saudi universities.

Key Achievements

• Ibn Battuta Prize for Geographical Literature (2008–2009), Arab Centre for Geographical Literature, Abu Dhabi; the Centre republished the winning book.
• Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States Award for the website “Voice of Arabic”, presented in Sharjah on World Arabic Language Day 2013.
• Chair of the Scientific Committee of the conference “Arabic in International Organizations”, King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language, Riyadh 2022.
• Distinguished paper award for “The Lexicon of Arab Travellers as a Source of Arabic: al-Muqaddasi as a Model”, 6th International Conference on the Arabic Language, Dubai 2017.
• Co-author of the “Arabic Dictionary for Students” — a national project of KACST and the Ministry of Education, published and launched with an award ceremony for its research team.
• Relaunch of the “Voice of Arabic” and “EventSheets” platforms after rebuilding both in full, 2026.

Positions and Experience

• Head, Department of Grammar, Morphology and Philology — College of Arabic Language, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, 2015–2017.
• Chair, Scientific Committee, “Arabic in International Organizations” — King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language, 2022.
• Vice Dean for Graduate Studies and Research — College of Arabic Language, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, 2002–2004.
• Part-time Consultant — King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, 2002.
• Teaching in the United States — Institute of Islamic and Arabic Sciences in America, Fairfax, Virginia, 1993–1995.
• Teaching in Indonesia — Institute of Islamic and Arabic Sciences (LIPIA), Jakarta, 1987–1990.

Academic Appointments and Education

• Professor 2013 · Associate Professor 2007 · Assistant Professor 2000 · Lecturer 1992 · Teaching Assistant 1984 — College of Arabic Language, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University.
• PhD in Arabic Philology, 2000: “The Orientalists' Arabic Works in Arabic Lexicography: Study and Evaluation”, published by the University in its doctoral dissertation series, 2012.
• MA in Arabic Philology, 1992: “Mukhtasar al-'Ayn by Abu Bakr al-Zubaydi: critical edition and study”.

Books

All publications are in Arabic; titles are given in English translation.

1. The Orientalists' Arabic Works in Arabic Lexicography: Study and Evaluation. Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, doctoral dissertation series, 2012.
2. Synonymy and Polysemy as Expressions of the Richness of Arabic: A Theoretical and Applied Study. Institute of Scientific Research and Revival of Islamic Heritage, Umm Al-Qura University, 2009.
3. Ibn Battuta's Linguistic and Geographical Contribution: Terms for Food and Drink — winner of the Ibn Battuta Prize. Saudi Geographical Society, 2006; republished by the Arab Centre for Geographical Literature, 2011.

Articles in Refereed Journals

1. Ibn Durayd's Maqsura and his Jamhara: Between the Use of Language and its Recording. Mustalahiyyat (Fez), no. 7, 2014.
2. Geolinguistics: A Modern Term with Arabic Roots. Journal of Arabic and Human Sciences, Qassim University, vol. 6 no. 2, 2013.
3. Arabic Words Denoting Number. Al-Dir'iyah, vol. 13 nos. 51–52, 2012.
4. Substitution (Ibdal) Words in Linguistic Usage: An Applied Study. Journal of the Saudi Scientific Society for Arabic Language, no. 8, 2011.
5. The Orientalists' Works in Arabic Lexicography: The Dictionaries of Fischer and Dozy. Dirasat Mustalahiyya (Fez), nos. 9–10, 2009–2010.
6. The Present and Future of the Arabic Language. Journal of the Saudi Scientific Society for Arabic Language, no. 1, 2008.
7. Kitab al-Jim by Abu 'Amr al-Shaybani: The Printed Edition and Fritz Krenkow's Copy Compared against the Escorial Manuscript. Alam al-Makhtutat wa al-Nawadir, vol. 10 no. 1, 2005.
8. Matching the Pronunciation and the Arabic Spelling of Proper Names. Alam al-Kutub, vol. 26 nos. 5–6, 2005.

Conference Proceedings and Book Chapters

1. The Dictionary and its Educational Uses for Native and Non-native Speakers of Arabic: The Doha Historical Dictionary as a Model. ICESCO and the Doha Historical Dictionary of Arabic conference, Rabat, 2024.
2. The Orientalists' Achievements in Publishing and Studying the Arabic Linguistic Heritage, and their Influence on Later Arab Scholarship. Third International Conference, King Saud University, 2020.
3. The Lexicon of Arab Travellers as a Source of Arabic: al-Muqaddasi as a Model — distinguished paper. 6th International Conference on the Arabic Language, Dubai, 2017.
4. August Fischer's Method in the Historical Dictionary. In “Towards a Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language”, Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, Doha, 2014.
5. Youth and Language: The Problem of Hybrid Language. In “The Language of Arab Youth in Modern Social Media”, King Abdullah International Center for the Arabic Language, 2014.
6. Towards a Linguistic Atlas of the Arabian Peninsula. Proceedings of “Arabic and Keeping Pace with the Age”, Islamic University of Madinah, 2012.
7. Arabic Sounds Database (Jumal) — co-authored. King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, 2004.
8. The Arabic Language Reveals the Value of Camels to the Arabs. Symposium “Camels in the Language of the Arabs”, King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language, 2024.

Supervision, Committees and Conferences

Supervised or examined twenty-two theses — supervisor of five and examiner of seventeen (18 doctoral, 4 master's) — at seven Saudi universities. Served on seven scientific committees and boards, and took part in twenty-two conferences and symposia in nine countries. The full lists are in the full CV.

Digital Platforms

• Founder and Product Owner — Voice of Arabic: a library, articles and language services for researchers and learners of Arabic.
• Founder and Product Owner — EventSheets: publishing and managing academic events in Arabic and English.

Online

ORCID: orcid.org/0009-0006-1958-233X
Internet Archive: archive.org/details/@abuferas1446
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/abdulazizalhomaid
X: x.com/Abuferas123 · Facebook: facebook.com/abdulaziz1432
Voice of Arabic: X · Facebook · YouTube
EventSheets: X · Facebook · YouTube · Instagram

Moments and Honours

The Ibn Battuta Prize ceremony at Katara, Doha, held with the International Conference on Arab and Muslim Travel Literature organised by the Arab Centre for Geographical Literature and the Katara Cultural Village, 6–9 December 2010.

The ceremony marking the completion of the “Arabic Dictionary for Students” for Saudi primary schools and honouring its research team — a joint project of KACST and the Ministry of Education.