What others said about Arabic Via a reliable witness
On the rise of laḥn after the conquests:
“It had long since ceased to be natural for the children of these first circles to learn good Arabic from their surroundings; and these innovations were counted as linguistic mistakes (laḥn) by the Arabs, who had always had a very fine sense of the beauty of their language. So a reaction against the corruption of the language began in their circles, and from it arose, at the end of the first century (the seventh century CE), the principle of “purifying Arabic”, which carried the banner of preserving its purity.”
Johann Fück
1894–1974
German Arabist, professor at Halle, historian of Arabic style.
In Arabic
لقد صار منذ زمنٍ طويلٍ غيرَ طبيعيٍّ أن يتعلّم أولادُ هذه الدوائر الأولى، من المحيط الذي هم فيه، عربيّةً جيّدةً، وقد كانت هذه التجديداتُ تُعَدّ عند العرب، الذين كانوا ذوي إحساسٍ دقيقٍ جدّاً منذ القدم بجمال لغتهم، خطأً لغويّاً (لحناً)، ولهذا بدأت في دوائرهم ردودُ الفعل ضدّ فساد اللغة، ونشأ من ذلك في أواخر القرن الأوّل (السابع الميلاديّ) مبدأُ «تنقية اللغة العربيّة» الذي حمل رايةَ المحافظة على نقاء العربيّة.
Source
ʿArabiya (Berlin 1950), Arabic tr. Ramadan ʿAbd al-Tawwab, Cairo: al-Khanji, 1980, p. 36
The English is ours, from the reported Arabic.
From ʿAbd al-Tawwab’s Arabic translation, checked against the print; the English is our translation. This reaction is where the literature on common errors (laḥn al-ʿāmma) began.
Tap a card to see it full size; each has a download button below it for sharing.
Spotted a mistake, or have something to add?
Your note comes to us only; it is not published here. We read it, and if it holds we correct the card.
