A Linguistic History of Arabic

Jonathan Owens (University of Maryland and Bayreuth University, Germany)

$442

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Oxford University Press
01 April 2006

linguistics; Historical & comparative linguistics; Islam; Anthropology

A Linguistic History of Arabic presents a reconstruction of proto-Arabic by the methods of historical-comparative linguistics. It challenges the traditional conceptualization of an old, Classical language evolving into the contemporary Neo-Arabic dialects. Professor Owens combines established comparative linguistic methodology with a careful reading of the classical Arabic sources, such as the grammatical and exegetical traditions. He arrives at a richer and more complex picture of early Arabic language history than is current today and in doing so establishes the basis for a comprehensive, linguistically-based understanding of the history of Arabic. The arguments are set out in a concise, case by case basis, making it accessible to students and scholars of Arabic and Islamic culture, as well as to those studying Arabic and historical linguists.

By: Jonathan Owens (University of Maryland and Bayreuth University Germany)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 242mm, Width: 164mm, Spine: 23mm
Weight: 645g
ISBN: 9780199290826
ISBN 10: 0199290822
Pages: 330
Publication Date: 01 April 2006
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

1: Introduction: A Language and its Secrets 2: Old Arabic, Neo-Arabic, and Comparative Linguistics 3: Case and Proto Arabic 4: Al-Idgham al-Kabiyr and Case Endings 5: Pre-Diasporic Arabic in the Diaspora: A Statistical Approach to Arabic Language History 6: Nigerian Arabic and Reconstruction of the Imperfect Verb 7: Imala 8: Suffix Pronouns and Reconstruction 9: Summary and Epilogue References

Jonathan Owens is Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Advanced Study of Language, University of Maryland where he is on leave from his position as Professor of Arabic Linguistics at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. Starting his linguistics career with a SOAS PhD on Creole Arabic Nubi of East Africa, he has taught and conducted research at universities in Libya (Garyounis), Nigeria (Maiduguri), and Jordan (Yarmouk). HIs books include A Grammar of Libyan Arabic, Harrassowitz, 1984, A Short Reference Grammar of Nigerian Arabic, Harrassowitz, 1993 and The Foundations of Grammar: an Introduction to Medieval Arabic Grammatical Theory, Benjamins,1988.