Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: In the introduction to the second edition of his Arabische Grammatik (1781) Johann David Michaelis (1717-1791) explains that, although he himself has never traveled to the East, he has been fortunate in meeting informants for his grammatical description of Arabic:As you can see in this new edition, I have obtained greater certainty in the meantime, partly through native Arab visitors, partly through returning Europeans, who had learned Arabic in Morocco and Constantinople. 1 For European Orientalists such opportunities to check their linguistic data were relatively rare, though and their lack of exposure to the language as it was spoken made it difficult for them to know how it sounded.This is particularly clear in their treatment of Arabic sounds that were unknown in European languages, such as those which in Western grammars of Arabic came to be called 'emphatics'.Silvestre de Sacy (1758-1838) is often referred to as the first to use this term.In the introduction to his Grammaire arabe he speaks about 'emphasis' or 'emphatic articulation' as "a kind of expansion of the upper palate, which produces an o-like sound after the consonant". 2 His characterization of the individual consonants is not very detailed: The ص corresponds to ours, but should be articulated somewhat stronger than س or with a certain emphasis ... The ض corresponds to D articulated more strongly than the French d, or with a certain emphasis ... The ط corresponds to T articulated strongly and in an emphatic manner ... The ظ does not differ in its pronunciation from ض at all. 3 1 Ich bin, wie man aus der neuen Ausgabe sehen wird, seit der Zeit theils durch Besuch gebohrner Araber, theils durch zurückgekommene Europäer, die in Marocco und zu Konstantinopel, Arabisch gelernt haben, zu mehrerer Gewißheit gelanget (Grammatik 2).2 Ce que j'appelle emphase ou articulation emphatique, est une espèce de dilatation de la voute supérieure de la bouche qui laisse en quelque sorte entendre un o après la consonne (Grammaire I, 19).3 Le ص répond à notre s, mais doit être articulé un peu plus fortement que le س , ou avec une sorte d'emphase ... Le ض répond au D articulé plus fortement que le d français, ou avec une sorte d'emphase ... Le ط répond au T articulé fortement et d'une manière emphatique ...
Author: Kees Versteegh
Institution: Radboud University Nijmegen
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4319436736