الزُّمر الدلاليّة في التراث المعجميّ العربيّ: دراسة مقارنة في التقسيمات الدلاليّة في المعاجم العربيّة

Abstract

Semantic Fields in the Arabic Lexicographical Tradition: A Comparitive Study of Lexical Organization in Arabic Lexica

This thesis deals with the lexical organization of the Arabic lexica by utilizing semantic fields. Thus, the derivatives of a single root may have multiple meanings and are organized in semantic fields within the same roots. The primary objective of this study is to expose the semantic correlation within the root and how Arab lexicographers approached them; in particular, Ibn Fāris in Maqāyīs al-luġa, Ibn Sīda in al-Muḥkam wa-l-muḥīṭ al-aʿẓam and Ibn Manẓūr in Lisān al-ʿArab.

The research compares the approach of Maqāyīs al-luġa, Tahḏīb al-luġa, al-Ṣaḥāḥ or Tāǧ al-luġa wa-ṣaḥāḥ al-ʿArabiyya, and al-Muḥīṭ fī l-luġa with the method followed in al-Muḥkam, based on the semantic organization of the lexical material. Based on this, the reliance of Ibn Manẓūr on al-Muḥkam in dividing the roots of al-Lisān according to semantic fields becomes clear. Furthermore, the uṣūl of Ibn Fāris will be compared at length with Ibn Sīda’s approach to semantic fields.

The study is divided into three chapters. The first chapter is entitled: “The Lexical Organization in Arabic Lexica”. It examines the organization of the dictionaries and their division into three schools of thought and discusses a number of related studies. The second chapter is a comparative study divided into two topics, the first of which focuses on roots, with multiple meanings, whereas the second deals with roots that have considerably fewer meanings. Lastly, the third chapter is a comparative study of the lexica with al-Lisān. Two roots, namely ʿamada and ʿaḏara, are extensively analyzed in order to demonstrate Ibn Manẓūr’s effort in the internal organization of his lemmata.